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From Good to Great: Enhancing Quality of Life for People with Down Syndrome

Eleanor Stewart, M.Ed and

Danielle McKinney, B.Ed

October 23, 2015

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Health Issues

Social and Behavioural Issues

● low muscle tone

● digestion and GI issues

● sleep apnea

● hypothyroidism

● congenital heart abnormalities

● skin conditions

● gross and fine motor skill delays

● hearing

● generalization

● critical thinking

● abstract concepts

● working memory

● auditory processing

● expressive language

● Visual (sight)

● Auditory (sound)

● Proprioceptive (body awareness):

● Vestibular (movement):

● Tactile (touch)

● Gustatory (taste)

● Olfactory (smell)

● anxiety

● depression

● obsessive compulsiveness

● self talk

● transitions

● need for order and routine

● specific high interest area

● age appropriate interests

Cognitive FunctioningMental Health Issues

Sensory Issues

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McKenna and Stahl 2009

Reading Comprehension is:

McKenna & Stahl, 2009

• Strength in visual processing and relative weakness in phonological processing

(Buckely, 2001; Fuchs, 2006; Fidler, Most & Philofsky, 2009)

• Promoted a trend towards functional sight words based approaches

• Isolated sight word approach ignores the decoding

component of reading

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� Sight Words

� Sequential Phonics

� Comprehensive Approach

• Phonics

• Phonological Awareness• phonemic awareness

• Vocabulary

• Comprehension

• Fluency

A sixth component for learners with Down Syndrome:

• Sight Word Acquisition

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● Use high meaning sight words = motivating

● Success provides incentive

● Errorless learning

● Varied repetition

● FUN!!

● Using high meaning sight words in phonological awareness and phonics activities

● Having a foundation of sight words allows students to participate in instruction of the five components and be successful and engaged from the start

● Teaching with high meaning sight words helps students immediately understand the relationship between text and meaning

● Oelwin’s Match, Select, Name process can be used to teach letters and sounds, word families and vocabulary

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sight wordsfluency

vocabulary

phonological

awarenesscomprehension

decoding/

phonics

comprehension strategies

advanced code phonics

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places

you'll go.“ Dr. Seuss

active reading strategies

� Considerations for each component

� Applications for each component

� Ideas for Varied Repetition and Generalization-

Audience Challenge!

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● Sight word instruction can be an avenue to initial reading success; students not only learn to read words but improve attention to task, concepts of print and oral language

● Focus on sight words initially and phonics skills once approximately 50 sight words have been mastered

● Use the Match, Select, Name (Oelwin) method to teach new sight words.

● After teaching sight words using the Match, Select, Name method, these words should be reviewed and

reinforced using motivating games. Examples

include “word bowling” and “Swat!”

● When selecting sight words to teach, think about the words

that will be most meaningful and functional for the student.

DSRF Beginning reading video

https://youtu.be/d2aqG9PzXB0

Match, Select, Name

D Using a grid of 4 spaces, write one word in each space. Copy the words on a second grid and cut apart to create individual word cards.

D Match- Say each word on the individual word cards and have student match each word to the same word on the grid. Do this 2-3 times.

D Select- Put the individual word cards on the table and say each word, one at a time. Have student select the word you say and give it to you. Do this 2-3 times.

D Name- Show the individual word cards to student, one at a time. Have him read

the word. Do this 2-3 times.

D If the student is having trouble at any stage of this activity, help him to find or say the word. This activity is meant to expose the student to the target words, not to test them.

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� Different fonts◦ Power Point

◦ Word Hunts: in the environment, in shared reading activities

� Different places◦ iPad apps (Special Words)

� Consider visual, tactile, kinesthetic modalities◦ flashlight search, write in sand, jump on words

� Use their interests

D Phonics: The method of instruction that teaches the relationships between sounds and the letters used to represent them.

D Phonological Awareness: The ability to reflect on and manipulate chunks of sounds that are smaller than the word.

