By adolescence, language therapy changes. A younger child can make progress because adults structure the session, prompt practice, and carry many of the supports into daily life. A 16-year-old can sit through excellent therapy every week and change very little if they see no problem, do not own the goals, or have no intention of […]
Why Language Therapy Works for Some Teens and Fails for Others Read More »
We spend enormous amounts of time measuring school success. Grades. Test scores. GPA. Reading level. Math performance. College admission. All of those things matter. But life after school is not graded on a curve. Academic success does not automatically translate into success in adult life. Adults have to work with other people. They have to
Smart Isn’t Enough: Why Social Communication Matters in Adult Life Read More »
Over the past several years, second-opinion consultations and reassessments have repeatedly put reports with Clinical Assessment of Pragmatics (CAPs) results on my desk that simply did not make clinical sense. I am not talking about one borderline score or a child who happened to perform better than expected on one task. I am talking about
Most parents hear the word pragmatics and think it means manners, politeness, or social skills. That is not what it actually is. Pragmatics is how language is used to think, organize ideas, and understand what matters. Without it, language breaks down, even when a child knows vocabulary, speaks in sentences, or can read words on
Pragmatics: The Glue That Holds Language Together Read More »
In the world of educational assessments, there’s a long-standing reverence for the IQ score (Ritchie, 2015). Intelligence has often been seen as the gold standard for predicting academic success (Ren et al., 2015). However, in the case of twice-exceptional (2e) children—those with high IQs but significant learning disabilities—this traditional view can be misleading, especially when
Gifted but Overlooked: Rethinking Evaluation for 2e Students Read More »
As summer approaches, many families begin to wind down from the academic year, looking forward to a break from routines, early mornings, and school responsibilities. While rest and unstructured time are important for children, pausing language and literacy therapy over the summer can have serious consequences, especially for students with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Autism,
In my years of clinical practice, I’ve witnessed firsthand the powerful transformations that can take place in students receiving high-quality, evidence-based therapy for social pragmatic deficits. I’ve also seen something else: the frustration, sometimes shared by parents, educators, and even therapists, when those gains aren’t as obvious or easy to measure as progress in other
Why Social Pragmatic Progress Is Real—But Hard to See Read More »
After my last post, a number of parents and SLPs have contacted me to find out what typical therapy sessions with young adults look like on a weekly basis. They were especially curious about how therapy can support young adults who struggle with managing emotions, staying organized, and navigating social situations. Many of these young
One Step at a Time: Therapy for Young Adults that Works Read More »
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
Dear Parents: Ask the Right Questions to Get the Right Services Read More »
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
Why CBT Falls Short Without Language and Pragmatic Therapy Read More »