ASHA Learning Pass

Writing requires a complex interplay of cognitive and linguistic processes. Although many pre-K to 6th grade elementary students struggle with writing, these challenges are exacerbated for students with cognitive-linguistic difficulties and learning disabilities. Writing challenges negatively affect academic performance and can be increasingly detrimental as students advance – or attempt to advance – to higher grade levels. Thus, writing challenges pose a significant barrier to engagement and success in academic settings if they are not addressed. This course provides an overview of writing development stages, expectations, and sources of difficulty for elementary students. The course includes a discussion of relevant theories and models to guide identification of writing challenges and identify assessment options.

This course is a recorded session from the 2022 ASHA Convention Virtual Library (session 2119V).

Related Courses

See more sessions from the 2022 ASHA Convention.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

• Describe stages of writing development and age- and grade-level appropriate expectations for the writing of elementary students (PK-6)
• Describe potential sources of writing difficulty for elementary students (PK-6) and link difficulties to relevant writing theory and selected cognitive writing models
• Describe formal and informal measures and assessments of written language appropriate for use with elementary students (PK-6)

Pamela Shanahan Bazis, PhD, CALT, QI, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research interests focus on literacy instruction and the development of integrated reading and writing interventions for children (pre-K-12) with word-level reading & writing difficulties including dyslexia, dysgraphia, or other language-based learning disabilities.

Financial Disclosures:

• None

Nonfinancial Disclosures:

• None

Carly Dinnes, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Bowling Green State University. Her research interests focus on the changes in language and cognition following brain injury, writing performance and perceptions, compensatory strategy training, and functional assessment and intervention approaches for people with brain injury.

Financial Disclosures:

• None

Nonfinancial Disclosures:

• None

Assessment Type

Self-assessment—Think about what you learned and report on the Completion Form how you will use your new knowledge.

To earn continuing education credit, you must complete the learning assessment by the end date below.

Program History and CE Information

Content origination date: November 2022
End date: February 27, 2029

This course is offered for 0.1 ASHA CEUs (Introductory level, Professional area).