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The Importance of Early Literacy Development

15 Apr 09
 
The Importance of Early Literacy Development

Spending time reading books with your child, is not only time well spent, but it can help to improve your child’s concentration, joint attention, speech intelligibility and understanding of words. The use of books is an effective way to encourage communication and develop early literacy skills. Parent responses of labelling pictures, reading words, imitating words, and adding more information help develop a child’s language skills and are a natural part of reading books.

Sue Buckley (2002) states that 60-70% of children with Down syndrome are able to achieve useful levels of literacy ability if they are given effective instruction. Even a small sight vocabulary will help improve your child’s speech and language skills, as well as his/her auditory discrimination skills and working memory function.

You should consider introducing reading activities as soon as child has single word comprehension (usually between 10-18 months of age). Some research studies also highlight the importance of pre-literacy skills for children as young as 9 months of age.

Pre-literacy skills include book awareness concepts like:

·         Turning pages,

·         Holding the book the right way,

·         Books have a front and a back,

·         You read from left to right and up and down,

·         Pictures tell a story,

·         Print has meaning: making the connection between the pictures, the spoken and the written word.

What can I do to encourage Pre-Literacy Skills in my Child?

·         Make a point of regularly spending time sharing books with your child.

·         Choose a peaceful time.

·         Be sure that your child can see the book properly and touch it.

·         Let your child take as long as he/she wants to look at the pictures and respond with gestures or sounds.

·         Let your child hold the book, turn the pages and touch the pictures.

·         Read the pictures dramatically, emphasising rhythm, rhyme and any words you want your child to understand.

If your child’s attention span is short:

  • Choose books with texture, smells or doing-books (pop-up books). 
  •  Show objects with pictures.
  • If your child only likes flipping pages – make a book in which all the pages are blank except one.

Because children with Down syndrome are good visual learners, their ability to recognise and read sight word is often a strength. Children with Down syndrome can establish sight vocabulary from as early as 2 years. Unfortunately hearing loss and auditory processing problems can make phonological reading (or phonics) difficult. Reading instruction and phonic instruction will help improve your child’s sound discrimination skills and overall speech intelligibility.

What can I do to help?

·         Write functional words (sight vocabulary) on cards and help your child build sentences and create messages. You can buy alphabet fridge magnets or theme-based words for your fridge door from book stores or The Gadget Store.

·         Computer software programmes, e.g. BoardMaker or Writing with Symbols.

·         Help your child to read for meaning (i.e. that there is meaning in text) by pointing out words in the environment (street signs, shop names, makes of cars, writing on food products, etc.).

·         Visit the library together and take out books on favourite activities and interests.

·         Make a photo album and write the names of the people underneath the photographs.

·         Sing and read rhymes together. Attempt to write your own rhyming poem together.

·         Play ‘I spy’-games to help develop your child’s ability to identify the first letter of words.

·         Barnardos brought out a wonderful resource called Guide to Books for 0-5 Year Olds (The National Children’s Resource Centre, Christchurch Square, Dublin 8) ISBN: 1 898662 89 4. In this booklet the authors list recommended books for babies and toddlers.

For more information, see:

S. Buckley (2002) www.down-syndrome.org/information/reading

Oelwin, P.L. (1995). Teaching Reading to Children with Down Syndrome – a guide for parents and teachers. Woodbine House, Bethesada.

© Marinet Janse van Vuren, DSC 2009

All rights reserved. No part of this work can be reproduced in any form, or by any means without the express permission of the author or by Down Syndrome Centre info@downsyndromecentre.ie

 

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