Reading comprehension: a language intervention target from early childhood through adolescence

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) play an important role in helping children and adolescents with language impairments to construct meaning from spoken and written language. They work in collaboration with other professionals and families to provide the optimal learning experiences and to introduce strategies for seeking meaning and monitoring understanding. This article describes language intervention techniques to enhance reading comprehension, including the development and enhancement of background knowledge and schemata, vocabulary, knowledge of text structure, and strategy use. The discussion includes suggestions for young children who are developing language comprehension, as well as for elementary students and secondary students who comprehend text with increasing independence.