|
I am writing in response to two recent letters in The ASHA Leader about the SLP's role in reading. Both letters (Cynthia Feeney, Jan. 22, 2008; Christine McGrath, March 4, 2008) challenge the role of SLPs in working with reading disabilities. I earned a PhD from the University of Florida in 1995 with a focus on reading disabilities and have been working in this area. There exists a cohort of SLPs who are well-trained in evaluating and treating individuals with written language difficulties. They are specialists in identifying the nature of the reading disorder and in providing interventions that target the underlying cause.
These SLPs are well-prepared to evaluate the core components of reading to make a differential diagnosis and to develop treatment plans for specific reading deficits (e.g., deficits in phonological processing vs. deficits in language comprehension). Books such as Language and Reading Disabilities (Catts & Kahmi, 2005) and tests such as the Assessment of Literacy and Language (Lombardino, Lieberman, & Brown, 2005), developed specially for SLPs, underscore our discipline's commitment to written language disabilities.
We must be cognizant that speech-language pathology is a fluid discipline and continue to keep pace with new perspectives and developments. It was only in the 1970s that we began to consider our role in treating children with language disorders! We need to embrace the range of disabilities that fall under our purview and applaud the fact that our profession allows SLPs to develop specializations across a wide range of communication disorders.
Laurie Mercado Gauger
Gainesville, FL
|