Has anybody successfully used the Little Reader program with an older child with a developmental disability? My son is 5 1/2 and has Down syndrome. His cognitive level is about that of a young 3 yr old. He has known the alphabet and letter sounds since he was about 3 1/2 mostly from watching letter factory. He knows about 30 sight words but doesn’t have a high interest level for working on memorizing thick black line words on white cards. He loves watching DVD’s and loves using the computer.
My daughter K who also has DS, just turned 4. We have been doing flashcards with her since she was a baby & she was able to read words before age 2, simple stories by age 3.5, & is now reading at a grade one level.
Have you tried flashing the words really quickly? I find that if I go very quickly my dd stays interested & has a great attention span. If I slow down, she loses interest very quickly. Here is a blogpost that I wrote with an explanation & videos on fast flashing:
http://downsyndromeupupupandaway.blogspot.com/2011/05/fast-flashing-method.html
Early reading as been very beneficial to my dd not only for reading, but also for the knowledge gained from the books she reads & most importantly speech. When she was little, it was very obvious that the words she learned through reading were much more clear than words she learned through hearing people speak.
Although we have used flashcards more than anything, I find that my dd learns well with Little Reader also. If your son likes computers, it might be a great match for him.
For anyone reading this who also has a child with special needs, make sure you check out this blog post too:
http://downsyndromeupupupandaway.blogspot.com/2011/03/exciting-announcement-from-brillkids.html
There is also a forum for parents of kids with special needs here. Perhaps if you posted this there you would get a few more replies.
Hope this helps
Laura
hi, laura, thanks for your great information, it really inspired me a lot! i am a mom to a 3 month baby boy with DS. I have read Doman’s and shichida’s book, and bough flashcard from internet. just wonder if you followed the teaching schedule for a typical kid for your daughter? I was told to show red dot card from 3 month, and add word card 1 month later? did you do the same? except flashcard method, i don’t know anything else can help DS kids to improve…
lilyuk - I’m so glad it helped. This forum is great for answering questions too.
I did not follow a typical schedule, not because my dd has DS, but because I am not organized enough lol .
I show a bunch of sets of cards each week, then retire them within 4 or 5 days & take a break for the weekend before starting a new set.
I think my dd was closer to a year before I started doing a math program & have been more sporadic with it.
Besides flashcards, you might want to look into a neurodevelopmental program. You can search this forum for information. As well, I have some information on my blog.
Ask away if you have any other questions. I’m glad to help out!
I thought I should add that from anything I have learned here on this forum, it seems that my dd has followed the same general patterns in learning as any of the typical kids. Even the odd problem we have worked through seems to be commonly experienced by others. I also show the cards very quickly. Here is a blogpost about fast flashing which includes some videos so you can see what I mean:
http://downsyndromeupupupandaway.blogspot.com/2011/05/fast-flashing-method.html
Laura - thank you for your blog and video - i have been doing flash cards FAR too slowly! It seems to be a thankless task - I really do feel that we aren’t getting very far with them at all.
He’s just 2 and has just started signing which is great but no speech yet (though did go through a period of saying mummy but that soon stopped!). Did you make those flash cards yourself?