Page 24 - Literacy Based Speech Language Therapy Activities Digital Version

Literacy-Based Speech Language Therapy Activities

increased the frequency of their utterances, increased the length of their utterances, and increased
their use of spontaneous interactions in the classroom. So, to sum it up—when parents read to their

children in Spanish, the children’s language skills in the English-speaking environment increased in
frequency and complexity also. So…tell your parents to keep reading in their native language!

We are talking about the benefits of using books for speech, receptive language, expressive language

and social-pragmatic gains. An important fact that we must talk about is the cultural gains a child
and family receive from relishing in the literacy experience in their native language. When we are
able to provide resources in a family’s native language, we are honoring their language background,

their experiences and their invaluable contributions to our country. These sentiments say, “Your
native language is just as valuable as mine.” Imagine receiving a book to read to your child in your
most comfortable language versus a book that contains words that you may not understand and

know how to read. We understand that this is not always possible and available; however, when
books are sent home in a child’s native language, the benefits are paramount.

How does socio-economic status (SES) affect

narratives?

We address this complex topic with great caution. It is easy to stereotype, and the truth is that not
everyone living in poverty is affected equally. As service providers, it is important to understand
potentially harmful effects so we can identify when poverty is influencing our evaluation results and
progress in intervention.

First, let’s talk about the facts. Federal guidelines classify a family of four as living in poverty if the
family’s annual income is less than $24,257 (Proctor, Semega, and Kollar, 2016). Who is most affected
by poverty? The poorest are children of color under the age of six (Children’s Defense Fund, 2016).

As of 2015, this equates to more than 14.5 million. That’s one in five children, and we serve those
children as SLPs.

We know that development differs, at times, for those from low-income communities. There are

differences in brain development between children from high-, middle-, and low-income families.
Cognitive functions affected by poverty include working memory, impulse regulation, and language
skills (Noble, Norman, and Farah, 2005). When coupled with chronic stressors, the ability to cope is

also compromised. Now, let’s think about the emotional development. Long-term poverty can
impact emotional development. Jensen’s Emotional Keyboard Model (Jensen, 2008) helps us
understand which emotional skills (e.g., anger and surprise) are hardwired into all of us and which

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