The Role of SLPs in Assessment and Management of Dyslexia

This 56 slide presentation discusses dyslexia as a language-based literacy disorder and explains the role of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the assessment and management of dyslexia.  It offers explanations regarding which areas of language and literacy need to be tested for assessment purposes, as well as which speech-language testing is most sensitive to the detection of language and literacy difficulties in children with dyslexia. Finally, it describes both SLP therapy-specific as well as collaborative literacy-based management options available to SLPs in the area of dyslexia management.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of this presentation, learners will be able to

1. Discuss the connection between language and literacy
2. Identify risk factors associated with language and literacy disorders
3. Describe both the definition and the controversy surrounding the term “dyslexia”
4. Explain which assessment tasks sensitive to the detection of literacy-based deficits
5. Clarify the role of SLPs in the management of literacy disorders in both therapy and classroom specific settings

Slide Content:

• It Begins with Language Deficits
• What Happens When Language Learning is Impaired?
• Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
• Hierarchy of Oral Language Development
• Oral Language Competence
• Narrative Abilities and Reading Development
• Types of Oral Language Deficits Affecting Literacy Abilities
• Academic Language Areas Strongly Associated with Literacy
• Components of Skilled Reading
• Dyslexia as a Language-Based Disorder
• Risk Factors for Language and Literacy Disorders
• Idiopathic Causation
• Warning Signs of Literacy Deficits in Young Children
• Dyslexia Controversy (4 slides)
• Language Disorder or Learning Disability? (Sun & Wallach, 2014)
• SLPs Role in dyslexia (3 slides)
• Assessment Tasks and What They Measure (3 slides)
• Are Vocabulary Tests Useful for School-Aged Children
• Implications for Assessment
• Limitations of Comprehensive Educational Assessments
• Common Assessment Pitfalls
• Assessment selection and the role of Discriminant Accuracy
• On the inclusion of students with disabilities in the normative samples
• Comprehensive Language Test Selection
• Comprehensive Assessment: Language and Literacy- TILLS (3 slides)
• What do Cut Scores Mean?
• Tests of Phonemic Awareness and Single Word Reading
• Test of Reading Fluency: GORT-5
• Reading Program Recommendations Without Targeted Assessments
• Goal Target Selection
• Research-Based vs. Evidence-Based
• Is Multisensory Reading Instruction EBP?
• Evidence-Based Multisensory Instruction
  • Fundations® Efficacy
  • Wilson Reading System® Efficacy
• Instruction Supplementation
• Role of SLPs in Therapy Settings
• Phonemic Awareness Intervention
• Morphology Intervention
• Teacher Collaboration Strategies
• Creating Effective Intervention Materials
• Conclusion
• Helpful Related Smart Speech Therapy Materials