When attention gets blamed, and language gets missed I need to state this as clearly as possible. We need to stop using ADHD as the explanation for students” school struggles. When a child cannot understand language, explain ideas, or navigate social expectations, that is not attention. That is language. And confusing the two costs kids […]
What looks like a simple sound error is often a deeper language weakness that quietly undermines reading and writing. I keep seeing the same referrals over and over. “The student doesn’t say his R.”“She drops sounds.”“His speech is sloppy.” On paper, this gets labeled as articulation. A simple speech issue. A few drills, practice the
When a child struggles with planning, organization, or self-regulation, the label “executive function” is often applied, and executive function coaching or ADHD coaching is presented as the solution. These services are routinely marketed as evidence-based or grounded in neuroscience, despite limited attention to what is actually impaired. The Problem: Language is the Engine Executive functions
Why Executive Function Coaching Fails So Many Children Read More »
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 »
Many parents of children with language disorders feel relief when their child finally starts sounding out words. Frequently, after years of struggle, effective phonics instruction begins to click. The child can decode. The words come out correctly. On the surface, this looks like reading success. For children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) or other language-based
Why Reading the Words Still Isn’t Reading Read More »
Ponderings on Evidence, Expertise, and the Future of Clinical Judgment in Speech Language Pathology Recently, I attended a webinar that discussed the best use of artificial intelligence with speech-language pathologists. It was marketed as a way to improve workload management and caseload efficiency. What I largely witnessed instead was a familiar problem, old habits becoming
When AI Meets the ‘Expert’ SLP: The Blind Leading the Bot Read More »
Every year I meet young adults who were diagnosed with language/ learning disorders (or who were never properly identified but clearly struggled their entire school careers). Many of them did what they thought they were supposed to do: they went to college. Their parents, desperate to give them a shot at success, took out loans
As a speech-language pathologist (SLP) specializing in language and literacy assessment, I’ve reviewed hundreds of educational, psychoeducational, and neuropsychological evaluations for students with complex learning needs. I repeatedly see students who are clearly struggling in the classroom, despite strong support at home, undergoing assessments that fail to identify their needs accurately. As a result, they
When it comes to reading intervention, few programs are as widely known, or as hotly debated, as the Orton-Gillingham (OG) approach. Marketed as a lifeline for children with dyslexia and word-level reading disabilities (WLRD), OG is often touted as the gold standard. But is it? A closer look at the evidence tells a far more
Speech-language pathologists claim to be a science-driven profession that follows the evidence. We cite evidence-based practice in our values, policies, and professional rhetoric. But in day-to-day reality, clinical decisions are often shaped less by research and more by revenue. The uncomfortable truth? Profit, not evidence, increasingly dictates what gets promoted, adopted, and normalized in our