Integrated Speech/Language and Dyslexia Therapy
What Makes Our Approach Unique
We integrate speech and language therapy with an evidence-based dyslexia approach to simultaneously improve the following areas:
Speech Articulation: Correcting pronunciation errors (e.g., "wabbit" for "rabbit," "tat" for "cat").
Listening Comprehension: Enhancing skills in following multi-step directions, sequencing, short-term working memory, understanding vocabulary, making inferences, and predicting outcomes.
Oral Expression: Developing correct sentence structure, appropriate sentence length, and vocabulary usage.
Reading Comprehension: Improving abilities in inferencing, predicting, understanding details, figurative language, and vocabulary.
Written Expression: Correcting use of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, handwriting, sentence structure in written communication, and aligning written language style with oral language skills.
Additional areas of improvement with our integrated approach include:
Oral reading fluency
Decoding
Word recall and retrieval
Sequencing skills
Spelling
Sound processing
Phonological language
Executive function
Memory
Attention skills
HOW DO
WE
DO IT?
Our integrated and evidence-based approach addresses listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Here's how:
Sequential Skill Development:
We start from the sound level and move sequentially through the segmentation level, whole-word level for reading, writing, speaking and listening, and then progress to the application of these skills in sentence/story reading comprehension, written expression, and oral expression.
Throughout this process, we also address speech sound delays, and we focus on the five areas of language within each lesson: phonology, morphology, semantics, pragmatics, and syntax.
The evidenced-based dyslexia program that we utilize is the Wilson Language Program which is founded on the five areas of oral language.
We focus on skills contributing to functionality and independence in all areas of life – home, school, and in the community.
This therapy bridges the gap between our clients and their peers in all aspects of communication, achieving amazing results.
A Specialized SLP at True Potential Education
vs.
A General Practice SLP
At TPE, our Specialized Speech-Language Pathologists are board certified professionals. They are trained by the TPE owner, Dawn Philbin, who is a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist with over 34 years of experience and is a certified Wilson Language Therapist. She has practiced using this integrated approach for most of her career to maximize progress for her clients.
Our Speech-Language Pathologists receive substantial training required beyond the typical Master's degree of a generalist speech-language pathologist. It takes at least two years for the Speech-Language Pathologists to become specialized in the integrated methodology.
Speech-Language Pathologists in our clinic understand that Language-based Dyslexia IS a language disorder. Reading and writing struggles ARE related to underlying language and possible speech issues. At TPE, our speech-language pathologists are trained to collaborate on goals and carry-over to obtain optimum success in all areas of speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
A generalist speech-language pathologist obtains a Master’s degree focused on listening and speaking, with only a basic emphasis on reading comprehension, and even less on written communication. Therapy addresses skills and concepts in isolation without integration. Many generalist speech-language pathologists will proclaim, “I know nothing about how to treat a child with dyslexia.”