Teaching Your Child to Read: A Speech Therapist’s Guide

While some may think of speech therapy as a solution only for helping improve “speech”, speech-language pathologists are actually trained to provide treatment for a wide variety of different speech, language, literacy and swallowing disorders.

At our pediatric speech therapy clinic, we have had the privilege of working with many children who struggle with reading.

Literacy skills are strongly tied to oral language abilities.

That is, children with speech or language delays or disorders are more likely to have difficulty learning to read.

In this article, we’ll share valuable insights and strategies to help you teach your child to read effectively.

What Are The Skills Involved In Reading?

Before diving into the specific strategies, it’s crucial to understand the foundations of skilled reading.

Reading involves two primary components: word recognition and language comprehension.

Word recognition is made up of three skills:

• phonological awareness (identifying and manipulating sounds in syllables and words)
• decoding (alphabetic principle, letter-sound correspondence) and,
• sight recognition (reading words without effort, recognizing words with irregular spellings)

Language comprehension involves five skills:

• background knowledge (facts, concepts)
• vocabulary (to make sense of what is being read)
• language structure (the arrangement of words in sentences
• the meanings of prefixes, suffixes and words)
• verbal reasoning (inferencing, figurative language) and,
• literacy knowledge (print concepts and different types of literature)

As adults, we do all of these without thinking about them.

However, they are all separate skills children need to build when learning to read.

Some ways to help your child develop these skills include:

Phonemic Awareness

Start by helping your child develop phonemic awareness.

This means recognizing and manipulating the individual sounds (phonemes) in words.

You can practice this skill by playing rhyming games or having your child identify the beginning, middle, and ending sounds in words.

Vocabulary

Encourage a rich vocabulary.

Reading comprehension is closely tied to the words a child understands.

Engage your child in conversation, read to them regularly, and introduce new words in a fun and interactive way.

Fluency

Fluency is the ability to read smoothly and with expression.

Help your child build fluency by reading aloud together.

Model good reading by using varied tones and expression.

RELATED: Speech Therapy Clinic for Fluency Disorders

Comprehension

Reading isn’t just about saying words; it’s about understanding the text.

Ask questions about what you’ve read together and discuss the story.

This will help your child develop essential comprehension skills.

Creating A Good Reading Environment

Most people who enjoy reading will create an environment for themselves that’s conducive to reading.

Children are no different.

It’s important to recognize how the environment in which your child reads can foster development of their reading skills.

Below are some tips on how to create an atmosphere at home that helps encourage your child to read.

Lead By Example

Children often mimic the behavior of adults.

If they see you reading, they’re more likely to pick up a book themselves.

Make reading a visible and enjoyable part of your daily routine.

Access to Books

Fill your home with a variety of books appropriate to your child’s age.

Visit libraries, bookstores, and even yard sales to fill out your shelves.

Having a wide selection of reading material at your child’s disposal will encourage them to explore different topics and genres.

Cozy Reading Nook

Create a comfortable and inviting space for reading.

It could be a special corner of the room with a comfortable chair or a pile of cushions and blankets.

This space should be associated with relaxation and the joy of reading.

Having your child participate in creating this space can help them feel like it’s a space designed for them.

Treat Reading Like A Ritual

Establish a daily reading ritual, a part of the day just like any other routine.

It could be reading a bedtime story, a morning reading session, or any other time that suits your family’s schedule.

Consistency is key.

Building Phonics Skills

Phonics refers to the relationship between the letters on the page, and the sounds they correspond to.

You see the letter ‘C’, for example, and you know it can be pronounced like “sah” or “kah”.

Phonics is a big part of learning how to read, and it’s an important part of a pediatric speech-language pathologist’s toolkit.

Here’s how you can incorporate these techniques at home:

Starting Small

Start with simple letter-sound correspondences. For example, teach the sound of the letter ‘a’ and then show your child words that contain that sound.

Gradually introduce more complex phonics rules as your child progresses.

Reading Aloud With Your Child

Reading aloud to your child is one of the most effective ways to improve their reading skills.

Beginning this from infancy can help them understand how books work, how stories work, and how to start creating their own stories.

As they grow, reading to your child can help them begin to babble – creating nonsense sounds that resemble words.

This is an important step toward their learning to speak using actual words.

And of course, when you reach the appropriate age, it will help them learn to read.

Here’s how you can make the most of this practice:

Choose Engaging Books

Select books that are age appropriate and of interest to your child.

Engaging stories with colorful illustrations will capture their attention.

Let them take part in choosing what books they’d like you to read to them.

Encourage Your Child To Participate

Engaging your child in the process of reading to them, at an age appropriate level, can help them build their literacy skills.

You can get your child to point to pictures in the book, and match it with a word in the text.

Take turns reading, as they build their literacy skills, and help them sound out words they don’t recognize.

This involvement helps with engagement and comprehension.

Discuss the Story

After reading, discuss the story with your child.

Ask questions about the plot, characters, and their favorite parts.

This will enhance their understanding and critical thinking skills.

Strategies To Help Build Reading Skills

There is a variety of different strategies you can use to help your child build their literacy skills.

You yourself may have used them when you were learning to read.

Let’s take a look at some strategies you can implement at home:

Chunking

Instead of sounding out each letter individually, teach your child to read in chunks or groups of letters.

For example, instead of sounding out “c-a-t,” they can learn to recognize the word as a whole.

Use Visual Cues

Point to words as you read to your child.

This will help your child connect spoken words with the written text.

Additionally, encourage them to use the pictures in the book to predict what might happen next.

Repetition

Repetition is a key element in learning to read.

Encourage your child to read their favorite books over and over.

This not only builds confidence but also reinforces word recognition.

It also helps them to start building an understanding of how stories work.

Multisensory Approach

Using magnetic letters, sandpaper letters, or other tactile materials can help your child grasp the concept of letters and sounds.

What To Do If Your Child Is Falling Behind?

Attached, please review our “literacy skills checklist”, which you can use to track your child’s early literacy skills.

Most children will be able to read fairly independently by around grade two or three.

If your child is not progressing in their early literacy or reading skills, you may consider bringing them to see a speech-language pathologist for an evaluation.

Book Your Appointment With Aurora Speech Clinic Today

Teaching your child to read is a rewarding journey that requires patience and dedication.

By creating a reading-friendly environment, reading aloud with your child routinely, and implementing various strategies, you can provide your child with the tools they need to become confident and proficient readers.

Remember that every child learns at their own pace, so be patient and supportive throughout the process.

Reading is a skill that will benefit your child for a lifetime, opening doors to knowledge, imagination, and endless possibilities.

If your child is struggling to learn to read, however, we can help.

At Aurora Speech Clinic, our pediatric speech-language pathologists have a wide range of areas of clinical focus, including helping children build literacy skills.

Book your appointment with Aurora Speech Clinic today.