Reading is comprised of the process of decoding the sound-symbol relationship and connecting them into words that translate into information to be interpreted.  Reading is an essential tool for academic success.  It is also a wonderful way of experiencing travel, meeting new people and learning about new things without leaving the comfort of your home.

As a speech language pathologist, I see many of my students with phonological disorders, auditory processing difficulties and language issue struggling with reading and writing.  While I am not a reading teacher, nor do I claim to be able to teach reading as a reading professional would, there is overlap in these areas.  Many youngsters receiving speech and language therapy may also require help in reading and writing skills, and many students receiving reading tutoring may find it helpful to seek speech and language remediation as well.

Children that exhibit sound errors in their speech caused by an articulation disorder due to apraxia of speech, phonological confusion, and oral motor difficulties can be very confused about the sound-symbol relationship.  Sight reading, or the memorization of the spelling of words by rote, will not be affected.  However, when sounding out words through a phonic system of reading, reading is often dramatically misinterpreted.  If you say the “w” sound for the “r” sound or the “f” for the “th” words will be confused because the sounds are confused. Sometimes these substituted sounds translate into other words with different meanings.  This will have ramifications for the fluency of the words that are read as well as interpretation of the material.  

Many times children with auditory processing difficulties also will confuse the sounds they are hearing and words that are similar to each other.  This also makes reading a difficult chore.  When children find reading difficult they are more reticent to work independently and sometimes they are unable to follow through with tasks because they were confused by the written direction.

The other aspect of reading is the interpretation of what was read.  Sometimes children will be able to read the written word fluently, but they didn’t retain or comprehend the information that was read.  We read language.  If we have difficulty understanding vocabulary, sequencing, main idea from the details we are going to have issues obtaining coherent information from what was read.  Children that confuse a “who” question from a “what” question will answer the question wrong on the worksheet because they didn’t understand what they were being asked. 

Reading and language are complex systems of learning.  Writing is also affected by both processes. These processes of reading, writing and language are uniquely human.  They are also vital skills in communication for enjoyment, business, and success.  They overlap and interconnect with each other.