|
Learning to read is one of the most important skills a child develops in school. But for children with dyslexia, learning to read can be difficult, frustrating, and often emotionally challenging. Over time, these difficulties can begin to affect not just reading, but confidence and self-esteem too. Understanding the relationship between dyslexia, reading and self-esteem is essential for both parents and teachers, because how adults respond to reading difficulties can have a lasting impact on how a child sees themselves as a learner. . Reading Is More Than Just Reading To understand dyslexia, it helps to first understand what reading actually involves. Reading is made up of two main parts:
This is known as the Simple View of Reading, which explains that reading comprehension is the product of decoding and language comprehension working together. This means a child may struggle with reading for different reasons:
Understanding why a child is struggling is the key to providing the right support. Dyslexia Is Primarily a Difficulty With Word Reading Research shows that the most common underlying difficulty in dyslexia is related to phonological processing, the ability to recognise and manipulate the sounds in words. This affects:
Children with dyslexia are not less intelligent and are not “lazy”, they simply process written language differently. Reading for them is often slower, more effortful and more tiring than for other children. The Emotional Impact of Reading Difficulties When a child finds reading difficult, they are not just experiencing an academic challenge, they are often experiencing an emotional one too. Many children with dyslexia:
Over time, this can lead to low self-esteem, anxiety, and school avoidance. Early Identification Is Very Important Research shows that early language skills are a strong predictor of later reading development. Children who later develop reading difficulties often show early differences in:
The earlier we identify these difficulties, the earlier we can put support in place and this can make a significant difference not only to reading, but also to confidence and self-esteem. What Helps Children With Dyslexia?
Children with dyslexia do best when they receive:
Dyslexia is not just about reading. It is about learning, confidence, identity and how a child sees themselves. With the right support, children with dyslexia can learn to read, succeed in school, and most importantly, continue to believe in their own ability. If your child is struggling with reading or confidence, early support can make a lasting difference. At Write2Talk, we specialise in identifying and supporting children with dyslexia, language processing and related learning differences.
0 Comments
For years, breathing has been treated as background physiology in child development. We assess speech. We monitor learning. We support behaviour. But we rarely ask: How is this child breathing? Airway-focused clinicians such as Dr Shereen Lim have challenged this oversight. Through her clinical work and writing, she argues that breathing is not a neutral process, it is a structural driver. The way a child breathes influences jaw growth, facial development, sleep quality and long-term health. Nasal Breathing as a Growth Signal Dr Lim consistently emphasises that the human craniofacial system is designed for nasal breathing. When a child breathes through their nose, the lips are gently closed and the tongue rests against the palate. This posture provides continuous light pressure that guides the upper jaw to grow wide and forward. Forward growth supports dental spacing, facial balance and a more stable airway. In her airway model, the tongue is not just involved in speech, it is a regulator of growth. When nasal breathing is compromised and mouth breathing becomes habitual, that system shifts. The tongue drops from the palate. The lips part. Growth often redirects downward rather than forward. Over time, this can contribute to narrower dental arches, high palates and reduced airway space.
 Mouth Breathing as a Marker, Not a Habit One of Dr Lim’s key messages is that chronic mouth breathing is rarely random. It is usually a sign of underlying airway compromise, whether from enlarged tonsils and adenoids, chronic congestion, allergies or structural restriction. In her work, she links prolonged mouth breathing with an increased risk of sleep-disordered breathing in children. Even subtle sleep fragmentation can affect attention, emotional regulation and executive functioning. Children may present with behavioural or learning concerns when the underlying driver is unstable nighttime breathing. From a developmental standpoint, this matters profoundly. Motor learning, including the refinement of speech movements, consolidates during sleep. If sleep is disrupted, progress in communication skills can be slower, less consistent or more effortful.  Where Speech and the Airway Intersect Speech production is a precise motor task requiring stable airflow, coordinated jaw movement and accurate tongue placement. Dr Lim’s airway lens does not suggest that breathing exercises alone correct speech sounds. Rather, it highlights that oral posture and airway stability influence the structural environment in which speech is produced. When a child presents with:
It becomes clinically incomplete to focus solely on sound drills. The question expands beyond “How do we correct this articulation error?” to:
What makes Dr Lim’s work particularly compelling is its preventative emphasis. Childhood growth is dynamic. Craniofacial structures are still forming. Identifying habitual mouth breathing early allows for collaborative intervention, involving ENT, dental or orthodontic professionals where appropriate before compensatory growth patterns become entrenched. When breathing is addressed early, we support forward growth, stable sleep and resilient development. The Write2Talk Approach
At Write2Talk, we adopt an airway-informed perspective alongside evidence-based speech therapy. Assessment extends beyond sound production to include breathing patterns, tongue resting posture, lip competence, jaw stability and indicators of sleep quality. When we identify habitual mouth breathing or signs of airway compromise, we collaborate. This may involve referral to ENT specialists, orthodontic consultation or discussion around sleep health. Therapy may integrate oral stability work alongside structured articulation practice. We do not replace traditional speech therapy. We strengthen it. Our focus is not simply clearer sounds. It is integrated development where nasal breathing supports forward growth, forward growth supports airway stability, and stable sleep supports confident communication. With the rise of speech apps, online videos and downloadable worksheets, many families believe speech therapy is simply about saying sounds over and over until they improve.
