Literacy Difficulties

Why Literacy Difficulties Lead to Challenges with Reading and Spelling

Literacy difficulties often stem from underlying issues with phonemic awareness, letter-sound relationships, and language processing. These challenges can make it hard for children to decode words when reading or remembering how words are spelled.

When a child struggles with recognising the sounds that letters make or blending those sounds together, reading becomes slow and laborious.

Similarly, spelling difficulties arise because the child may have difficulty recalling the correct sequence of letters that correspond to specific sounds.

This gap in foundational skills—such as phonological awareness, word recognition, and memory—makes it harder for children to develop automaticity in reading and spelling, which can create frustration and hinder overall learning. Addressing these core challenges early on helps build a strong foundation for literacy success.

Key Signs of Literacy Difficulties in School-Age Children:

Difficulty with reading fluency (struggles reading smoothly or at an appropriate pace).
Poor spelling (consistently spelling words incorrectly, even familiar ones).
Slow or laboured reading.
Trouble with word recognition (difficulty recognising common sight words or sounding out unfamiliar words).
Limited vocabulary (challenges with understanding or using age-appropriate vocabulary).
Writing difficulties (struggles with writing clearly, including problems with sentence structure, grammar, or handwriting).
Difficulty following written instructions (trouble understanding or remembering what’s been read, even simple directions).
Avoidance of reading or writing tasks (frustration, reluctance, or avoidance behaviours when asked to read or write).
Inconsistent comprehension (difficulty recalling or understanding information after reading).

At Sydney Speech and Munchies Lesley takes a neurodiverse affirming approach to speech pathology assessments and therapy.

Initial Consult

Let’s get to know each other.
Listening to your concerns.
Gathering information about your child.
Recommendation made for type and cost of assessment.
Scheduling assessment time.

Assessment Session

Initial assessment.
Informal feedback provided.
Assessment results provided in a formal report.

Planning & Discussion

Discussing assessment results.
Recommendations for therapy goals.
If required, contact with other allied health.

Therapy

Neurodiverse affirming therapy.
Booking session times.

Review

Review of therapy progress and feedback provided at different times.
Review of therapy goals.

At Sydney Speech and Munchies, Lesley Slattery provides neurodiverse affirming therapy for pre-school and primary school children in the convenience of their home, school, or other familiar location.

We offer services for:

Speech Difficulties

A speech sound disorder (SSD) occurs when there are difficulties producing or articulating sounds correctly in speech.

Fussy Eating & ARFID

ARFID is characterised by a limited range of food intake and an avoidance of certain foods based on sensory characteristics, texture, or fear of choking. This behaviour goes beyond the typical picky eater.

Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy

OMT focuses on improving the function of the muscles in and around the mouth (the orofacial region). OMT focuses on improving the function of the muscles in the orofacial region, including those involved in breathing, chewing, swallowing, and speaking. Therapy addresses and corrects muscle imbalances that can affect oral and facial function.

Literacy difficulties

Literacy difficulties are often characterised by challenges with reading, writing, and spelling, decoding words, understanding written text, and expressing thoughts in writing. These difficulties can impact academic performance and everyday communication.

Language Difficulties

Language difficulties can arise in both receptive and expressive language skills. Receptive language difficulties involve challenges with understanding spoken or written language, while expressive language difficulties affect a person’s ability to communicate thoughts, ideas, and feelings effectively through speech or writing. These difficulties can impact communication and comprehension, leading to challenges in academic and social settings.

Gestalt Language Processing

GLP is a distinct approach to language processing in which individuals often learn and use language in chunks or gestalts, rather than focusing on individual words or components.

Contact Us

Lesley Slattery is an experienced speech pathologist and is the owner of Sydney Speech and Munchies.

Lesley is known for prioritising a neurodiversity affirming approach to speech ,literacy, language and feeding therapy, bringing personalized, compassionate care directly to clients and caregivers, whether at home, school, or another familiar setting.