Language is the foundation upon which most school skills are built. Language allows us to represent thoughts, ideas and concepts that are abstract (not present). If we want a drink of water and that water is present, we can point to it, gesture or mime drinking to get our message across; but how do we tell someone that we saw an astronaut on TV last week if we have no words to use?
Children who have language difficulties are likely to encounter difficulty with reading. Understanding and using language are skills needed before children can learn to read.
One of the skills that makes reading easier is the ability to predict what comes next. If children speak using grammar that sounds like this “Him goed to him’s house,” then reading the sentence “He went to his house” will be difficult because the child will not be expecting words such as "he" and “went”. If a child does not have words such as "he" and "went" in their internal word bank, it is much more difficult for the child to read those words.
The same goes for vocabulary. Words we don’t know are harder to read. Try reading the flowing sentences quickly. (I assure you they are all words found in Webster’s English dictionary.) “The pulverulent flivver floated about the room seraphically and indefatigably to the tintinnabulation.” It's hard to read this in any smooth fashion and harder still to understand what it means. This is what reading is like for children with limited language skills.
Should a child experience difficulty understanding or using language, an SLP can help identify strategies to optimize children's success in reading, academics, and social situations.