Lougle-thank you so much for the tip. Headsprout can indeed be accessed on an iPad

[moondog]

Followed up the conversation Lougle and Obstacles had about this and by Jove, we are away! One of my students helpfully uploaded a clip to Youtube. So pleased. This will make life so much easier for so many children. It seems that mouse skills will no longer be needed.

We are one week into using headsprout on an ipad via puffin web browser.

It is a very clever programme as it doesn't let you advance without having repeatedly shown you have the right answer.

But I've quickly realised that using the mouse is not the only barrier to ds using the programme. He also really struggles to understand the verbal instructions. That meant I was repeating them for him. He is also highly impulsive and jabs at everything without thinking. This meant I was holding his hand and telling think first.

The first episode went ok but by the time we got to the second episode I realised I was doing much of the work for him. He really struggles with when there is an instruction like"click on the sound that not 'an' . He does understand the concept of not but I think it is hard for him to attend to both the instructing voice and the action on the screen.

His poor attention and frequent absences (epilepsy) means he misses instructions so I do need to prompt and keep on task.

We've gone back to the 'mousing around' episodes and I am thinking about trying to teach some of the instructions playing games with his toys.

I wanted to ask if there is anything else I can do to help ds 'get' what is required. He is 8 and still at the reading stage of recognising his sounds and a few words but not yet sounding out. He does like the programme so I'm not prepared to give up on it yet.

My nt dd is doing well on it so I can see the programme's potential. She is an average reader in her class of 5 years old but had slowed a bit and I less keen to read her book at home.

onstacles, we had the same issues re understanding instructions in headsprout esp instructions like "click on the sound that not 'an"

We sorted it by pre-teaching this skill outside the headsprout programme and continued with headsprout once Dd got it (did not take her very long).

You've raised some very important points, Obstacles.
This programme is not only teaching reading but 'instructional control', which is the ability to co-operate appropriately with directions given by another and also comprehension of spoken language which is essentially a subsection of instructional control.

The Mousing Around exercises allow you to assess the child's strengths and needs with the core skills needed to use the programme (eg rapid clicking, concept of 'not', who said it like you did ) so it is important to spend time on these. Other essential is speaking out loud. Phonological awareness (one of five core skills needed to read successfully) can't develop without this so it needs to be firmly established early on.

The programme builds in personalised error correction procedures for each child so it's important you let the programme correct and that you don't do it for the child, although, as you have stated, sometimes extra work is needed as table top activities to get a child through the barriers they face.
It's hard to do this without understanding instructional design, error correction and reinforcement though, which is why it has been the focus of so much of our research.

The programme does what humans can't (unless super human or whizzkid behaviour analysts) which is to analyse errors, use correction strategies and reinforce with optimal timing.

I'm really glad, Moondog! I got the info via Google, so no genius on my part, sadly.

Thanks for this lougle, DS is quite slow with the mouse so being able to do Headsprout on the iPad will make things much easier for him.

As you say Lougle, a little clunky at times, but serviceable.
A great success today with a challenging young person so we are all over the moon our end!!

That is so exciting. A little clunking is worth it for a good result.

The other way of doing it, Moondog, is to get an ipad app that turns the ipad into a touch track pad for the pc.

The reason you need puffin browser is because Ipads don't have Flash, which headsprout relies on. But it's clunky.

If you turn the ipad into a touch mouse, then your pc can load headsprout as normal, but you don't have to use the mouse.

Thanks for this too. :)

Hi all

I've finally caught up, loaded Puffin and started the 14 day free trial of HS Early Reading but... I've got no sound on the programme. iPad sound is working fine, just no sound at all with the HS programme even though I can see the graphics and sounds loading when it boots up.

Does anyone have any ideas how I might fix this - my 14 day trial is ticking and I'd really like to get DD using the trial because like Obstacles I think the instructional control is going to be a real issue so I don't want to splash out on full programme without checking how DD gets on with it first!

Many thanks if you can help this technophobe in distress

Have resolved the issue yay! If anyone else has this problem, it's the little switch near the volume buttons - it needs to be switched off/on - not sure which - anyway, so you can't see the little orange dot!!

Now v excited to explore Headsprout with DD tomorrow.

Keep us updated.
General advice to all is to spend a lot of time on individual mousing around exercises, taking note of what is difficult and going back over it. If the child can't do those, HER will be difficult.
Also essential they respond in appropriate and timely manner to speak out loud (say it like I did) exercises.

