I haven't seen the video but the description of this video is very appealing.
After you have read the description of the video at BabyBumble, another
fabulous
piece of information is a book that is online at CAST, called Learning to
Read in the Computer Age.
This page is of particular interest because it shows PET scans for where the
brain
is burning the most glucose while it is seeing and interpreting patterns and
shows
a different part of the brain burning glucose while it is producing patterns.
Reading and the Brain: How
Do We Learn to Read?: Chapter 1: Learning to Read in the Computer Age:
Books/Chapters: Pub. No doubt other parts of the brain
react similarly when hearing patterns.
I thought of how an orchestra ebbs and flows, as I imagined the brain ebbing
and
flowing from seeing, hearing and saying. Just remember an orchestra has a
CONDUCTOR. That means you become the conductor of your baby's early brain
development, motivating and stimulating the brain to synchronize this pattern
use.
(We integrated seeing and hearing those phonemic patterns at around a year of
age (using Microsoft on the computer) and after about 4 to 6 months,
Evan could encode her name spelled auditorially at 19 months of age with no
visual
cues. She could also encode, wagon, water, open.....without any visual cues
or
vice versa. And at 5, she can now recognize words spelled very fast, such as
television, plate, diaper, door, heater.)
As you finish a chapter and want to proceed to another chapter, scroll down
to the
window and open the balloon for your chapter choices, highlight a chapter and
that
chapter will open.
I firmly believe that it is of VITAL importance to begin initiating pattern
recognition
VERY early.
Think of a baby being born into an English speaking family, it will very soon
start to
assimilate those patterns auditorily, it make take a few years for
refinement, but the
process begins very early.
If that same child were placed into a Hispanic
speaking
family, instead of English then those patterns would develop into a Hispanic
language.
If that child were placed into a Portuguese speaking family, then it would
have acquired
that language.
This indicates that the brain is sitting waiting to GRAB
patterns.
Not JUST patterns of auditorily spoken speech.
BUT since it is evident that
the brain
is so adept at absorption of auditory patterning, then it seems reasonable to
USE
this avenue combined with visual patterning (HAT, CAT, PIG, BIG, UP, CUP).
By integrating the pattern, plus the visual application and the verbalization
of the
pattern and then following with the same format only switching to a
phonemically
similar word, you have maximized the brain's target areas to GRAB those
patterns
that it is sitting primed to pick up.
Now that Evan can read in her head, we use that ability and desire, to DRIVE
that
speech motor.
She has a book that I've created for her in large print (I used one of the
memory albums
with black pages for high contrast and a spiral binding). I've printed out
and pasted 20 recurrent sentences with each noun being different. There are
four different recurring phrases, such as "Look at the ____", "Here is a
______", "I see the____" "This is a ____". I have then pasted in a noun
picture/word card at the end of each large print phrase.
She will read each and every word of the 20 sentences, which is approximately
80
words. When she finishes, she says "nother one". So we go back to the front
and
she will read them again. That's verbal practice of 160 words within about a
half hour.
YIPPEE!!!
This is a child who's cat scan shows an absent speech motor.
Her speech is apraxic and very delayed due to spastic phonation, BUT she is
working
because she loves to read, so this therapy is a very motivating speech
therapy.
Don't assume if your child can't manually write the alphabet that they might
not learn
to read (even if they never say a word in their life). When I was in school,
learning to read began with writing the alphabet. For Evan this would be an
impossibility. If that motor skill is even slightly impaired and it is the
means that is the beginning method for teaching a child to read, I see it as
a huge obstacle, impediment and deterrent to gaining the DESIRE to read.
I believe that using the Dr. Seuss ABC video was of a great value to us as
well. It is easy to use and has wonderful clarity. Look everywhere until
you find one. I saw a few in T.J. Maxx yesterday for $5.99.
Anyway, that's my tips for the day.
Have fun!!
Sincerely,
Joan