Reading, Auditory, & Listening Skills

At Chandler Speech and Language Therapy, we use specialized treatment programs to address disorders such as central auditory processing and reading difficulties. Therapy may include but is not limited to:

Auditory Processing

Auditory Processing  is the ability to process what other people are saying. Children who have Auditory Processing Disorder or Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) have normal hearing but struggle to process and make meaning of sounds, especially in the presence of background noise. They may exhibit: difficulty following spoken directions (especially those involving 2-3 steps), asking speakers to repeat themselves (“huh?” “what?”), easily distracted (especially by background noise), difficulty with reading, spelling, and oral math tasks, poor musical ability, difficulty following conversations, difficulty learning songs or nursery rhymes, and trouble remembering details of what was read or heard.

Pre-literacy Skills

Phonics is the relationship between letters in written language and sounds in spoken language. It is critical that children learn the “rules” of letters and letter patterns. A child who struggles with phonics experiences difficulty naming letters, knowing the “sounds” of letters, and “sounding” out words. Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear sounds in the words of spoken language. It involves rhyming, blending, segmenting, and manipulating sounds in words. A child who has deficits in this area may display: difficulty identifying and producing rhyming words, difficulty identifying beginning sounds of words, difficulty manipulating sounds (say “cup” now say “cup” without saying “c”)

Phonological awareness

Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear sounds in the words of spoken language.  It involves rhyming, blending, segmenting, and manipulating sounds in words. A child who has deficits in this area may display: difficulty identifying and producing rhyming words,  difficulty identifying beginning sounds of words, difficulty manipulating sounds (say “cup” now say “cup” without saying “c”)

Listening, Concentration, Attention and Memory

Listening and attention skills are critical to an individual’s ability to learn and retain information. A child needs good listening and attention skills in order to retain what was heard, evaluate it, and then comprise an appropriate and accurate response. Children develop attention skills at different levels but generally infants up to 12 months will demonstrate fleeting attention and high-distractibility. Between 2-3 years of age a child will begin to focus more readily but will still require prompting to do so and redirection to maintain focus. As children develop into school years, listening and attention skills may manifest in poor grades.

Literacy

Literacy is the ability to read and write and it requires a series of skills including:

Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension is the ability to read text, process it, and understand its meaning. Early readers should be able to retell and answer simple wh-questions about a story. As the child advances, they are expected to understand more complex and abstract concepts including prediction, inferring meaning, drawing conclusions, comparing/contrasting, etc.

Literacy Skills

Phonics is the relationship between letters in written language and sounds in spoken language. It is critical that children learn the “rules” of letters and letter patterns. A child who struggles with phonics experiences difficulty naming letters, knowing the “sounds” of letters, and “sounding” out words. Sight Word Recognition is the ability to quickly read the most frequently used and repeated words in the English language. A child who struggles with efficient sight word recognition will take longer periods of time to read words, attempt to “sound out” sight words, and substitute sight words similar in appearance (“want” instead of “went”). Reading Fluency is the ability to read quickly and fluently. As the volume and complexity of reading material increases as the child grows older, it is crucial that fluency skills develop appropriately. A child who has difficulty with reading fluency will display: difficulty “sounding out” new words, guessing at new words, substituting words similar in appearance,

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability characterized by deficits in phonological processing, reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and sometimes arithmetic.

These deficits are often unexpected in relation to age and other cognitive and academic abilities. Dyslexia is not the result of lack of motivation, sensory impairment, or inadequate instructional or environmental opportunities. Dyslexia is a lifelong condition, however, children with dyslexia frequently respond well to early, appropriate, and intensive intervention. Early signs of dyslexia may include:

Preschool Years

Reading Comprehension is the ability to read text, process it, and understand its meaning. Early readers should be able to retell and answer simple wh-questions about a story. As the child advances, they are expected to understand more complex and abstract concepts including prediction, inferring meaning, drawing conclusions, comparing/contrasting, etc.

Kindergarten and First Grade

Failing to understand that words come apart (“football” can be pulled apart into “foot” and “ball” and later “mat” can be pulled apart into “m” “a” “t”), difficulty learning to associate letters with sounds, reading errors that do not make sense (the word “big” is read as “goat”), difficulty sounding out simple words, and resistance to reading (running and hiding when it is reading time, complaining that reading is “hard”).

Second Grade and On

Mispronouncing long, unfamiliar, or complicated words, speech that is not fluent (pausing or hesitating, lots of “ums”), use of imprecise language (vague references “stuff” “thing”), difficulty remembering dates, names, telephone numbers, etc, very slow progress in acquiring reading skills, difficulty reading new words, inability to read small “function” words (that, an, in, etc.), significant fear of reading aloud, oral reading that is characterized by frequent errors and is choppy and labored, difficulty finishing tests in time, disastrous spelling, messy handwriting, avoidance of reading, and lower self esteem.

Inspiring Confident Readers and Communicators

Language and Literacy go hand in hand. Whether your child is a struggling reader or has been diagnosed with dyslexia, our experts will build upon your child’s strengths to address academic challenges. At EBS Children’s Institute, our speech-language pathologists have the expertise to help your child develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills for improved literacy at all grade levels. With our deep knowledge and understanding of how language and literacy are intertwined, we help your child prepare for and do well in school by building vocabulary and improved grammar, as well as developing stronger reading fluency, comprehension and written expression.