Written by Becky McArthur, Speech-Language Pathologist (S-LP, Reg CASLPO)
If your child is having challenges learning to read, spell and write, you are not alone. In Ontario, approximately ¼ of kids aren’t on grade level for reading and ⅓ aren’t on grade level in writing (2022-2023 EQAO results). If you’re feeling unsure about where your child is at with their reading and writing, click here.
Just like any journey, there is no one path that works for all families when their child is having challenges with reading and writing. As a speech-language pathologist who has supported hundreds of families navigate literacy and learning challenges, here are 3 paths I see families on. I will share what you need to know about each of them so you can determine the best path for your family right now. These aren’t steps that you have to take in order so know that if your family is on one path right now but you feel a change is warranted, you are in the driver’s seat.
Note: when I refer to a child's literacy skills, I am sharing about their reading and writing.
Path 1: wait and see. This the most common path that parents are on when we meet them, especially in kindergarten to grade 2-3.
Path 2: find support. Parents often share with us that they feel confused about what kind of support to look for based on their child's challenges.
Path 3: get a learning assessment. Parents often share that they are unsure about whether their child should get a learning assessment, the reasons why it’s helpful, and when it might be the best time to get one.
Take a moment to survey which path you are on right now. Now, let’s dive into each of these a bit deeper.
Path 1: Wait and See
Although kids do need time to learn to read and write, it’s important to know that not all children have the same experience when we wait to see if their reading and writing will improve. There are three routes you may find yourself on:
Child gains grade-level reading and writing skills
Child improves in reading and writing but then seems to plateau (parents often share that they notice this in grades 3-4). Oftentimes, children have memorized words by how they look which gives them the skills to read simple words and books. However, once they are encountering new and more complex words, they don’t have the skills they need to read and spell skillfully.
Child continues to struggle with reading and writing. Oftentimes, this begins to impact their relationship with literacy and learning. Parents often share with us that their child will not pick up a pencil or book, feels sad or angry when doing literacy tasks, and/or have negative feelings about school.
Which of these three routes a child is on depends on many factors. Two important factors to consider are:
How they are being taught to read- not all approaches are created equal. Here are some things to look for that are red flags (and keep reading for more information)
Your child’s brain- some people have brain differences that make learning to read and write more challenging. One of these is dyslexia but there are many brain differences that can impact a child’s ability to learn to read and write. In this case, even if they are being taught to read in an effective way, they may require more practice than they are getting at school. If any of the child’s biological parents or siblings had/have challenges with learning, this is a hint that your child may be similar.
Path 2: Find Support
Based on the research we have about how people learn to read and write (also called “science of reading” or “SoR”), a structured literacy approach is what is needed to support a child to become a more skilled reader and writer. For some children, structured literacy instruction (being taught to read in the classroom with this approach) is enough for them to learn to read. For other children, structured literacy instruction is not enough and they require structured literacy intervention (the same approach but more repetition, practice, feedback and time). Structured literacy intervention is sometimes called reading remediation, tutoring, or therapy. If you are looking for support for your child who is having literacy challenges, you can seek out structured literacy intervention.
Many different professionals provide structured literacy intervention including speech-language pathologists, teachers, and tutors. It is my opinion that it is not as important who is providing structured literacy intervention; it is much more important that the person has strong knowledge and training with structured literacy intervention.
What should I ask when looking for someone to support my child’s literacy?
Here are some questions you can ask:
What approach do you use to teach children to read? [Ideally, this answer includes an explanation of a structured literacy approach.]
What does ‘structured literacy’ mean to you?
Do you support reading and writing at the same time? [Ideally, this answer is yes as reading and writing are reciprocal processes. There are some instances when this does not happen but I would recommend asking further questions about this.]
How do you support children who have difficulty understanding what they are reading (aka reading comprehension)? [Ideally, this answer involves an explanation of how language and literacy are connected.]
How long do you recommend services? [If your child is having challenges with literacy and someone tells you they only need a few sessions, weeks or even months, it's probably too good to be true. Structured literacy intervention changes a child's brain and that change takes time.]
Do I need to wait until my child has a diagnosis to get support?
No! We know from the research that there are signs that help us identify children who are at high risk for literacy challenges in kindergarten and beyond. If you notice any of these, it may be worth seeking support regardless of your child's age:
Difficulty learning letter names and sounds
Difficulty rhyming
Have speech sound errors when talking (or a history of speech therapy for this)
Was late to talk (around 18 months or older)
Family history of reading or learning challenges
My child is getting ____ for literacy support. Will this help them become a skilled reader and/or writer?