But real, evidence-based speech therapy is far more complex. Speech errors are often a symptom, not the cause. To make lasting change, a therapist must understand the underlying reason a child is struggling. The myth: speech therapy = repeating sounds Surface-level practice helps some children, but for many, repeating a sound does nothing if:
Speech depends on:
Motor Speech Delay: an emerging area within speech sound disorders Motor Speech Delay (MSD) is an emerging and increasingly recognised profile within speech sound disorders, although it remains under-identified in the UK. Research led by Dr Aravind Namasivayam highlights that some children experience difficulties with the planning, coordination and execution of speech movements, rather than difficulties learning individual sounds. Children with Motor Speech Delay often understand what they want to say, but their speech may sound inconsistent, effortful or unclear. Progress can be limited when therapy focuses only on repeating sounds, because the underlying difficulty lies within the speech motor system. This profile sits on a continuum of motor speech difficulties and is distinct from Childhood Apraxia of Speech. It requires motor-based intervention that targets movement patterns, timing and coordination, rather than surface-level articulation practice alone. Examples of deeper causes often missed by online programmes 1. Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)CAS requires specific, intensive motor-planning therapy, not repetition. 2. Oro-myofunctional disordersA low or forward tongue posture affects sounds like /s/, /sh/, /ch/ and /l/. 3. Tongue-tie or restricted oral movementIf the tongue cannot elevate properly, certain sounds can never become accurate. 4. Airway concernsIf a child mouth breathes or snores, the oral structures may not work efficiently for speech. 5. Low oral toneWeak lips, cheeks and tongue muscles can distort sounds. The value of specialist intervention A trained Speech and Language Therapist assesses:
Write2Talk’s approach We focus on deep, lasting change by:
Before a child can speak, understand, or learn, they must be able to tune in. Attention and listening underpin all areas of development, including play, language, emotional regulation, and academic achievement. Difficulties in these areas can look like “not listening,” but they often reflect genuine challenges with processing and focus rather than behaviour. Research into attention development (Cooper, Moodley & Reynell, 1978) outlines the following stages.   Strategies to Strengthen Attention and Listening
If your child often appears disconnected, struggles to follow short instructions, or avoids listening tasks, early intervention can prevent later difficulties with understanding, literacy, and peer relationships. Attention and listening are the gateway to communication. By meeting your child at their developmental stage and supporting them with structured, playful strategies, you can build the foundations for confident learning. Get in touch to learn more about how we can help your child with their attention and listening. The landscape of dyslexia diagnosis in the UK is evolving. In May 2024, the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC) released a briefing paper summarising findings from the Delphi Dyslexia Study, which proposed a new definition of dyslexia. Soon after, on 16 May 2024, the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) announced that it had adopted this proposed definition, marking a pivotal shift in how dyslexia is understood and diagnosed in the UK. This new approach moves away from the old “IQ-achievement discrepancy” model, which compared a child’s intelligence score with their reading ability and instead focuses on how literacy difficulties affect day-to-day learning. The change reflects years of research calling for a more inclusive and functional understanding of dyslexia. The New Definition (Delphi Study, 2024) “Dyslexia is a set of processing difficulties that affect the acquisition of reading and spelling. The most commonly observed cognitive impairment in dyslexia is a difficulty in phonological processing (i.e. in phonological awareness, phonological processing speed or phonological memory). However, phonological difficulties do not fully explain the variability that is observed. Working memory, processing speed and orthographic skills can contribute to the impact of dyslexia.” - SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC), May 2024 This definition, created through collaboration between UK dyslexia experts, researchers, and Educational Psychologists, represents a research-driven and consensus-based understanding of dyslexia as a spectrum of difficulties rather than a single condition.  What’s Changing and Why It Matters
In the past, dyslexia was often identified through the “discrepancy model,” which relied on finding a gap between a child’s IQ and their literacy performance. This approach left many bright children unsupported because their general intelligence compensated for literacy struggles or conversely, excluded children whose IQ scores didn’t meet a certain threshold. Under the new definition, dyslexia is recognised as a continuum of cognitive processing challenges, with key emphasis on:
What the 2025 Criteria Mean for Parents and Schools The 2025 diagnostic standards bring a number of important implications for families, schools, and allied professionals:
At Write2Talk, we understand that dyslexia is more than just difficulty with reading, it’s often tied to underlying language and processing challenges that affect confidence and classroom participation. Our therapy sessions focus on:
