What a Conversation About Literacy Taught Me About Visual Communication

As part of my Visual Voices research, I spoke with Dr. Eliza Akua Thompson, a professor and speech-language pathologist at the University of Maryland. I originally reached out because I wanted to learn more about how visual communication can support literacy. By the end of our conversation, I realized I had been thinking about visual supports in a much narrower way than I should have.

Since I was diagnosed with dyslexia in first grade, visual learning has always been a big part of how I understand the world. Whether it was diagrams, color coding, or even learning American Sign Language, I have always learned best when I could see concepts instead of just hearing them. Because of that, I went into the conversation assuming visual supports were always helpful in every part of literacy instruction.

One of the biggest things I learned was that visual supports should support reading, not replace it. Eliza explained that children still need strong phonics and phonemic awareness skills to become successful readers. Pictures, gestures, and other visual tools can be helpful when they improve understanding and comprehension, but they should not become a way to guess unfamiliar words. That distinction was something I had never really thought about before.

We also talked about communication beyond spoken language. Eliza explained that children who use picture supports, sign language, or AAC devices can sometimes be underestimated because people assume those tools will limit spoken language. Instead, these tools can give children additional ways to communicate, reduce frustration, and express themselves while their language continues to develop.

That idea connected with so many of the conversations I have had this summer. Again and again, I have heard that communication is much bigger than spoken words. Children communicate through gestures, facial expressions, movement, signs, drawings, and shared experiences. When teachers recognize those forms of communication, they give more children ways to participate and show what they understand.

Another part of our conversation focused on dyslexia. We talked about how many children are not identified until they have already struggled for years, even though early intervention can make such a difference. One idea from our conversation has stayed with me: sometimes we focus so much on what is difficult for the child that we forget to ask whether the way something is being taught could change too.

That shifted my perspective. Instead of only asking how we can help children adapt to the way reading is taught, maybe we should also be asking how instruction can better respond to the different ways children learn.

More than anything, this interview changed the way I think about visual communication. It is not about finding an easier way to learn or replacing skills children still need to develop. It is about understanding when another form of communication can make information more accessible, help a child participate, or give them another way to show what they know.

I left the conversation wondering: How can visual supports make learning more accessible without getting in the way of the skills children still need to build?