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 SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

FAQs

Since the launching of my website I have received many questions, queries and requests from parents, teachers and other professionals.

Some of the more common inquiries and my responses are presented on the DVD.

Topics include the following-

School Readiness

Early Learning-Reading, Spelling, Maths

Giftedness

Asperger’s Syndrome

Questions on two of the above topics included on the DVD are presented below.

·        School Readiness

·        Teaching your child to read and spell

SCHOOL READINESS

How do I determine if my daughter/son is ready to start school?

In the past, learning readiness tests were a common method of assessing a child’s readiness to commence school. The focus was mainly on the prerequisite skills for reading. Today, very few general learning readiness tests are available and there is not much evidence that they are used.

Parents are usually in the best position to evaluate their child’s social and emotional maturity. They obviously witness behaviour in a wide variety of situations and over extended time periods. Teachers and other professionals do not have such luxuries. Hence, observant, objective parents should be in a position to accurately determine their child’s social and emotional maturity. Valuable insights are gained from a comparison with the early development of any sibling(s), and with similar aged peers. Furthermore, staff at the child’s preschool should provide useful information. Unfortunately, some parents are in denial about their child’s reported immature behaviour.

Readiness in terms of other factors including general ability (thinking and reasoning) language (both receptive and expressive) and important learning requirements such as motivation, task commitment and concentration are clearly important.

Checklists that enable parents and teachers to ascertain readiness in a variety of important areas are available on my website (See Learning Readiness and Early Learning Essentials Sections for details). Generally, these checklists focus on the readiness skills considered necessary for the successful early learning of reading, spelling, handwriting and mathematics. By completing the checklists, a parent can gain some objective, relevant information about their child’s development in a range of learning prerequisites. Such information can be supplemented by direct observations and any reports from the child’s preschool.

If serious doubts are raised about a child’s readiness for school, I usually recommend that commencement is delayed for 12 months. Remember that the information gained from the checklists and the preschool reports is not wasted-it can provided explicit guidelines about relevant skills needing attention and development. If social and emotional skills are underdeveloped, professional support and guidance are strongly recommended.

EARLY READING AND SPELLING

How can we as parents help our child learn to read and spell?

Perhaps this is the most frequently asked question. At the preschool stage, I suggest that parents provide a positive reading environment for their son or daughter. This means demonstrating an enthusiasm for reading by valuing books, having trips to the library, visiting bookshops, giving books as presents, lots of reading to their child, indicating that books provide pleasure and importantly, showing that reading is valued by actually participating in silent reading in the presence of their child.

Once their child starts school, these positive activities should continue. In addition, parents need to become familiar with their child’s school method(s) of teaching reading. A healthy climate of co-operation between home and school is very important. Teachers are usually very pleased to inform parents about the learning to read stage and advise them on ways they can support classroom strategies. Often schools run special sessions on how parents can help their child with academic learning.

The following material can be also found on my DVD-

Section-Parenting

Helping Your Child Learn to Read

While there has usually been an interest for some parents to be actively involved in their children’s education, this interest has shown a marked increase over the past few years.

During my case-conferences when I explain their son’s or daughter’s psycho-educational report, parents of young children invariably ask for advice about supporting their child’s learning. I remind parents that providing educational assistance to their children is far from easy. Despite the best of intentions, such efforts too often result in frustration and tears-for both parties! Parents need to be reminded that rarely are they born teachers and hence they are best to see their role as being a partner or mentor in their child’s learning. In this role, their most valuable contributions are to engage in relevant and enjoyable educational activities and to provide a friendly and encouraging atmosphere.

My message to parents is consistent. “Talk to your child’s teacher and see how you can be actively involved in the child’s learning”. In the majority of cases, the teacher knows the child’s learning progress and can give valuable insight into the underdeveloped skills in the struggling student.

For the parents who feel a need to try some special approach, usually offered by private practitioners, be cautious. ALWAYS ask for evidence that the recommended method has been shown to be superior to regular approaches.