Every family knows that speech, feeding, and written language don’t exist in isolation in a child’s life. They overlap, influence each other, and impact confidence, learning, socialisation, and wellbeing. At Write2Talk, we believe therapy should reflect that whole picture. Here’s what makes us different and why that matters. The Scale of the Need
 What Is Oromyofunctional Therapy (OMT) “Oromyofunctional” refers to how the muscles of the mouth (tongue, lips, face) function at rest, during speech, feeding, breathing, and swallowing. If posture, strength, coordination or the resting position of the tongue and other muscles are off, it can affect:
What Other Therapies Focus On And How We Integrate Them While many speech and language therapy (SLT) services focus on expressive language (speech production) or receptive language (understanding), often literacy and feeding issues are dealt with separately. This can leave gaps. At Write2Talk, we integrate:
Families working with us often report:
 Why It Matters
Breathing is automatic, so we rarely think about how we breathe, yet it has a profound impact on our health, speech, and even facial development. Studies show that chronic mouth breathing in childhood can be linked to:
Why Nasal Breathing Matters Nasal breathing:
 Supporting Healthy Breathing Habits
For children who habitually breathe through their mouth, simple awareness and therapy exercises can encourage correct oral posture. This can prevent future dental crowding, improve speech clarity, and support calmer, more efficient breathing. Our team at Write2Talk integrates oromyofunctional therapy into treatment plans, helping families understand the connection between breathing, speech, and feeding. With only around 14 practitioners in the UK trained in this approach, we’re proud to be leading the way and we’re passionate about sharing our knowledge with parents, teachers, and other professionals. Mealtimes should be enjoyable, but for many families they’re a daily challenge. Research suggests that between 20-45% of typically developing children and up to 80% of children with developmental differences experience some form of feeding difficulty. These can range from fussy eating and gagging on certain textures to chewing, swallowing, or sensory issues around food. At Write2Talk, we’ve seen a steady rise in young children presenting with feeding challenges and, too often, there’s little local support available. That’s why we’ve invested in specialist training with The Feeding Trust, leaders in paediatric feeding therapy. Their evidence-based approach is helping us expand the services we offer.  What Are Feeding Difficulties? Feeding difficulties may include:
How Feeding Therapy Helps Feeding therapy is more than just encouraging children to “try a bite.” It’s a structured process that considers:
 With expert support, families can learn how to:
When we hear the word ‘play’ we usually think that means taking a break from learning. But for children, play is learning. You may be under the impression that those first few games of ‘peek-a-boo’ did little more than melt your heart, but you’d be wrong. Your child is constantly learning, even from the simplest of games and interactions. In this blog, we’re exploring how play can develop your child’s speech, language and communication skills with the help of expert speech & language therapist, Mrs Leona Talsma.   They watch From an early age, children are watching your actions and expressions, your mouth as you speak, your eyes and your body language. Leona tell us that babies “watch their parents, siblings and friends talking, and after a few weeks, they start to play with speech sounds. Babies are primed to be sociable as historically their survival depended on it. This watching continues throughout childhood as children watch others walking, eating, using objects as well as talking and socialising. “At around 6 weeks of age, they will smile, and this magic moment helps pave the way to interactive communication.” They imitate After watching and listening to your speech and actions, your child will begin to imitate them. Leona says: “Even babies a few days old, are primed to imitate actions like sticking out their tongues. Imitation is one of main ways children learn new skills, whether this is copying what to do with a spoon or imitating how people say they want something. Through copying and trial and error learning, children expand their ability to communicate their needs. Sometimes, if sign language is used with young babies, they can copy the signs before they are able to say the words. Natural gestures like pointing can also be copied by children as part of their communication system.” They listen Listening starts from sounds in the womb; “most amazingly babies can even respond differently to certain speech sounds.” Children are always listening and picking up sounds around them, “as well as the rhythm and pitch of the speech they hear. “Babies babble and play with speech sounds, gradually shaping the sounds they hear around them to the language spoken.” They explore Always curious, children love to investigate and explore what’s around them and interact with what they find. To play is to explore. Leona elaborates on exploration and its role in learning: “Very young babies start to play with sounds, cooing, gurgling and blowing raspberries! All this helps to strengthen the mouth and tongue movements involved in speech. As their first words emerge at around 1 year of age, they unwittingly explore the impact of these words on others. How many fathers have been overjoyed with their baby’s first word ‘dada’? The pleasure parents show their babies when they speak and interact encourages this dynamic to develop further. “When children start to explore with