Background:
My client, D, is a nine year old male. He is diagnosed as delayed speech and language(DSL). D has been receiving speech and language therapy from West Virginia University Speech and Hearing Center since the summer of 2004. Before he came to WVU, D received treatment at his elementary school. The client has trouble with velopharyngeal closure, syntax, word finding and reading.

Treatment:
D is still presenting a lot of trouble with reading. This seems to be one of his mothers main concerns. Along with continuing to read we have moved on to more simplistic methods. His inconsistency and frustration shows that he may be having trouble with the groupings of words and word families. It was suggested on several education sites to work on word families. There also several articles in which it is stated that working on word families particularly helps out struggling readers. Ones such article is Helping Low Readers in Grades 2 and 3: An After-School Volunteer Tutoring Program Darrell Morris; Beverly Shaw; Jan Perney
The Elementary School Journal, Vol. 91, No. 2. (Nov., 1990), pp. 132-150.
Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-5984%28199011%2991%3A2%3C132%3AHLRIG2%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y . We take word family cards and separate them into beginning and ending of words. Then we take turns moving the cards around to try and form words. I also take one or two endings and go over them thoroughly.

Effectiveness: D seems to be catching on to this theory. He still guesses at times and has some trouble remembering the sounds of the words. He does however get a spark every now and again and he takes off. He understands that the words all have the same ending. He needs more practice but I really could see this making a difference.