Early Reading

I’ve been where you are. When my son Jonathan was 5, I was busy with PT, OT, ST, and a 3-year-old daughter with severe asthma. The idea of me teaching reading to my 5-year-old with Down [...]

Speaking of Boxing… At the NDSC Conference in Pittsburg last month, the Phonics Or Whole Word (POWW!) issue attacked me personally in the form of one attendee who voiced the opinion that, [...]

What’s the Sandwich? “Sandwich Style Teaching” is simple. It means making a reading sandwich where Fast Flash are the two pieces of bread and the middle, the PBJ layer, is the [...]

Easy-Peasy answer: Because being nonverbal is NOT an impediment to learning to read.  I say this for two reasons: First, I’ve had an unusual number of students with Down syndrome who are [...]

Note: If you already read my previous articles “Parts 1, 2, or 3,” skip down to *NONCOMPLIANCE. If you didn’t, read this first part (in italics) because you need this initial [...]

Part 3 Note: If you read my previous articles “Parts 1 or 2” already, skip down to *UNDIAGNOSED ADD/ADHD. If you didn’t, read this first part (in italics) because you need this [...]

Part 2 Note: If you read last week’s article, skip down to *Undiagnosed Vision Issues. If you didn’t, keep reading because you need this initial information! Parents often ask me, [...]

Parents often ask me, when they use my Special Reads curriculum, “How long will it take for my child/teen to master this? And can he learn to read?” The answer is twofold: that [...]

HERE’S ONE STORY… If you’ve read my latest book, “Whole Child Reading,” you know that my premise for teaching reading to our offspring with Down syndrome is, [...]

Here’s one for the books (pun intended) My “significant other” seriously disliked reading as a child. He avoided it. Then in third grade, he discovered Mad Magazine. OMG! The [...]