Thanks Moondog. Looks like it won't be very easy to use with ds then. He does get some of the exercise but has severe difficulties focussing and staying on task and severe auditory processing issues (along with everything else! .

For example he did the speak aloud exercise well to start with but after 2mins got distracted and had a couple of absence seizures. Doesn't help that he isn't that good at accurately touching the screen in the right place. But this last skill has come on pretty well in the last year or so.

Will keep up with the mousing around activities as they are useful skills in themselves to master for many games or class exercises. I will also look at the suggestions from zzzzz and choc

If headsprout isn't going to work for ds is there anything else that might?

My DD have severe speech production issues so she won't be able to do the speak out loud exercises for any of the sounds bar maybe 4 or 5. But I'm still going to have a go!

Please talk me through getting this on my ipad.

Headsprout doesn't even show in App Store, so I'm probably way off!

Tia

You have to buy headsprout. The easiest way is to go to www.headsprout.com and click 'buy now' - it will take you to the a-z learning company site to buy it.

Headsprout uses Flash player, which Ipads don't have, so you can't load it on a normal browser such as Safari. However, Puffin browser has Flash, so if you download that and then use it to navigate to the headsprout site, you'll be able to use it on the ipad.

Lougle and moondog. I know you might be horrified by the suggestion but the least headsprout could do is offer you a free licence. you have probably contributed to quite a bump in sales with your puffin solution and moondog's tips for getting it to work!

Haha! Nice thought.

Obstacles, it isn't easy but then again, that is why we need to help these kids as learning does not come easily to them.
There is nothing better in my opinion. There are excellent DI programmes but the adult has to learn how to deliver the programme whereas Headsprout delivers it to you.

Our extensive research (happy to send anyone who wants it a summary) using Headsprout (which was already evidence based when we got it of course) has focussed on tackling kids who others would give up on. Some have only been able to use it for a minute at a time, before accessing a reinforce, others have had to spend weeks learning how to use a mouse, others weeks to learn the concept of 'not', many have little or no specch, the list goes on.

This is where it is different for someone who is not a behaviour analyst as ABA lets us ascertain and slowly change the demand/reinforcement ratio. Started with low demands and a rich schedule of powerful reinforcers, then thinning the schedule incrementally so demands increase and reinforcers take longer to access. Rather like a set of scales or seesaw, tipping one way and then the other.

Additionally, knowing how to analyse a task to ascertain exactly where breakdown occurs, and add in additional learning tasks. It is a painstaking and technically demanding process and I always worry a little when parents tackle it alone with challenging kids without outside help, as I know from coaching scores of kids and staff, what hard work it is. These hard to reach kids also need additional paper based or table top learning to really cement these skills into place.

The child is learning how to learn as much (if not more, arguably) as learning how to read.

Kids who are resistant to learning (for whatever reason, but mostly because the learning is not pitched appropriately) need to learn productive ways of learning very fast or they fall into a patter, or what we call a learning history of avoidance/passivity/aggression which becomes harder to turn around.

I worry so when I hear people say 'Give him/her time. He isn't ready yet.' Mostly the only thing they will learn while going through this mythical period of being ready is how to avoid and resist.

Obstacles, Headsprout gave us many free licenses when we carried out our research and although we buy them now, many very needy kids have become literate because of this.

I used Headsprout with my own children too and saw them blossom so fast. I paid for these though. :)

Headsprout has now been sold on twice, first to Mimio who were appalling and now to Learning A-Z who seem to have no idea what a incredible product they have on their hands, hence laughable price. More fool them for assuming it is like any other old thing knocked up in a few weeks.

Me55, we have used it with non verbal or minimally verbal kids and got results. Make sure you or another responsible person says the 'say out loud' stuff for your dd and encourage her to attempt to articulate with you.

Thanks again moondog. I was recently told by an neuropsychologist that ds may have epileptic encephalopathy. As you know this would mean his epilepsy is preventing him laying down new skills and learning. But I know he can learn new language well so I won't give up on him learning to read.

This is all very interesting, I've spent the evening reading up on Headsprout as I'm looking to get it for DS. He turned 6 in June so is one of the youngest in his class, and although in Year 1 at the moment he is currently reading Year books.

This sounds great, but he failed his phonics test at the end of this term (29/40), so I'd like to spend some time over the school holidays trying to improve his reading and phonics.

The first question is really is the 4-7 too young for him, or till the 7+ be to hard for him? Or am I barking up the wrong tree entirely, and there is a better course out there better suited? Any help would be most appreciated