So-called “new” or “special” doesn’t necessarily mean better. Be advised that there has been a long list of guaranteed “golden methods” of learning to read since at least the 1930s and 40s. Many of the current “new” methods have their origins at this time. Unfortunately, this is not revealed to teachers or parents. No one method has been shown to have general superiority over other methods for all students.

As the following information is for parents, an attempt has been made to provide a brief and concise explanation of the key aspects involved in learning to read. For those parents who would like more details, please consult the Reading Section on the DVD.

The following activities are based on established research and theory and can be viewed as being supplementary to most approached used currently in schools.

As reading is an important aspect of language, some basic points about language development in children are a useful starting point.

The language continuum starts with the child’s ability to listen and understand spoken language. Hence, oral language (both heard and spoken) is developing well before a child attends school and begins to formally learn to read. Obviously, an understanding and use of spoken language continues to develop throughout life and play a central role in reading.

When the child starts school, often they are introduced to reading. Reading can be seen as the secondary form of language-that is, written language being superimposed on the already established and developing spoken language.

Learning to read involves three fundamental skills

Phonological Skills

These are the skills involved in hearing, identifying and manipulating speech sounds. These skills are being established from a very early stage of the child’s language development. Very natural, informal activities such as listening to spoken language, speaking and hearing and learning nursery rhymes and songs help develop an awareness of speech sounds. While informal, these early, basic skills have been shown to play a very significant role in learning to reading and also to spell. Teachers have been increasingly concerned about the development of phonological skills and most will give special attention to these important skills.

Phonic Skills

During the first year at school, students are introduced to phonic skills. Phonic skills involve the association between the already developing or established awareness of the sounds of spoken language with their written language equivalents. More formally stated, the letter-sound correspondences. Such skills involve the learning of the alphabet and an understanding of the different sounds the letters of the alphabet and other letter combinations can make. These skills form the basis of reading.

Word Recognition Skills

These involve the ability to identify written words, both in isolation and in context. Several cues are used to identify written words-

1. Word-attack skills-sounding out words using both phonic and phonological skills.
2. Word recognition skills-the instant, visual, whole-word recognition of words.
3. More advanced syntactic (grammar) skills and semantic (understanding) skills to aid the recognition of words in the context of sentences, paragraphs and prose.

Generally speaking, I suggest that parents focus mainly on the Word Recognition Skills through flashcard activities and reading. Teachers are better able to teach the phonological and phonic skills. However, if parents are interested, they may like to help their child develop Phonological Skills which can be established and reinforced through many fun, informal games and activities.

Word Recognition and Early Reading Activities

Word Recognition Activities

For parents, an excellent way to establish and reinforce word recognition skills is through flashcard activities and games. Key words are written on small cards and the child learns these words through their regular exposure. A list of basic words is provided below. For a more extensive range of important basic words, see the Spelling Section on the DVD.

 Activities can include the following-

Flashing (for just a few seconds) the word to the child and having her/him identify the word. This usually is seen as a fun activity as the child tries to read the rapidly flashed word.

Showing (no time limit) the word and having the child identify the word.

Playing cards games such as match, snap, same or different. This requires two or more sets of words and two or more players.

Having a key word placed on the fridge or some other prominent location and treating it as the word for the week.

More elaborate cards can be made having picture cues or other cues to aid recognition of the word on the front of the card.

These activities can be undertaken in very short sessions, say no more than 10 to 15 minutes, several times per week. If the child sees these sessions as being enjoyable they are likely to participate willingly and enthusiastically. It is imperative that the child receives ENCOURAGEMENT and PRAISE for their efforts, not DISCOURAGEMENT and CRITICISM. Hence, negative comments must be avoided at all times.

This online resource has been prepared by Dr. Stewart C. Sykes - Psychologist. MAPS.
Former Associate Professor of Psychology and Special Education and Director of the Krongold Centre for Exceptional Children. Monash University, Australia.

Office: Level 1, 5 Blackburne Square
Berwick 3806
Phone 0397689990
Fax 0397689992

Email: stewart@docsykes.com

Copyright © Dr. Stewart C. Sykes. All rights reserved.