Some preschoolers with certain speech difficulties are predicted to have future difficulty with reading and spelling abilities, according to researchers who will be presenting their findings during the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) National Convention in New Orleans this week.

According to ASHA members Jonathan Preston and Mary Louise Edwards, preschoolers who produce many "unusual" speech sounds, such as omitting the first sound of a word, are at particular risk for early literacy problems. In contrast, "common" speech sound errors, such as omitting the last sound of a word, are not associated with reading difficulties.

The researchers will argue that clinicians should pay attention to the type of errors children make in their speech, because this could have implications for a child's readiness for learning to read and spell.

The researchers will discuss their findings on Thursday, November 19, at 8:00 a.m. in room 271 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (Speech Sound Disorders: Red Flags for Literacy Problems, Presentation 1370).

Their presentation is part of ASHA's National Convention, which begins November 19 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The Convention will feature 3 days of workshops, paper sessions, and poster presentations, plus a keynote address by stage and screen star Ben Vereen, who will speak to the audience about how speech-language pathologists helped him find his way back to speech after a serious accident. The Convention runs through Saturday, November 21.

These important findings are one example of the research being discussed during ASHA's National Convention. Audiologists and speech-language pathologists as well as other speech and hearing scientists gather every year at ASHA's Convention to share their research with their colleagues. This sharing of information results in better care for those people they serve.

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About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 135,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.

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