Written language includes the concepts of decoding, reading comprehension, and written expression.

• Decoding is a reader's ability to understand phonological rules and discriminate the sounds. Then the reader has to learn to blend the sounds together until the word and it's meaning are recognized.
• Reading comprehension is when the reader understands the passage, paragraph, or portion of the text. The reader should also be able to draw conclusions and make inferences from what was read.
• Written expression is the process of taking the thought and getting out by a written form of language. Writing skills are related to story telling skills. Writers need to consider the audience and the purpose of their work. They must plan, organize, and monitor the content using all that they know about semantics, syntax, and pragmatics.

My favorite therapy tool for improving reading comprehension skills is teaching the Visualizing and Verbalizing skills by Lindamood-Bell. I found that most of my students did NOT create a picture in their "mind's eye" while they were reading. This therapy program teaches them to create a movie in their head as they are reading. Once they learn how to do it, they improve their comprehension. I highly recommend this program.

The best life lesson I learned about written communication was to write down what you felt during a moment of anger, put it away, go back and reread it before you send it or say it. Most of time it ends up getting trashed instead of said/sent. I wish I had always done that.

Food for thought: One professor told me that I needed a basic course in English grammar while I was trying to write a research paper, and I never wanted to write again. But I did, and two months later I had an article printed word for word in a national magazine.

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