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Literacy

What is Literacy?

Literacy is about more than just reading and writing, it’s about understanding and using language to learn, think, and communicate. Strong literacy skills help children succeed at school and feel confident in expressing their ideas.

Literacy includes a range of skills that develop gradually as children grow:

  • Reading: understanding letters, sounds, and words, and making sense of what we read
  • Writing: forming letters, spelling words, and using grammar and sentences
  • Comprehension: understanding what stories, instructions, or information mean
  • Phonological awareness: recognising and working with sounds in words (like rhyming, syllables, and beginning sounds)

Speech pathologists support these building blocks to help children become confident readers and writers.

How a MyHealth Speech Pathologist Can Help

Speech and language skills are the foundation for literacy. If a child has difficulty understanding or using language, it can affect how they learn to read and write.

A speech pathologist can support literacy development by:

  • Building phonological awareness (hearing and identifying sounds in words)
  • Strengthening vocabulary and sentence structure
  • Supporting storytelling and comprehension skills
  • Teaching sound-letter knowledge (phonics)
  • Assisting with spelling, grammar, and written expression
  • Working on reading fluency and confidence
  • Collaborating with teachers to support literacy in the classroom
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Why Early Literacy Skills Matter

Early literacy skills begin long before formal reading starts.
Listening to stories, playing with sounds, and talking about everyday experiences all help prepare children to read and write later on.

Supporting these skills early can:

  • Boost school readiness
  • Improve confidence in learning
  • Prevent ongoing literacy difficulties

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Early literacy begins in the preschool years through play, songs, and shared reading. Children start recognising letters and sounds before they formally “learn to read” at school.

Some signs include:

  • Difficulty learning letters or sounds
  • Trouble rhyming or hearing differences between words
  • Avoiding reading or writing tasks
  • Spelling the same word differently each time
  • Struggling to understand what they’ve read

Speech pathologists strengthen the language and sound skills that literacy depends on to help children link spoken and written words, build comprehension, and express ideas clearly.

Read together every day, talk about stories, play rhyming and sound games, and make reading part of your routine. Your speech pathologist can suggest specific books or activities suited to your child’s goals.

Communicate Your Way