Language and Literacy Solutions

04/06/2026

Me too! 🥰

See Language and Literacy Solutions.

04/05/2026

Have a wonderful day no matter how you celebrate! Dyslexia inspired’s celebratory post made me chuckle!

Happy Passover. Happy Easter. Celebrate your way. Everyone matters.

1 in 5 peeps has a learning difference at every table. The other 4 are family or friends.

04/03/2026

Yes! They teach language as well.

YES! Games are a powerful way to build essential higher-level cognitive skills. Here are two resources on this topic and game suggestions for various EF skills:
1️⃣ https://www.theottoolbox.com/games-to-help-kids-improve-executive/
2️⃣ https://www.theottoolbox.com/games-for-executive-function/

Image from Sensing Greatness

04/02/2026

Words of wisdom

04/01/2026

*update* The handbook MAY have grown to 75 pages over the weekend. I want folks to have everything they need for a strong foundation in literacy!

I’ve just finished the 55-page handbook for my upcoming Structured Word Inquiry class, and I’m still adding worksheets for participants to use.

I made this handbook to give people a clear way into the work. It lays out the thinking behind SWI in a beginner-friendly way, with definitions and examples, rubrics, SMART goals, and practical tools people can actually use.

If you’ve been curious about Structured Word Inquiry but have wanted a more guided place to begin, this class was built for that.

The handbook is only available with the class, and as of today, April 1, we are just 18 days away from the start.

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

04/01/2026

Standards need to be re-written according to natural development.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DkDbiLJMA/

03/23/2026

Structured Word Inquiry Foundations
A clear starting place for understanding what to do and why

A structured approach to teaching reading and spelling through meaning, word structure, history, and sound.

For people who want a structured way to begin, and for those who want to refine and extend what they’ve already started.

03/21/2026

https://substack.com//note/p-191589406?r=udttd&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

A contributing factor is not the same as the primary intervention target.

03/19/2026

Children don’t learn the language of books all at once. They hear it first, then begin reading, and gradually build familiarity through repeated experience with texts.
That experience is how they pick up vocabulary, sentence patterns, and how written language works. Instruction helps them get started. Experience is what builds the system.
#4

03/19/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/shawnapopejefferson/p/what-parents-need-to-know-about-dld?r=udttd&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Why parents need to understand the difference between research terms, advocacy terms, clinical diagnoses, and school eligibility categories

03/14/2026

Sometimes the system works against families.

Diagnosing dyslexia is extremely important because it is often the first step in making sure a child receives the support they need. However, this does not a...

11/27/2025

A Thanksgiving SWI Moment That Filled My Heart

Yesterday I met with one of the most delightful, precocious little boys, the kind of kid whose curiosity lights up the whole session. He has that classic autistic profile where the wrong approach can trigger shutdown, so we’ve been building our own rhythm, our own flow. And lately, it’s been working. Beautifully.

We logged on during Thanksgiving break, no complaints, no hesitation. Just a sweet, sincere:
“Is there a session tomorrow? Because I’d like there to be.”

Who says that during Thanksgiving break?
When a child asks for SWI time, that is a gift.

Today we were writing a sentence about his volunteer work, and we slipped into Real Script practice, following the pathways, cueing strokes, adjusting letters, and celebrating when something looked just right. He commented on his own handwriting, wanted to change things, took initiative, and stayed engaged. Pure joy.

Then we hit a spelling challenge.
The word was toiletries.
We talked through toilet, the unusual suffix, and then why the in toiletry toggles to when we add . He initially said, “Oh, we drop the Y,” and I gently redirected:
“Not exactly, it switches places with . Kind of like taking turns.”

He paused.
And then he said something that stopped me in my tracks, one of those brilliant kid-generated analogies that reminds you why you love this work:
“Oh! So Y and I are like team players.
If one is in, the other waits on the bench.
They switch responsibilities when it’s their turn.”
I mean… come on.

A child with handwriting challenges, autism, and a long history of struggle, independently explaining orthographic toggling with a sports-team metaphor?

That’s Structured Word Inquiry magic.
It was one of those pre-Thanksgiving moments that just fills your whole chest with gratitude, for the work, for the children, for the privilege of teaching them how words really work.
This is why I do what I do.
🧡 Happy Thanksgiving.
May your heart be as full as mine today.

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