Language and Literacy Solutions

09/05/2026

Registration is open for the Fall cohort! The first three groups have been so much fun. The participation and discussion has made the class so rich.

Teachers, speech-language pathologists, tutors, administrators, and parents from seven different countries have attended thus far.

Hope to see you there!

08/31/2026

When phonology is hard, the answer cannot be to make phonology the only doorway into a word. Dyslexic readers draw on meaning, morphology, syntax, context, and orthographic patterns, and instruction should teach them how to use all of it.

What a masked priming study reveals about meaning, morphology, and a possible compensatory route into words

08/26/2026

Pre-K and Kindergarten shouldn’t traumatize children. It should be respectful of their age. Let kids be kids.

08/08/2026

Speech-language pathologists are often the most knowledgable professionals regarding Autism. So please to see this recognition! Less visible Autism can evade diagnosis. There are cognitive-linguistic differences that are often missed.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1D7cdRqhcg/

Illinois has become the first state in the country to create a new pathway allowing specially trained speech-language pathologists to diagnose autism in certain young children.

The change is aimed at children under 3 in Illinois’ Early Intervention Program, where families can face months or even years waiting for an autism evaluation. Under the new law, qualified SLPs with specific autism diagnostic training will be able to provide evaluations alongside the existing medical pathway.

The idea grew from Northwestern University’s “Reduce the Wait” research, which looked at how children could receive answers and support earlier.

For families sitting on long waitlists, another qualified route to diagnosis could mean getting support much sooner.

The law was signed July 10 and is expected to take effect January 1, 2028, following an implementation period.

📰 : Illinois General Assembly, Northwestern University

08/03/2026

"80% mastery” sounds objective, but 80% of what, measured how, and across which tasks?

In this article, I examine how arbitrary mastery percentages become gatekeepers in literacy intervention, keeping children stuck in isolated skills instead of allowing learning to develop across varied, meaningful contexts.

07/04/2026

This is hilarious because it is so painfully accurate.

Education has become fluent in acronyms and helpless with reality.

MTSS. RTI. SEL. UDL. PLCs. CFAs. BIPs. FBAs. Fidelity. Rigor. Differentiation. Compliance.

Meanwhile, the actual classroom problem is:

They won’t put their names on their papers.

Teachers are overloaded with system language when what they need is help with the room they are standing in.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

07/01/2026

Due to demand I opened up ten additional slots and there are still a few left! See you there!

https://structuredwordinquiry.com/product/structured-word-inquiry-primer/

06/22/2026

Teachers were told the science had settled far more than it actually had.

Now the same field is beginning to walk back phonemic awareness drills, syllable division routines, consonant clusters taught as “blends,” rule recitation, rigid scopes and sequences, and technical language pushed onto children.

This is not a small correction.

It is a retreat.

How phonics-first certainty is starting to collapse under its own weight

05/30/2026

I’m opening the second offering of Foundations of Structured Word Inquiry.

This class is for teachers, tutors, SLPs, parents, and anyone who wants to understand how English spelling actually works — not as a list of rules to memorize, but as an organized system built from meaning, structure, history, and phonology.

If you’ve been curious about SWI but haven’t known where to begin, this is the place to start. The class is designed as a true foundation, so you do not need prior experience with morphology, etymology, or linguistic terminology.

Registration details here:
https://structuredwordinquiry.com/product/structured-word-inquiry-primer/

05/27/2026

Likely the biggest SWI myth!

One of the biggest myths surrounding Structured Word Inquiry is tha...