Does anyone have that how to teach your baby to read book? Or teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons

[saintlyjimjams]

If so I'd be grateful if you could tell me a bit more about it.

It's not for a baby - it's for my severely autistic teenage son. He's intelligent (yes officially he has severe learning disabilities, but he's intelligent). Quite capable of learning to read, but has huge language difficulties (this is partly why I'd like him to learn to read - I think it would help). He can read and write a bit, but knowing how to teach him is hard. He's recently come on so much - that I'd like to challenge him a bit as I think he gets bored at home & when we're not out and about.

Anyway most reading programmes require children to sound out words - this is the biggest stumbling block as he can't sound out. He can now write letters so there might be an option to get him to do that rather than sound out, but I can't imagine him agreeing to too much of that

I was wondering whether because this book is aimed at babies whether it uses other methods, rather than sounding out. I don't want to buy it and then find it's unusable. If anyone could tell me a bit more about the methods he uses that would be great - thank you.

One book I found suggested online was teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons, although I know that is aimed at typical kids so expects sounding out.

I wasn't sure where to post this - went for parenting as I thought some owners of babies with the book might see it rather than in education :)

I don't have those books I'm afraid so can't comment, but I'm also not a fan of phonetics; think it makes things too complicated. My boys are NT as far as I'm aware and only small, but I'm planning on teaching them letters, then words, starting with small words and building up to bigger ones.

I'm treating it like a memory game, if you know what I mean - it's how I learnt when I was little I think. I love flashcards so will be using them too, and associating words with pictures wherever possible. At the moment, when I read to them I make sure they can see the pages and I run my finger under the words as I read them and if there's a chance will point to a picture then the word that relates to it, if you know what I mean.

Essentially, I tend to view all learning as a memory game so it's just a case of repetition and creating mental links and associations until the fact or process is stored in the declarative or procedural memory (it's so fascinating how it all works and how different types of memory are stored in different areas of the brain; geek alert !). I think that association is important for memory creation too so for example, once you know that a word says cat, it would help to know that a tiger is a cat to store the word tiger; if that makes any sense! I think it helps to give the word a context for the brain to put it in. Actually, that's given me an idea - I might stick some post-its on things round the house with the word for the item written on them and the kids can see those words in the context of what the item is / how it fits into the house.

Sorry, I've totally waffled there - I just find the process of learning and memory really interesting. Hope you find something that works for your son, I'm sure once you find a technique that resonates with him he'll pick it up in no time. Let us know how you get on!

No that's interesting - ds1's memory is exceptional (& very autistic) - and it may be that learning each word as a whole word is the way to go with him (& the way that will work with him). Although I'd like him to be able to use reading/writing for communication as well and then he needs to be able to build words up from letters so at that stage a I get confused....

he's happier to handwrite than use a keyboard (I think, although they have been doing more keyboard work with him at school so that may have changed).

You might like Marion Blank's book on reading by the way northeasterly I tried some of her stuff with ds1 when he was younger. He understood it thinking back but he didn't really have the behavioural skills to do her program at the time - he's changed a lot since then so maybe I should revisit....

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look that up.

I don't know anything about autistic memory at present I'm afraid, but I reckon once he has memorized things he'll probably find an internal process that works for him for the word construction.

What I mean is, once he memorizes all 26 letters (or already has) and then memorize words, it might work something like this...

Thinks of the object or process he wants to write about > declarative memory provides word(s) required > procedural memory provides order of letters and process of forming them, plus any grammar rules he's learnt.

I think what I'm trying to say is that when he memorizes words in one part of his brain, he might memorize the process of forming them in another, without needing the phonetics.

e.g. he memorizes the word in two different ways; he memorizes that CAT means a cat. Also memorizes that CAT is a 'C' then an 'A', then a 'T' and so when he needs to write a word that represents a cat, the process is to form a 'C' then an 'A' then a 'T'.

Really not sure if I'm just talking utter b*llocks now though, so going to quit before I spout any more garbled pseudo-science . God, I over-think things sometimes .

Good luck!

He's known all the letters since he was under 2 (from watching countdown) - but it's how to build that into reading really. Or how to demonstrate reading as he can't speak. I know he can read some things, but I don't know how much - I think he focuses on the first letter I think then guesses

If his memory is so good jimjams, you'd be better off using a v old 'look and say' method book I would imagine, rather than phonics. He would be memorising the 'shapes' of the whole words IYSWIM. Perhaps ebay is a good place to look? There was a 'classic' 'teach your baby to read' book in the 70s, but I cannot think who the author is

Countdown is ace

Have you had a look at the BBC phonics tool? It might be something you can do together and as it is aimed at adult learners might fit in with his experience of countdown?

Does he use a communication aid? Was just thinking if he has a set of very familiar words you could start with those first? Or you can download free communication aids onto iPads etc, then you could choose words with high motivation to start with (fave foods, toys?) and play some kind of game where he is requesting the item by choosing the relevant picture+word then eventually remove the pics so it's just words??

He does have a communication aid but he's using LAMP so the idea is not to study/read the keys - just learn motor patterns. He does using his communication aid to 'read' words (so is presented with say 'dog' as a word then has to say dog using his talker - I'm a bit worried about making his talker too educational at home though as I don't want it rejected!)

I think it might be that book I've come across Fram - Glen Dolman? I think he's been around for years maybe.

THanks mrscakes - will take a look

I have sent you a pm

I once worked with a child who couldn't blend due to oral dyspraxia. He learned to read via the whole-word method (which is also called look and say). It was very effective and I just had to show him a word a few times before he got it, though he needed lots of repetition for it to stick. Obviously this will vary by the child.