Why teach early reading to kids with Down syndrome? According to Down Syndrome Education International, "Reading activities may be the single most important intervention for promoting the speech, language and cognitive development of preschool children with Down syndrome."
To help Anthony learn some sight words, I made some homemade books for him. I followed the guidelines described in the book, "Teaching Reading to Children with Down Syndrome" by Pat Oelwein. I kept the books short, made them about things that he is interested in, and used words that he already knows (that is, he understands them and signs them).
I put together pictures and text, and then ordered flipbooks through Snapfish.com (about $5 per 10-page book). But you can easily make a book at home using a photo album or just stapling pages together.
The first one is all about eating and drinking.
(Anthony's core diet)
The second one features favorite and familiar people and things.
The books are very simple, but they give Anthony the opportunity to work on learning 17 sight words:
- I
- See
- Mommy
- Daddy
- Anthony
- Eat
- Drink
- Ball
- Bird
- Dog
- Apple sauce
- Yogurt
- Cracker
- Milk
- Water
- Book
- The
To reinforce his learning of these words, I also made flashcards and printed out sheets that we can use to play matching games, like those used in the
See and Learn program.
This is just one way to teach sight words. I thought it would be fun and a good supplement to the other things we do.
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