TEACHING READING: HOW OFTEN AND HOW LONG?
How often? How long? This is not only a good question, it’s a vital one. Barring other issues which may need to be addressed, such as vision or tracking problems, behavioral issues, etc., [...]
By Natalie Hale
Posted YOU’RE THE JUDGE! IS THE SCHOOL’S READING PROGRAM WORKING FOR YOUR CHILD?
Aside from being loved and given a means of communicating, verbal or otherwise, being able to read is arguably the greatest gift you can give your child-who-will-one-day-be-an-adult. I’ve [...]
By Natalie Hale
Posted 5 SOLUTIONS FOR GETTING YOUR LEARNER “UNSTUCK”
Learning can stall for many reasons, or maybe it hasn’t even begun yet; here’s a list of 5 solutions to get you started. Solution #1: Reduce the task size What does it mean when your [...]
By Natalie Hale
Posted FACEBOOK REVISITED: ENFORCING DEVICE LIMITS!!
Blessing or Addiction? Remember when I wrote about my son’s wonderful ability to message me and everyone else through FB? Jonathan is 32, has Down syndrome, reads and spells like a champ, [...]
By Natalie Hale
Posted COMPREHENSION ROCKS. BUT ONLY IF WE TEACH “READING FOR MEANING.”
What are we teaching our kids? Our teens? As a teacher, this is what I often see when a desperate parent brings a teen to me because he/she missed the reading boat: I see a learner who was pushed [...]
SO, MOM, WHAT TIME YOU GOTTA HAVE DINNER?
I wrote a few months ago about how Jonathan’s discovery of Facebook messaging changed his ability to communicate. It has also added a real-time spark to our relationship. Jonathan (32, Down [...]
By Natalie Hale
Posted HOW FACEBOOK CHANGED MY SON’S COMMUNICATION
We all know that Facebook has a front and a back. Front: a way to keep in touch with friends and family. Back: a potentially endless time-suck. We know this, and we both appreciate and deal with [...]
By Natalie Hale
In Down Syndrome Parenting, Down Syndrome Reading, Early Reading, Education, Personal Books, Personal Pages
Posted HOW TO LOOK THROUGH YOUR CHILD’S EYES — AND BRAIN!
WHAT DO THEY SEE? Much of the difficulty our children have with learning to read has to do with how that material LOOKS to them. But how do we know how it looks to them? Doesn’t it look the [...]
READING ALOUD = NURTURING + TEACHING. DON’T STOP.
After I posted the “Christmas at Eleven” article, about Jonathan’s dictated contribution to the family Christmas newsletter, I realized what a huge part of Jonathan’s day [...]
By Natalie Hale
In Down Syndrome Reading, Early Reading, Education, Personal Books, Reading Resources, Teaching Down syndrome
Posted PERSONAL PAGES: Your 5-Minute Alternative to Personal Books
PERSONAL PAGES You know I’m a serious soap-box champion of personal books, right? Yes. Forever. But here’s an alternative I use at nearly all of my teaching sessions: PERSONAL PAGES. [...]