Academic Language Therapy Flashcards

A CALT is working with a student who consistently reads 'sign' correctly in isolation but decodes it as /sɪɡn/ in connected text. This pattern most likely reflects a deficit in which processing demand?

Answer: Automaticity of orthographic mapping under increased cognitive load

When a student reads a word correctly in isolation but not in connected text, the orthographic representation is present but not yet automatic. In isolation, the student can allocate full attentional resources to decoding; in connected text, increased cognitive load reveals that the mapping hasn't reached the automaticity threshold required for fluent reading. This is distinct from a phonological awareness deficit (which would affect isolated decoding too) or morphophonological knowledge (the student knows the correct form in isolation).

When applying the Orton-Gillingham principle of 'synthetic phonics,' which instructional sequence correctly represents the relationship between blending instruction and segmenting instruction?

Answer: Blending is introduced first because synthesis from parts to whole mirrors the decoding process

In true OG synthetic phonics methodology, blending (synthesis) is introduced before or concurrently with segmenting because the primary goal is decoding—building words from letter-sound correspondences. The term 'synthetic' refers to synthesizing (putting together) letter sounds into words. While segmenting (analytic phonics) is also essential for spelling, classic OG instructional design prioritizes blending first as it directly serves reading. This distinguishes synthetic from analytic phonics approaches.

A 4th-grade student with confirmed dyslexia scores at the 45th percentile on a phoneme segmentation fluency measure but at the 12th percentile on Nonsense Word Fluency. Which hypothesis best explains this discrepancy, and what CALT assessment step should follow?

Answer: The student has adequate phonemic awareness but limited phoneme-grapheme correspondence knowledge; administer a structured error analysis of phonics patterns

A relative strength in phoneme segmentation with a deficit in Nonsense Word Fluency indicates the student can manipulate sounds orally but cannot reliably apply phoneme-grapheme correspondences during decoding—a classic pattern where phonological awareness is somewhat intact but alphabetic principle application is impaired. The appropriate next step is a structured phonics error analysis to identify which phoneme-grapheme patterns have not been consolidated, directly guiding MSLE intervention planning.

Under the ALTA (Academic Language Therapy Association) scope of practice, which scenario represents the MOST appropriate boundary for a CALT operating independently (without CALP or supervising SLP)?

Answer: Providing structured literacy intervention to a student with dyslexia whose eligibility has been determined by the school's evaluation team

CALTs are trained interventionists, not diagnosticians. The ALTA scope of practice permits CALTs to deliver structured literacy intervention for students with identified language-based learning disabilities (including dyslexia) once eligibility has been established by appropriate evaluators. Administering standardized tests for eligibility determination or making diagnostic classifications independently falls outside the CALT scope. The correct answer reflects the core CALT role: expert, MSLE-based remediation following identification.

A CALT is teaching Latin-based morphology to a struggling 7th-grade reader. The student knows the base 'port' (to carry) but cannot recognize 'importune' as morphologically related. This failure most precisely illustrates a breakdown in which aspect of morphological processing?

Answer: Morphophonological shift processing — the student cannot recognize a base under phonological alternation caused by a Latin suffix

The Latin suffix '-une' (from '-unus') in 'importune' causes a phonological/orthographic shift such that the familiar base 'port' is embedded in a modified surface form. This is a morphophonological shift—the student must recognize a base despite phonological changes at the juncture. It differs from simple derivational morphology (where the base is visually intact, e.g., 'portable') and from semantic transparency (the base IS still semantically relevant—to importune is to carry persistent pressure upon someone). CALT instruction targeting Latin combining forms must explicitly address these surface-level alternations.

When using progress monitoring to evaluate responsiveness to structured literacy intervention, a CALT notes that a student's oral reading fluency (ORF) rate has grown adequately but comprehension scores remain flat. According to the Simple View of Reading, which component failure does this pattern most specifically implicate?

Answer: Language comprehension, because the Simple View predicts that once decoding is functional, comprehension ceiling is set by linguistic comprehension ability

The Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) holds that Reading Comprehension = Decoding × Language Comprehension. When ORF (a proxy for decoding fluency) improves but comprehension remains flat, the Simple View specifically predicts that language comprehension is the limiting variable. CALT intervention for such students must pivot to address vocabulary depth, inferential language, background knowledge, and discourse-level comprehension—areas outside pure structured literacy decoding work—or involve collaborative consultation with an SLP.