Syntactic use is considered an “academic” skill that’s useful for reading comprehension and writing, but the impact of sentence comprehension goes way beyond school. Our ability to comprehend messages at the word and sentence level in oral and written language has a huge impact on our ability to function. So when clinicians ask me, “Should…
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EP 187: Dynamic Assessment: Evaluations are a process, not a test (with Destiny Johnson)
I regularly hear from therapists who ask me questions about how to evaluate language in a way that gives detailed, meaningful, and accurate information. Most people know standardized tests only show a small fraction of what we need to know when it comes to language and cognition, yet many clinicians still don’t consistently utilize a…
EP 186: Supporting multilingual students and taking part in state and national advocacy work (with Puja Goel and Prabhu Eswaran)
Language evaluations are challenging enough; but when we’re evaluating multilingual and bilingual students, they become even more complex. Language in state education codes may not take the nuance of multilingual evaluations into account; which means they may unintentionally encourage protocols that don’t enable clinicians to conduct quality evaluations and service plans. When clinicians ask me…
EP 185: Is it a behavior issue or a language and literacy issue?
In this interview, I revisit conversations surrounding the school-to-confinement pipeline, giving students’ the language skills to understand their rights, the link between language, literacy and “behavior problems”, and how to get started with policy work. I share my commentary on the following: ✅ Why students who’ve received repeated detentions or suspensions should be screened or…
EP 184: Defining educational technology and considering homework equity issues
In this interview, I revisit conversations surrounding the use of the term “dyslexia” in the schools, the use of technology, and equitable access to books. I share my commentary on the following: ✅Saying “dyslexia” in the schools: Both the positive and negative consequences ✅Educational technology definitions: What “counts” as technology? What’s the difference between instructional…
EP 183: Morphology hierarchies, etymology, and reframing the “joy” of reading.
How much do we need to know about morphology and etymology to effectively help students? Is etymology an essential component to spelling and reading instruction? Will phonics instruction bore students? Is exposure to interesting books enough to foster a love of reading for people who don’t have solid word decoding skills? I revisit my conversations…
EP 182: Leveraging read-alouds to build language and getting started with advocacy work (with Dr. Molly Ness)
Many skeptics of the science of reading are concerned that structured approaches will bore kids and make it less likely they’ll enjoy reading. These concerns are unfounded for a number of reasons. First, structured approaches help reach students who don’t learn through implicit learning (which is a lot of kids). It’s hard to develop a…
EP 181: Developmental language disorder: Impacts on literacy and life beyond school (with Dr. Karla McGregor)
Students who meet the criteria for developmental language disorder (DLD) are often categorized as “speech only” in the school systems. In many cases, these students qualify for special education services under the eligibility category of “speech and language impaired”, which puts speech-language pathologists who serve as case managers in a difficult position ethically. Sometimes students…
EP 180: The relationship of literacy and language skills and involvement with the justice system (with Dr. Shameka Stewart)
There is a disproportionate number of individuals with communication disorders and reading disabilities involved with the justice system for both children and adults. Past research suggests that more than 40% of incarcerated people have some type of nonpsychiatric disability (Berzofsky et al., 2015; Bixby et al., 2022; Thompson, 2022) Additionally, once youth are involved in…
EP 179: Increasing book equity and fostering a love of reading (with Susan Brady)
How can school leaders make informed decisions about reading curriculum when they know the home environments among their student body vary widely? I don’t envy people tasked with these kinds of decisions. My opinion is that schools should ensure students get their instructional needs met during the school day, because it’s difficult to control what…