Learning Disabilities

Real Reading Requires Real Instruction: Why Accommodations Aren’t Enough

Leave a Comment / Academic Success, Dyslexia and Reading Disorders, Evidence-Based Intervention, Learning Disabilities, Life Outcomes, Reading Comprehension, Speech Pathology / /

Timothy Shanahan’s recent blog post, Accommodating Reading Comprehension with Listening—Good Idea?, raises a critical concern: when schools and educators rely on listening comprehension or text-to-speech (TTS) as a substitute for direct reading instruction, they fail to address the root causes of students’ reading difficulties. While these accommodations may provide temporary access to content, they do […]

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Hard Truths, Stronger Futures: Why Facing Reality Helps Your Child Succeed

Leave a Comment / Academic Success, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Evidence-Based Intervention, Learning Disabilities, Life Outcomes, Parents, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology / /

For many parents, hearing that their child is more impaired than they previously believed can be devastating. This is especially true when the children have been attending specialized private schools that failed to adequately identify and address their language and literacy deficits. The revelation often comes after an outside comprehensive language and literacy testing—an experience

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Beyond the Breakthrough: Why Language and Literacy Therapy Must Continue After Initial Success

Leave a Comment / Academic Success, Contextualized Language Intervention, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Evidence-Based Intervention, Learning Disabilities, Life Outcomes, Speech Pathology / /

Early progress in therapy can be misleading, as skills need reinforcement to prevent regression and keep up with academic demands. Research shows that discontinuing support too soon can lead to future struggles (Catts et al., 2012; Justice et al., 2009). Sustained intervention ensures long-term success, helping students retain and apply their skills as academic challenges increase (Stanovich, 1986). Therapy isn’t just a fix—it’s an investment in a child’s future.

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Why Accuracy Matters: The Hidden Risks of Flawed Language and Literacy Tests

Leave a Comment / Clinical Assessment, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Discriminant Accuracy, Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs), Learning Disabilities, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology, Standardized Tests / /

When it comes to diagnosing students with developmental language disorders (DLD) and literacy deficits, the choice of assessment tools is critical. Many commonly used language tests have serious psychometric flaws that undermine their validity, leading to misidentifications that can have lasting educational and social consequences. This post examines the psychometric properties of several widely used

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School SLPs vs. Private SLPs: Do They Really Target Different Oral Language Goals?

Leave a Comment / Contextualized Language Intervention, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Evidence-Based Intervention, Learning Disabilities, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology / /

Recently I was in an IEP meeting for an elementary-aged student. During the meeting, I raised concerns regarding several non-evidenced-based oral language goals for the student and suggested modifying them to meet the student’s extensive academic needs better. To my surprise several IEP team members pushed back, emphasizing the supposed differences between school and private

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Dear Parents: Ask the Right Questions to Get the Right Services

Leave a Comment / Dyslexia and Reading Disorders, Evidence-Based Intervention, Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs), Learning Disabilities, Reading Programs, Social Pragmatic Deficits, Speech Pathology / /

As a parent, ensuring your child receives the right interventions for their reading or writing deficits is crucial. However, many narrowly focused reading and spelling programs emphasize isolated aspects of reading and writing. While these approaches can limitedly help with specific skills, they often fail to address the broader, critical contributions of oral language and

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Limitations of the CELF-5 in Detecting Subtle Language and Literacy Needs

Leave a Comment / Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Discriminant Accuracy, Dyslexia and Reading Disorders, Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs), Learning Disabilities, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology, Standardized Tests / /

The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fifth Edition (CELF-5) is one of the most widely used tools for assessing language abilities in children. However, despite its popularity, significant limitations exist in its ability to accurately diagnose Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and identify subtle language and literacy needs. These limitations are particularly evident in its construct

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Designing Contextualized Language and Literacy Interventions: Focus on Reading and Writing

Leave a Comment / Contextualized Language Intervention, Dyslexia and Reading Disorders, Evidence-Based Intervention, Learning Disabilities, Speech Pathology / /

Designing effective therapy sessions for students with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) requires leveraging evidence-based, contextualized approaches (Rinaldi et al, 2021). By focusing on expository and fictional grade-level texts, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can help students develop the skills needed to succeed academically and communicate effectively (Ward-Lonergan & Duthie, 2016). This post provides a practical framework for

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Why CBT Falls Short Without Language and Pragmatic Therapy

Leave a Comment / Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Evidence-Based Intervention, Learning Disabilities, Psychotherapy, Social Pragmatic Deficits, Speech Pathology / /

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has long been a well-researched gold standard in psychotherapy for addressing emotional regulation, anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. However, its effectiveness relies heavily on the individual’s ability to comprehend and engage with its cognitive and verbal demands. For individuals with language impairments and pragmatic deficits, CBT alone will fall

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Why Contextualized Language Interventions Are Essential for Meaningful Therapy Gains

Leave a Comment / Contextualized Language Intervention, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Evidence-Based Intervention, Learning Disabilities, Speech Pathology / /

Understanding the Problem: Decontextualized Therapy Limitations Outdated traditional therapy methods often involve repetitive tasks such as following 2-3 step directions, answering comprehension questions without visual support, or listing descriptors and categories. While these activities may show short-term progress in the therapy room on the day they are done, they fail to promote lasting, functional gains

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