October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, making it the perfect time to talk about how speech pathologists can support children who struggle with reading and comprehension.
Many parents are surprised to learn that speech pathologists don’t just help with speech sounds or stuttering; they also provide targeted therapy for reading difficulties, spelling challenges, and dyslexia. Because speech pathologists are experts in language, they are uniquely placed to help children build the foundations of literacy and succeed at school.
If your child is finding reading stressful or frustrating, the right support can make a big difference.
How Speech Pathologists Support Reading Skills
During my sessions, reading intervention is broken down into step-by-step skills that make the process easier and more manageable for children.
1. Letter-Sound Correspondences
Children with dyslexia often have difficulty matching letters to sounds. Speech pathologists teach consonants, vowels, and consonant and vowel digraphs (sh, th, ch, ee, oy) explicitly, helping children develop strong decoding skills.
2. Blending Sounds into Words
Knowing sounds is one thing, but putting them together is another. Speech pathologists teach the blending strategy so that children can turn “c-a-t” into cat smoothly and confidently (as well as longer and more complex words!).
3. Breaking Down Words into Morphographs
Big words don’t have to be scary. Speech pathologists teach children to break words into smaller parts, or morphographs (un + happy, play + ing), making longer words far less intimidating. By understanding morphology, children can decode new vocabulary and improve both reading and spelling.
4. Syllables and the Schwa Sound
Speech pathologists also help children hear and divide words into syllables and tackle the tricky schwa sound (the “uh” in sofa or banana), which often causes confusion.
5. From Words to Texts
Finally, children learn to apply these skills to sentences, paragraphs, and full texts. This builds reading fluency and confidence for the classroom and beyond.
Speech Pathologists Support Reading Comprehension
Decoding words is only the first step. Many children with dyslexia or reading difficulties also need support with comprehension. A speech pathologist can help children with:
- Inferencing – using context clues to “read between the lines.”
- Identifying the Main Idea – understanding the core message of a passage.
- Summarising and Paraphrasing – retelling information in their own words.
- Expanding Vocabulary – learning the meaning of new words in context.
- Answering Questions – from simple factual questions to more complex “why” and “how” ones.
Why Dyslexia Awareness Month Matters
Dyslexia is one of the most common learning differences, but it is often misunderstood. With structured, evidence-based reading support such as speech therapy, children can become more competent and confident readers.
This Dyslexia Awareness Month, I encourage families to learn more about the signs of reading difficulties and to seek support early.
Could Your Child Benefit from Speech Pathology Support?
If your child struggles with sounding out words, reading fluently, or understanding what they’ve read, a speech pathologist can help.
I offer tailored reading and literacy assessment and therapy support in my Pennant Hills clinic as well as at the schools I visit throughout the local area, designed to give children the strategies they need to thrive.