58. Should Preschool SLPs Teach Letters? Rethinking Early Literacy, and Language Development

Should speech-language pathologists care about teaching letters at the preschool level? Some professionals argue no, prioritizing play, pragmatics, or comprehension instead. But research shows this doesn’t have to be an either/or decision.

In this episode, I dive into:
✅ Why letter knowledge and sound-symbol correspondence matter for long-term reading comprehension
✅ How Scarborough’s Reading Rope expands when we add a third strand—executive function
✅ The three executive function skills that directly impact reading success
✅ Research from Hannah Hjetland’s longitudinal and experimental studies on early literacy
✅ How to integrate letters meaningfully into therapy without sacrificing language, play, or social communication

You’ll leave with evidence-based strategies to embed print into therapy in ways that strengthen all domains—code, comprehension, and executive function—simultaneously.

👉 Want ready-to-use, empirically-based weekly activities that integrate movement, literacy, and executive function? Join the SIS Membership today: https://www.kellyvess.com/sis