Speech Therapy Helps Kids Read & Spell Easier
Who We Help
Little kids, big kids and teens who struggle with learning letters, sounding out words, reading, spelling, writing, and understanding what they read — even when they are trying hard and receiving classroom instruction.
What We Work On
We provide language-based reading and spelling support using linguistic phonics — it strengthens phonological awareness, decoding, spelling patterns, comprehension and written expression.
The First Step
Start with a free consultation to explore whether language-based reading and spelling support is a good fit for your child.
Reading & spelling are still hard — can speech therapy help?
Definitely! Reading and writing are modalities of language — we can listen, speak, read or write. Our brains are beautifully designed for speaking and listening which is why it comes so easily for some. But, our brains are not wired to read or write—many need support to transfer language skills that were learned through speaking and listening into these more complex visual systems. Because we are experts in language, we help children make that transition easier and faster.
Is this tutoring or therapy?
This is speech therapy for reading, spelling & writing. Instead of using scripted programs meant for the masses, we determine where in the hierarchy of language skills the system is breaking down.
Then, we create an individualized plan to fix the problems. Evidence-based approaches like SPELL-Links are used to bring all of their skills up to their maximum potential.
Can you help if my child can’t sound out words?
Without a doubt… that is where most of our clients start. Sounding out happens when the individual speech sounds within a word are isolated. As speech-language pathologists, we excel at teaching where speech sounds start and end.
Why Families Choose Us
Over 20 years of experience in speech, language and literacy support that goes well beyond tutoring
Our dedication to modern, evidence-based speech-to-print programs like SPELL-Links
Located near downtown Haddonfield, we are convenient for families in Cinnaminson, Cherry Hill, Deptford, Evesham, Moorestown, Voorhees and Philadelphia, PA.
Teletherapy services are available throughout NJ, PA & GA.
Why Families Stay with Us
“Ellen is the best speech therapist we have been to. My 9 year old son has made tremendous progress and really enjoys seeing her. We have been to four other speech therapists and no one can compare..." — Lindsey
"This place is the best that there could be when it comes to speech therapy! Ellen is so wonderful, has a wealth of experience and knowledge and so many fun apps and games and learning tools..." — Tiffany
"My elementary school child has been seeing Ms. McSpadden for a year now. She is wonderful with him and always takes the time to listen to both of our questions and work those into the sessions." — Tracy
Our Language-Based Literacy Support near Cherry Hill & Philadelphia Improves Confidence & Performance
What is language-based literacy support?
It is a structured, systematic, multisensory, and explicit approach to teaching reading and writing. By starting with the listening and speaking skills already present and showing children how those skills connect to reading and writing, kids are able to grasp foundational skills like phonics faster and easier. When listening, speaking, reading and writing are integrated, critical skills like word level reading and spelling, reading fluency, vocabulary, sentence structure, story grammar, and reading comprehension improve.
Phonological (& Phonemic) Awareness
Phonological awareness (which includes phonemic awareness) is our ability to think about the sounds and syllables that make up words. It allows us to recognize a part of a word and change or manipulate it (like when we turn bat into cat or tab). This skill set underlies all reading and spelling skills. But, it’s often ignored or worked on in passing. That’s not enough. We incorporate it throughout lessons for maximum benefit, faster progress and exceptional academic success.
Linguistic Phonics vs Orton Gillingham
OG has been around for 100 years, but that is part of the problem… Since then, we’ve learned a lot about how the brain learns to read. Speech-to-print methods and linguistic phonics allow for more natural connections between spoken sounds and written letters which makes learning to read and write easier.
Comprehension Is the Ultimate Goal
“If you’re not reading & writing language, what are you reading & writing?” Ellen McSpadden, MA, CCC-SLP, CAS
If a child is struggling to understand spoken language, they will almost certainly struggle with written language. Therefore, attention to things like multiple-meaning words and suffixes in both spoken and written language is a critical component in quality reading and spelling instruction.