READING: HOW TO DO NO-FAILURE TESTING
Errorless Testing
Errorless Testing is the way to go with our kids, who typically have an undiagnosed syndrome: “Fear of Failure” (FOF) Syndrome. “No, I can’t!…I don’t know!…I can’t do it!...No!” Does that sound familiar? All humans shrink from failure, but our children perhaps more than most: if they think a task is beyond them, they will shut down rather than fail at it. You see this all the time, I know. Shut down, turned off, withdrawn, outta here. That’s why I designed my reading books for quick success; I want success to hit them fast, before they have a chance to fail.
In addition to using motivating, sure-to-succeed materials, we need to learn Errorless Testing techniques and practice them in the “fail-safe” order. It’s simple and you know these, but may not have thought of them as a bundle:
- First, Matching
- Second, Selecting
- Third only, Naming
Matching
Jumping too soon to #3, as in asking, “What’s this word?”, is a big No-No. Guaranteed to trigger FOF. See “FAILURE” blinking in Neon lights. So we begin testing reading with a task we know they can absolutely do: Matching. Versatile Tool: You can use Lotto boards like I’ve talked about in my blog on Lottos. 6-up Lotto games can be used showing 2, 3, 4, or 6 words or images. (You cover part of a page of 6 words.) Start with 2 and work up to 6. (See samples above.)
Tip: Having the child match picture-to-picture first tricks them into confidence. Love that. They’re relaxed and interested, because the task is so easy for them. It also primes the visual pathway for the task ahead. So as a warm-up, start with picture-to-picture. Then move to the task of matching word-to-word.
Selecting
Again, start with just 2-up: put two word cards on the table and ask for one of them. As the child’s vocabulary and working memory expands, you can ask for one word out of a field of 3, then 4, 5, or 6. Gradually, slowly, you stretch the skill. It’s easy in this way to gauge the child’s pace, so you won’t go too fast and trigger the FOF syndrome.
Naming
This, of course, is the BIG ONE. Either they know it or they don’t. When you reach the point of moving to #3, Naming, do it casually: when you ask, “What’s this word?”, if you’re met with silence or the deer-in-the-headlights stare, quickly give them the word and move on. Be casual. This is not a big deal. You’re not disappointed in them; you just give them the information they need (the name of the word) and move on. Then you go back to Fast Flashing like crazy!
“But he knew that word this morning!”
Don’t worry if your child knew a word yesterday–or this morning–but by 2 p.m. today he’s never seen that word in his life. This is part of the process with Down Syndrome Reading! It will pass. You just keep Fast Flashing those words, and one day, he’ll remember that word no matter what day it is.
Here’s to eliminating FOF!
