As parents, we all want to see our children succeed, and one of the most important areas of development is literacy. Strong literacy skills set the foundation for all future learning, including communication, social skills, and academic success. But how can you support your child in building these essential skills? Whether your child is just starting to learn or facing challenges with reading and writing, there are strategies that can help them thrive.
Why Supporting Literacy Skills is So Important
Literacy isn’t just about reading and writing—it’s about unlocking the ability to engage with the world, express oneself, and participate in school and beyond. Strong literacy skills can boost your child’s confidence and set them up for success throughout their education. On the other hand, difficulties with literacy can create frustration, lead to disengagement in school, and affect your child’s self-esteem.
How can I build early literacy skills?
Reading with your child is one of the most effective ways to support their literacy development. But it’s not just about reading—it’s about making the experience engaging and enjoyable. Here are some strategies to help your child develop early literacy skills through book reading:
- Get face-to-face with your child: Sit down with your child, eye to eye. This will help them focus on the book and your words, making it easier for them to follow along.
- Observe their interests: Pay attention to what grabs your child’s attention, whether it’s animals, trucks, or certain colours. Finding books related to their interests can keep them engaged.
- Use the Four S’s: Stress, say less, go slow, and show your child. When you emphasize important words, slow down to give them time to process, and show them pictures that match the words, it helps reinforce learning.
- Be expressive: Use different voices, facial expressions, and gestures to bring the story to life. This can help your child connect with the text and make learning more fun.
- Make it playful: Learning should feel like play, not a chore. Let your child take the lead sometimes and celebrate their progress along the way!
How Can Speech Pathologists Help with Literacy Challenges?
If your child is struggling with reading, writing, or spelling, it can be stressful for both of you. Literacy challenges can impact their wellbeing, self-confidence, and engagement with school. However, there’s hope! It’s never too late to start addressing these challenges. Here’s how we can support children in overcoming these hurdles:
Phonological Awareness
Phonological awareness is the ability to recognise and manipulate sounds in spoken language. It’s one of the first steps in learning to read. We can support children in building this skill through fun activities like identifying rhymes or blending and segmenting syllables.
Reading Difficulties
At our practice, we use an evidence-based approach called systematic synthetic phonics. This method helps build foundational skills that support accuracy, fluency, and confidence in reading. This approach focuses on explicitly teaching children the relationship between sounds and letters to build a child’s ability to blend sounds together (read) and segment words into sounds (spell).
Spelling and Writing Challenges
Writing and spelling can be tricky for many children. If your child struggles with spelling rules or organising their thoughts on paper, we can work on strategies that improve spelling accuracy and help them express their ideas more clearly.
We also collaborate with occupational therapists to address fine motor skills, which can also play a role in writing success. Strong hand muscles and a proper pencil grip are just as important as reading skills!
How Can Occupational Therapy Help With Writing Challenges?
Sometimes, writing challenges are impacted by fine and gross motor difficulties. Here’s how occupational therapy can help:
- Handwriting: If your child struggles with handwriting, our occupational therapists can identify the specific challenges they face and develop strategies to improve their handwriting skills, making them feel more confident in the classroom.
- Fine Motor Skills: Strong hand and finger muscles are necessary for tasks like holding a pencil, cutting with scissors, and typing. OT’s can work with your child to strengthen these muscles and improve overall fine motor coordination.
- Gross Motor Skills: Some children struggle with posture and balance, which can affect their writing. OT’s and physios help to strengthen core muscles to improve posture, making writing easier and more comfortable.
What Does Literacy Intervention Look Like?
When we begin working on literacy intervention, the first step is always a personalised assessment. This helps us understand your child’s strengths and areas where they may need support. We’ll talk with you, observe your child, and collaborate with their teachers to create an individualised plan. The goal is to design an intervention plan based on your child’s strengths, interests, and needs making learning both effective and enjoyable.
We also recognise the vital role that parents and caregivers play in a child’s learning. To ensure progress continues at home, we’ll provide you with home practice strategies to reinforce the work we’re doing together in therapy sessions.
Building your child’s literacy skills is one of the most important things you can do to support their academic and personal growth. Whether your child is just starting to learn or facing difficulties along the way, early and targeted support can set them up for success. Remember, literacy is about more than just reading and writing—it’s about giving your child the confidence and tools to express themselves and engage with the world.
If you’re concerned about your child’s literacy development or need more information on how to support them, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our team of speech pathologists are here to help your child build the skills they need to succeed.