Literacy
Learning literacy starts before the school years. Everything your child hears, the way they process sounds and how they manipulate words by playing with them are all important pre-literacy skills.
Remember those age-old nursery rhymes? Did you know that they all play a part in helping your child prepare for learning to read and spell? Learning to rhyme, clapping out the beats (or syllables) in words, identifying sounds within words and being able to change them are all very important building blocks and form the foundation for literacy development. These skills are called phonological awareness skills, and people who have difficulty with learning to read and spell invariably have difficulty at this level- no matter how old they are. It is crucial to have a good foundation before you build on these skills, as building on a shaky foundation will only cause cracks, and is very difficult for a secure structure to be built upon it that will last.
Remember those age-old nursery rhymes? Did you know that they all play a part in helping your child prepare for learning to read and spell? Learning to rhyme, clapping out the beats (or syllables) in words, identifying sounds within words and being able to change them are all very important building blocks and form the foundation for literacy development. These skills are called phonological awareness skills, and people who have difficulty with learning to read and spell invariably have difficulty at this level- no matter how old they are. It is crucial to have a good foundation before you build on these skills, as building on a shaky foundation will only cause cracks, and is very difficult for a secure structure to be built upon it that will last.
What to do if you need help
There are two ways to approach literacy development: Have intervention first to ensure literacy develops correctly, or wait until difficulties are flagged by teachers (which may happen anywhere between kindergarten through to high school, or not at all, depending on individual teachers and their knowledge of literacy development; as well as how clever children are at covering up their difficulties- and they are very clever at this- until it is impossible to hide at around grade 3).
Ealy intervention is always the best approach to ensure children don't 'fall through the cracks'. If you feel your child is having difficulty at preschool or school in learning how to 'play with sounds', including identifying sounds within words, rhyming, manipulating them by changing them (such as 'Say mat. Say mat again but change the m to p'), they will need assistance These skills are expected of children entering kindergarten, and are certainly the first things taught.
It is very important to note that children who have had difficulty with learning to say speech sounds correctly are AT RISK for literacy delay. This is well documented in the literature, so if your child has had difficulty in this area, please be aware of this fact.
The intervention approach at CommunicArt, no matter how old the person, is to go back to these foundation levels and ensure that they are strong, before going any further. As already stated, a poor foundation will not support the weight of literacy expectations expected of an individual- whether they are a child in year 1 or an adult. Having a strong foundation is key, and is the only place to start. CommunicArt uses a multisensory approach to teach the basic letter-sound awareness, based on what happens inside the mouth, with the airflow and with the voice when each sound is said. This gives the student a number of different ways to connect with sounds and how they are made, when they are having difficulties with them. This is especially true when learning the very tricky and sneaky vowel sounds. They are all so similar and so very easy to get mixed up!
My treatment approach is a conglomeration of different methods I have studied and learned over time. It takes into account the learning of each individual person, and ensures that the treatment approach is just right for them.
Please contact me, or a speech pathologist in your area, if you are concerned about your literacy skills, your childrens' literacy skills or anyone you know who is having difficulty in this area.
Ealy intervention is always the best approach to ensure children don't 'fall through the cracks'. If you feel your child is having difficulty at preschool or school in learning how to 'play with sounds', including identifying sounds within words, rhyming, manipulating them by changing them (such as 'Say mat. Say mat again but change the m to p'), they will need assistance These skills are expected of children entering kindergarten, and are certainly the first things taught.
It is very important to note that children who have had difficulty with learning to say speech sounds correctly are AT RISK for literacy delay. This is well documented in the literature, so if your child has had difficulty in this area, please be aware of this fact.
The intervention approach at CommunicArt, no matter how old the person, is to go back to these foundation levels and ensure that they are strong, before going any further. As already stated, a poor foundation will not support the weight of literacy expectations expected of an individual- whether they are a child in year 1 or an adult. Having a strong foundation is key, and is the only place to start. CommunicArt uses a multisensory approach to teach the basic letter-sound awareness, based on what happens inside the mouth, with the airflow and with the voice when each sound is said. This gives the student a number of different ways to connect with sounds and how they are made, when they are having difficulties with them. This is especially true when learning the very tricky and sneaky vowel sounds. They are all so similar and so very easy to get mixed up!
My treatment approach is a conglomeration of different methods I have studied and learned over time. It takes into account the learning of each individual person, and ensures that the treatment approach is just right for them.
Please contact me, or a speech pathologist in your area, if you are concerned about your literacy skills, your childrens' literacy skills or anyone you know who is having difficulty in this area.