There are many things that can support a child who is having challenges with their reading and writing including assistive technology, apps like Lexia and recommendations like reading more to your child. Keep an eye out for a future blog on this topic (scroll to the bottom of this page and subscribe to get an email when we make this live)!
Path 3: Get a Learning Assessment
When a child is having difficulty with learning or participation at school, an assessment of their cognition and how they learn can be considered. This assessment is called a psycho-educational assessment (sometimes called “psych-ed”). These assessments are completed by psychologists and can lead to diagnoses such as specific learning disorders (SLDs), ADHD, autism (ASD) and mild intellectual disability (MID). They are conducted both publicly (by school boards, no out of pocket expense) and privately (families pay out of pocket for these, usually in $2,000-3,000 range as of 2024). In my experience working with families in Ontario, there are very few psycho-educational assessments offered each school year publicly but a long list of children who would benefit from such an assessment. Therefore, many children are not offered a psycho-educational assessment through school. This is the main reason why many families we have worked with seek a private psycho-educational assessment.
My child has a SLD/LD. What is that?
A specific learning disorder (an "SLD") is a medical diagnosis that can be three areas: reading, writing and math. It is possible for someone to be diagnosed with a specific learning disorder in one, two, or all three areas. An SLD in reading can be referred to as dyslexia, an SLD in writing as dysgraphia, and an SLD in math as dyscalculia. A learning disability (or "LD") is a non-medical term that is often used to refer to a child's challenges engaging in the learning experience. If your child has been given one of these labels, it may be helpful to ask more questions about how it came to be and who provided the label.
Who diagnoses dyslexia?
Currently in Ontario, speech-language pathologists are not able to provide medical labels such as dyslexia (also known as a specific learning disorder [SLD] in reading). A psychologist can diagnose dyslexia (aka SLD in reading) following a psycho-educational assessment.
Why do I have to wait until my child is 8 to get a dyslexia diagnosis?
It is quite common for children not to receive a dyslexia diagnosis until 8 years of age (grade 2-3) or older. In my communication with psychologists, this is related to development. First, there is so much cognitive development that happens in the early years of life so they are providing time for that development to happen. In addition, since learning to read requires kids to be directly taught, they want to give ample time for this instruction to happen. The challenge with this is that many children are being taught to read with ineffective approaches (not structured literacy instruction) and thus, this can lead to a "wait to fail" situation.
Although the results of a psycho-educational assessment are often very helpful, it is important for parents to understand that the assessment itself will not help a child learn to read or write. As explained in path 2, children require being taught to read and write using a structured literacy approach. We work with children who have both had psycho-educational assessments completed as well as those who have not.
Why does my child need a diagnosis?
The short answer is that they don’t need a diagnosis. Although a diagnosis is helpful in so many ways, a structured literacy approach is what is needed to support a child to become a more skilled reader and writer. For some children, structured literacy instruction (being taught to read in the classroom with this approach) is enough for them to learn to read. For other children, structured literacy instruction is not enough and they require structured literacy intervention (the same approach but more repetition/practice/feedback/time).
Some reasons a diagnosis may be helpful include:
The child better understanding their brain and how they learn
Parents better understanding their child’s brain and how they learn
Determining what supports may benefit their child (often found in the recommendations section of the psycho-educational assessment report)
Helping to advocate for those supports in a child’s learning environment like school
Main Takeaways
If you made it to the end, congratulations! This is a ton of information. Bookmark this blog so that you can easily come back to it in the future. Some major takeaways:
There is no one best path for all kids to learn to become skilled readers and writers, just the best one for your child and family at this time.
You can always change paths. If you are currently waiting but it feels uncomfortable or stressful, you have options and information to empower you onto a different path.
It is not too late or too soon to ask questions or look for support. Kids can become more skilled and confident readers and writers from kindergarten all the way into high school!
If your family lives in Ontario, we would love to support your family on path 2 with structured literacy intervention. When you work with our team, we can also help your family determine whether path 3 (a learning assessment) is something you may want to consider for your child. Our team are speech-language pathologists who provide structured literacy intervention. We support so many kids each week through:
Virtual services- no matter where you live in Ontario!
In-person services- Kitchener, Waterloo, Brantford, Norfolk County
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