toys like rattles and shakers, they are learning about cause and effect. Essentially a shake results in a sound. If you also play and talk with your child, they will watch, listen and copy, hanging on your every word.” They use language for purpose As children begin to use objects and language for purpose, they learn to conjure up words and sentences to communicate needs and share information. Leona adds that “this increasingly becomes more complex as their brains develop and their interactions with the world become more frequent.” Now that we know how children pick up speech and language, here’s how to maximise their learning through play… Opt for open-ended toys Open-ended toys encourage your child to ‘do all the doing’. These are toys and games that require practical interaction from your child. There are plenty of specifically designed toys available to encourage this kind of behaviour, but you can also use random objects from around the house to create this form of play too. Leona’s advice is to ditch the computer games and keep it old school: “Traditional toys like inset puzzles, farmyard animals, toy food and cars are much better for developing language than computer games. “There are lots of games you can make up using household items. Talking about the objects as well as the actions with the objects can really help develop their language. Think of all the language that can come from playing with a ball; roll, throw, catch, kick and drop are but a few.” Turn everyday activities into games for language development You might be surprised about how everyday activities can help. Leona will guide you through some examples and the benefits they carry: “Getting food ready while you talk about what you are doing is a great way to introduce everyday vocabulary. Shops are also perfect for expanding a child’s vocabulary as you talk about what you can see around you. Even doing the washing up can be an opportunity for labelling your actions like splashing, scrubbing, washing and drying. Bath time is a wonderful moment to sing, recount nursery rhymes, explore with bath toys and learn the names of body parts. There are fantastic books for children from babies up that support children to learn word and sound play. Sharing books together before sleep time can help promote language, closeness and routine.” Cast gender aside Don’t get caught up in conformity and encourage your child to play with the toys they enjoy most – regardless of whether it fits their gender stereotype. If your boy shows interest towards a baby doll or if your girl likes jumping toy monster trucks, let them play away. Baby dolls can be very useful when it comes to helping children with their language development. The doll presents an opportunity to label body parts that may already be somewhat familiar to your child; whether that’s through songs like ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’ or simple tricks like stealing their nose and magically turning it into your thumb. By showing and naming body parts on the doll, your child can repeat the words whilst simultaneously pointing to their own features. Similarly, dressing your and naming the clothes as you put them on can help to encourage your child to talk along with you. Role playing verbs and feelings with the doll helps your child to understand words like ‘tired’, ‘hungry’ and ‘bath time’ (this can also be useful for potty training!). Get creative with open-ended play Let your child immerse themselves in their imaginative perceptions of real-life situations. Open up a make-believe restaurant and have your child take your order and bring you some food (you may or may not wish to leave a tip); promote your child to store manager and have them help you organise food and drink in your home-made grocery shop; save the world together as the most fearsome superhero duo since Batman and Robin. These are, of course, only examples so feel free to come up with your own. Remember to keep focused on your language level. As much as you want to broaden your child’s vocabulary, keep your sentences simple while you run through open-ended play. Your child is more likely to stay confident, chatty and motivated during play if they find you easy to understand. Leona highlights the importance of social interaction during open-ended play: “What you will notice if your child goes to nursery is how your child copies other children in play. Imaginative play is important as it enables children to practice language and interactions in a social way. One minute they may be a teacher, whilst in another they are a bus driver. Throughout this imaginative play, they are often describing what they are doing, asking questions, negotiating and sharing ideas with others.” Use your presence Independent play is important for children as it helps their trial and error learning, but your presence is crucial for developing speech and language. “This starts from birth when you are changing nappies and talking to your baby or pushing your child around in a pushchair pointing out things around them,” says Leona. “A useful tip is to have the pushchair facing you so they can see your face for clues as to how to make the sounds and words.” Whatever means of play you and your child choose to engage in, your presence is what makes it a learning experience. “It is the interaction between your child, you and others that develops language and communication. Remember, computer games tend not to involve this two-way interaction so they’re less useful for this purpose.”  |
AuthorLeona has been working in speech therapy services for over 20 years. Archives
April 2026
Categories
|
RSS Feed
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contact Us: 03303 216 823
|
|
|
|