Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and read better. Our reading resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in working with struggling readers who require additional help in reading fundamentals and comprehension skills development.
For Speech Pathologists
Communication skills are the fundamental building blocks for literacy and learning. By enhancing communication and language ability, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) help prevent or remediate literacy problems in children and adolescents.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and Reading Rockets are pleased to work in partnership to provide the following information. The resources below were especially chosen to support the professional efforts of speech-language pathologists and their vital role in building children's literacy.
Click below for the following:
About speech-language pathologists
Literacy is an essential prerequisite to students' academic achievement, social well-being, and lifetime opportunities. Speech-language pathologists have the specialized knowledge and experience that's needed to identify communication disorders and provide the help that children need to build their language literacy skills.
SLPs play an important role in both special education and regular education settings. They provide classroom-based services, co-teach with classroom teachers and reading specialists, and work with students who are at risk for reading and learning difficulties and with children who are experiencing academic failure. SLPs also provide training to parents, teachers, and administrators in order to help support students' academic and social success.
Free resources from ASHA
- Literacy Gateway
Take a look at ASHA's resources that emphasize literacy and the role of the speech-language pathologist. These literacy resources are all conveniently gathered in one place.
- ASHA Leader Online
This online version of the award-winning ASHA Leader newsletter provides full-text access to selected articles.
- Desk Reference
This page provides a link to five PDF files that explain the roles and responsibilities of speech-language pathologists with respect to reading and writing in children and adolescents.
Members of ASHA can also obtain two guides in PDF form: Getting Ready for Reading and Writing, which highlights developmental milestones in emergent literacy skills for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, and The Role of the SLP in Schools, which can be used with a variety of audiences.
Free resources from Reading Rockets
The following resources are available from Reading Rockets as well as our sister web sites – LD OnLine, which focuses on learning disabilities and ADHD, and Colorín Colorado, which provides information on teaching English language learners to read.
- Developmental Timelines
This area of Reading Rockets features articles that discuss typical developmental timelines by age.
- Speech Sounds: Watch and Learn
These four short video clips from Reading Rockets offer you the chance to watch effective speech sound activities.
- Research & Reports
Reading Rockets has gathered some of the most important research and reports about reading in one place.
- LD Topics: Speech and Language
This area of LD OnLine features articles about speech and language disabilities.
- Common Questions About English Language Learners
This Colorín Colorado article features frequent questions teachers have about English language learners.
Professional listing services
You can advertise your professional services on the following web sites:
Information for parents
Feel free to provide the following articles and resources to parents.
From Reading Rockets:
- Seeking Help for a Struggling Reader: 7 Steps for Teachers
- Seeking Help for a Struggling Reader: 8 Steps for Parents
- Suspect a Problem?
- Target the Problem: Auditory Processing
- Put Downs & Comebacks: How to Respond to a Discouraged Kid
From ASHA:
- What's "Normal," What's Not: Acquiring English as a Second Language
- Children and Bilingualism
- Helping Children with Communication Disorders in the Schools
- How Does Your Child Hear and Talk? (also available in Spanish)
- Effects of Hearing Loss on Development
- Activities to Encourage Speech and Language Development
About our partners
ASHA, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Founded in 1925, ASHA provides services for more than 120,000 professionals in these fields and advocates for people with communication disabilities. Reading Rockets is pleased to partner with ASHA because of our shared commitment to serving children and families affected by language-based learning disabilities.
To stay up-to-date, sign up for the following free e-newsletters for parents and educators:
- Reading Rockets News - on reading issues
- LD OnLine Monthly Report - on learning disabilities issues
- Colorin Colorado's newsletter - on English language learner issues.
- ASHA E-Newsletters - on speech-language-hearing issues
"Finally, quality reading research information! As an RSP teacher specializing in reading and its research, my credential program came nowhere near preparing me for this important job the way Reading Rockets has!"
~ Ellen K.
