When children struggle with spelling or written expression, it can impact every part of their schooling life. Writing tasks become stressful, confidence drops, and parents are often unsure how they can best help. The good news is that Speech Pathologists like myself are highly trained in supporting literacy skills, including spelling and written expression.
In this article, I’ll explain the building blocks of spelling, how a speech therapist can help with spelling difficulties, and the strategies we use to boost a child’s written expression.
The Building Blocks of Spelling
1. Letter-Sound Correspondences
To spell a word, children need to know which letters represent which sounds. Speech therapy for spelling often begins by explicitly teaching letter-sound correspondences for consonants, vowels, and digraphs (like sh, ch, th, ee, oy), giving children the tools to map sounds onto the correct letters.
2. Segmenting Strategies
Spelling isn’t just about memory; it’s also about breaking words down. Segmenting is the strategy children use to “stretch out” a word into its individual sounds, making it easier to record each part correctly. Sometimes this strategy doesn’t come naturally, and it needs to be explicitly taught, as well as how to apply it to unknown words, no matter how short or long they are.
3. Spelling Rules
Rules like doubling consonants (digging, running) or knowing when to end a word with a ‘k’ or ‘ck’ (cake vs duck) often trip students up. A Speech Pathologist teaches these rules systematically so children can apply them consistently.
4. Morphographs (Meaning Units of Words)
As words get longer, recognising morphemes (small units of meaning like play, -ed, un-) helps students spell correctly. For example, knowing that unhappy = un + happy provides both spelling and meaning clues. Understanding how words are built gives children powerful strategies for spelling new words. A Speech Pathologist can teach how prefixes (pre-, dis-) and suffixes (-ful, -less) attach to base words to expand vocabulary and spelling accuracy.
5. Syllables and the Schwa Sound
Many tricky spellings come from unstressed syllables and the “schwa” sound (the weak uh sound in words like banana). Speech Pathologists help children recognise syllable patterns and apply strategies to spell them correctly.
6. Applying Skills at Text Level
Finally, spelling needs to transfer from single words to full texts. A Speech Pathologist supports children to carry over their skills into paragraphs, stories, and school assignments.
Supporting Written Expression
Once spelling becomes more automatic, children may still need help with putting their ideas into well-structured writing. Speech Pathologists can help with written expression difficulties by focusing on:
- Understanding different text types – learning the purpose, structure, and language features of persuasive, imaginative, and informative writing.
- Paragraph structure – organising ideas into clear, connected paragraphs with topic sentences and supporting details.
- Editing Skills – learning re-reading, checking for grammar, punctuation, and spelling, and refining ideas to strengthen writing.
Why Early Support Helps
Difficulties with spelling and written expression don’t just affect English class, they impact every subject. With the right strategies, children can move from avoiding writing tasks to expressing their ideas clearly and confidently.
At my Pennant Hills clinic as well as by visiting schools around our local communities, I provide tailored literacy support to help children strengthen their spelling, improve their writing, and gain confidence at school.
If your child is struggling with spelling or written expression, contact me to learn how speech therapy can help!