Dear Ruth,

As a fellow speech pathologist, I am somewhat confused over the role of school speech pathologist v.s. special education and regular classroom teachers, and the remedial reading teacher, in dealing with the overwhelming number of students who have trouble reading.

In your opinion, what is the role of the school speech pathologist in helping students with reading problems? If I started to work directly with one student, I would soon have hundreds. Phonics can certainly be addressed by the other special education specialists.

F.M.

Dear F.M.,

I agree that a number of specialists and regular education professionals can teach Phonics effectively.

Some students have inordinate difficulty learning Phonics, a process of looking at a letter symbol and saying its speech sound, because they do not mentally 'hear' speech sounds adequately (distinctly, individually) in the first place. They may lack Phonemic Awareness or have other auditory processing deficits. Teaching Phonics to a student with weak basic auditory skills is like constructing a house on a foundation of sand: even if you manage to put it together, cracks are inevitable and the whole structure may well collapse.

The speech/language pathologist, trained and experienced in working with speech sounds and listening issues, can help other professionals to understand the critical Phonemic Awareness piece of the puzzle. Some speech/language pathologists have had the opportunity to initiate preventive Phonemic Awareness programs at the earliest age levels so that the whole school can benefit from the flexing of these mental muscles.

Students cannot be expected to read beyond the level of their auditory language skill. Vocabulary, word-finding and other language deficits may first become apparent through reading problems. Reading, after all, places additional demands on the language system. Some students who can function conversationally break down under this extra weight. The speech/language pathologist can assess for significant language deficits, treat students who qualify and consult with regular and special education teachers about language-building strategies.

Best Wishes,
Ruth Alice Jurey, M.S.
Speech/Language Pathologist