Reading and writing

ASSESSMENT

Sadly, many students experience under performance at school. We conduct comprehensive assessment in academic achievement to identify learning difficulties and specific learning disorder in reading, writing and numeracy. We conduct standardised assessments into: 

  • Phonological awareness 

  • Phonics knowledge (at the letter sound and word level) 

  • Fluency in word and sentence reading 

  • Oral reading ability 

  • Spelling 

  • Fluency in sentence writing 

  • Rapid Automatised Naming 

  • Handwriting abilities (for referral to OT if required) 

  • Discourse level writing in narrative and persuasive 

  • Reading and oral language comprehension 

Our assessments represent the gold standard in assessment and are able to diagnose the presence of a learning disorder as well as provide detailed recommendations for intervention.

INTERVENTION  

Structured synthetic phonics in reading and spelling 

We help individuals cue into the spoken language characteristics of reading and spelling by using a speech-to-print approach. We support them to link sounds, letter patterns and meanings to read and write words. 

Our caring therapists develop phonological awareness, letter-sound correspondence, orthographic knowledge, morphology, semantics in both reading and spelling. This ensures that our clients can not only spell the words that they use, but also develop a deep understanding of the underlying language structures in words. 

WRITING

We support our clients, from Prep to adult to develop their writing skills across all genres including: 

  • recounts 

  • summaries 

  • instructionals 

  • narratives 

  • persuasive 

  • expository 

  • language analysis 

  • comparative and; 

  • note-taking.  

We regularly work with students in Year 12 and as a result, are able to demonstrate a deep understanding of the writing skills that are required of our clients at each year level. 

Research shows that effective writing is the result of executive functioning skills working together in unison. Executive functioning refers to the development of deliberate, self-regulated and task-oriented behaviours which include initiation, emotional regulation, shifting, inhibition, working memory, planning, organisation and self-monitoring. Our clinicians explicitly support our clients to develop these skills using meta-cognitive strategies. We also help our clients to attend to the connection between oral language and written expression to help develop fluency and detail in their writing.

 
readingandspelling