February 3, 2026
Complex Clusters
SPROUT, SPRAY, SPRING!
I’m getting closer to finding all the necessary ingredients to support and connect literacy with my little friends with speech sound disorders. What I learned during my orthographic intervention training this week was the importance of how we attach meaning when we read if our connections between the written word (orthographic) and the corresponding sounds (phonological) are strong. Adding print to my sessions helped one of my little friends map sounds to letters while signing a phonics song. He is a child with omissions at the end of words and omissions in words like snake (“-nake”’). In one of my previous posts, I mentioned how children with omissions are at a higher risk for having difficulties with reading.
My little friend also makes sound substitutions like “w” for “r,” and “l” and “t” for “k,” demonstrating a need to strengthen his phonological system. This is where complex clusters come in. The idea of starting with complex clusters is a top/down approach: starting with harder sounds will influence the emergence of easier, earlier developing sounds. For example, I wrote “SPR” on my dry erase board and talked about each letter and its sound. I added the Sound in Motion to give my little friend the kinesthetic input. Using simultaneous productions and backwards chaining, he produced the complex cluster. When he omitted the “s” sound, I drew attention to the missing sound and asked what the letter was and its corresponding sound.
At the same time, we discussed word families and pointed to letters and identified what the letters were that formed the letter family “AN.” What struck me was how engaged my little friend was throughout the session. Connecting the written with the sounds was meaningful for him and is laying a foundation for success in reading. Written word + corresponding sounds = Meaning. Give it a try!
Next week I will talk more about incorporating the printed word through writing!