New or expanded literacy roles for speech-language pathologists: making it happen in the schools.

As speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working with children and youth are challenged to assume new or expanded roles with reading and writing, those SLPs practicing in the schools face specific barriers for doing so. These obstacles take two forms: individual inhibitors, involving specific people, and system inhibitors, involving the organization at various levels. To overcome these barriers, SLPs need to be proactive and take charge of their own destinies by engaging in specific actions to assume these new or expanded literacy roles. They need to make it happen by using specific tools at their disposal to influence others. These tools include marketing, effective communication, and negotiation.