The Role of the School-Based SLP in Literacy

            According to the 2002 Statement of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) entitled “Knowledge and Skills Needed by Speech-Language Pathologists With Respect to Reading and Writing in Children and Adolescents”, SLPs have multiple roles and responsibilities in the area of literacy:

1. Prevention.  This role addresses the goal to prevent reading and writing language problems by fostering language acquisition and emergent literacy.
2. Identification. This role addresses the goal of identifying children and adolescents with (or at risk for) reading and writing problems so that they may receive appropriate attention.
3. Assessment. This role addresses the goal of assessing reading and writing abilities, and relating them to spoken communication, academic achievement, and other areas.
4. Intervention. This role addresses the goal to provide effective intervention for problems involving reading and writing and documenting the outcomes.
5. Other roles. Other roles include providing assistance to general education teachers, families, and students; advocating for effective literacy practices; and advancing the knowledge base.

SLPs have a specialized knowledge base that enables them to be instrumental in carrying out the above roles in the area of language and literacy.  This knowledge base includes these categories:

1. The nature of literacy, including spoken-written language relationships, and reading and writing as acts of communication and tools of learning.
2. Normal development of reading and writing in the context of the general education curriculum.
3. Disorders of language and literacy and their relationships to each other and to other  communication disorders.
4. Clinical tools and methods for targeting reciprocal spoken and written language growth.
5. Collaboration, leadership, and research principles for working with others, serving as advocates, and advancing knowledge about evidence-based practices.

To read the complete ASHA document, an ASHA member can consult Volume III of the Online Desk Reference at http://www.asha.org/members/deskref-journals/deskref/default.