Whole child-focused therapy means looking at the bigger picture.  In attempting to achieve our communication goals, we look at strategies that enhance multiple areas of development.  Research supports that children learn best when academic or developmental areas are integrated.  This is true for any type of teaching including speech and language teaching.  Language learning, when integrated with gross motor, fine motor, or cognitive development often occurs more quickly and more effectively.  In addition, because it has been incorporated, there is a greater likelihood that generalization will occur.  While a speech language pathologist's (SLP) goal is communication success, our ultimate goal is for children to become lifelong learners and happy, productive members of society.  Losing sight of the bigger picture may result in a child learning to correctly produce /s/, for example, without understanding the relationship of the /s/ sound to letters when learning to read.