Speech sound development and literacy are closely connected because both rely on the brain's ability to accurately represent and manipulate the sounds in spoken words.
Children with speech sound disorders- particularly phonological difficulties- may have weaker phonological representations and phonological awareness, which can make learning sound-letter correspondences, decoding, and spelling more difficult.
In a 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis, children with speech sound difficulties demonstrated significantly poorer reading skills than their peers, with longitudinal evidence showing continued differences in later reading development.
This connection is clinically important: one study of 120 kindergarten through second-grade children receiving school-based speech therapy found that more than 25% also demonstrated risk for word-reading difficulties. Speech sound errors do not automatically mean a child will develop reading or spelling difficulties, but persistent or phonological speech errors warrant attention to the child's phonological awareness, decoding, and spelling skills as well.
Measurable Progress
Achieving Clarity Milestones
90%+
Sound Acquisition
8 Weeks
Typical Progress
100%
Parent Satisfaction
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