How this SLP is Serving Students Through Literacy Instruction

Meet Becky

When Becky McArthur, a Speech-Language Pathologist in Waterloo, Ontario, launched her private practice, We Communicate, in 2019, she envisioned supporting students with speech and language needs in their homes. Just one year later, the pandemic forced her to pivot entirely online and opened a surprising door into literacy.

“My literacy kids were the easiest to transition online. With digital materials, they were thriving. That’s when I realized this might be the piece I’d been missing.”

Challenges She Initially Faced

Like many SLPs, Becky noticed a frustrating pattern.

“I’d work with preschoolers with speech sound errors, see big gains, and then hear later that they were still struggling in school. I kept thinking: what am I missing?”

Although dyslexia and reading challenges are language-based, Becky had received little literacy training in grad school. Reading instruction felt overwhelming and “outside her lane.”

How She Overcame These Challenges

Becky’s turning point came when she discovered SMARTER Intervention at the SLP Summit in 2019.

“I remember moving through the training modules and thinking — whoa. This is why I felt overwhelmed. It wasn’t that I wasn’t capable. I just didn’t have the scope and sequence to pull it all together.”

With that structure, her existing expertise in phonology and semantics suddenly clicked into place for literacy.

What Her Day Looks Like Now

Today, Becky provides in-person and telepractice services across Ontario, seamlessly weaving literacy into her speech-language sessions.

“Honestly, my literacy kids have been doing amazing. With SMARTER’s digital lessons, I could just jump in. Even during a time when the world felt on pause, families were making huge gains.”

What’s Working Well

One of Becky’s most powerful moments came with a Grade 1 student.

“She missed a word and whispered, ‘I’m sorry.’ It broke my heart — she was already internalizing failure at six years old. Once we started working systematically, the light came on. She could finally see herself as a reader.”

Parents, too, began to reframe their children’s struggles and began celebrating their real progress.

Challenges She Still Faces

Even now, not everything is smooth. Becky admits that some phonological awareness tasks take time to stick.

“I had one student who couldn’t master rhyming for months. Eventually, I pivoted, worked on other skills, and when we circled back it clicked. That taught me not to force it, but to keep modeling and layering skills over time.”

What’s Next for Her

Becky continues to expand her literacy services, educate parents, and advocate for earlier intervention in Ontario, where access to reading specialists is limited.

“We don’t really have reading specialists here the way the U.S. does. That gap makes it even more important for SLPs to step into this role.”

Her Advice for Others in the Literacy Space

“Two major components of literacy, sounds and language, are already what we do every day. Don’t doubt yourself. With a structured program to guide you, you’re set. Cueing, scaffolding, hierarchy — that’s our bread and butter. Literacy is just an extension of it.”

The Takeaway

Becky’s story is proof: SLPs don’t have to stand on the sidelines of literacy. With the right structure, your skills can transform students’ futures.

👉 Want to follow Becky’s lead? Download the free SLP’s Ultimate Guide to Literacy Intervention and get the framework you need to start weaving structured literacy into your sessions today.

🎥 Catch the full interview by clicking the “Play” button below!