� Phonemic Awareness: The ability to reflect on and manipulate the individual speech sounds (phonemes) in a word.

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Activities should be fun; “play” with sounds, don’t “drill” them.

● Use phoneme sounds, not letter names. Remember that one sound can be represented by two or more letters. While the word cheese has five letters, it only has three sounds (phonemes): /ch/ /ee/ /z/.

● Continuant sounds (e.g., /m/, /s/, /i/) are easier to manipulate and hear than stop consonants (e.g., /t/, /q/, /p/). When introducing continuants, exaggerate by holding on to them: rrrrrring (don’t add a vowel sound ‘muh’); for stop consonants, use iteration (rapid repetition): k-k-k-k-katie.

● Stretch out and connect the sounds (for example “ssssaaaammm,” rather than separating them, for example, “S ... a ... m”).

● Work on identifying sounds in the initial position first (it’s the easiest), then the final position and then the medial position.

● When identifying or combining sound sequences, a CV pattern should be used before a VC pattern, followed by a CVC pattern (e.g., pie, egg, red).

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PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILL SEQUENCE

SKILL EXAMPLE PERIOD OF EXPECTED ACQUISITION

(NEURO-TYPICAL)

Isolating words in a sentence Tomorrow / is / my / birthday. preschool

Rhyming- Recognition Does Taylor rhyme with Sailor? preschool

Rhyming- Completion Along came a sheep riding in a ____. preschool

Phoneme- Discrimination Do these two sound the same? /d/-/t/ preschool

Rhyming- Production What rhymes with blue? (shoe)

What rhymes with one? (pun)

preschool- kindergarten

Syllable- segmentation hel-i-cop-ter, pen-cil kindergarten

Syllable- deletion cupcake without the cup kindergarten

Phoneme- isolation of initial and

final sounds

What is the first sound in shoe? /sh/

What is the last sound in comb? /m/

kindergarten

Phoneme- blending What am I saying?

/p/-/ou/-/ch/ (pouch)

grade 1

Phoneme- complete phoneme

segmentation

Segment cloud.

(/k/-/l/-/ou/-/d/

grade 1

Phoneme- manipulation and

deletion

Say meat without /m/. (eat)

Say meat without /t/. (me)

grade 1

Phoneme- addition ed + /w/ = wed grade 1

Phoneme- substitution Say hard with a /t/ instead of the /d/.

(heart)

grade 1/2

Phoneme- transposition What is changing?

happy birthday = bappy hirthday

tom boy = bom toy

stop to spot

grade 1/2

Phoneme- deletion Say clap without /k/. (lap) grade 2

Phoneme- deletion Say clap without /l/. (cap) grade 3

Letter VisualPractice

No Visual

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� Auditory Blending: Mystery Word� Auditory Segmenting: Robot Talk� Sound Positions: Where do you hear the…?◦ Initial sound: Sound Collection◦ Medial sound: Jump On◦ Final sound: Sound Slide

� Sound Manipulation: Silly Words� Syllable Segmentation: Visuals

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� Auditory Blending: Mystery Word� Auditory Segmenting: Robot Talk� Sound Positions: Where do you hear the…?◦ Initial sound: Sound Collection◦ Medial sound: Jump On◦ Final sound: Sound Slide

� Sound Manipulation: Silly Words� Syllable Segmentation: Visuals

• Challenging for our learners

• Keep it fun

• Provide many opportunities for varied repetition

• ‘Cracking the Code’

• Skill acquisition does not always follow a linear path

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Foundational SkillsWhen students have acquired the following skills, they are usually ready to start phonics instruction… however, some students may also benefit from starting before all of these skills are in place.

D Sight word vocabulary

D Phonological Awareness skills

D Letter sound fluency (phonemic awareness)

D Short vowel sounds

D Concepts of print

Continuum of skills to be taught:

● Letter Sounds

◦ 26 letters, emphasize short vowel sounds

● CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant)● dog, wig

● Consonant Digraphs ◦ sh, ch, th, wh

● CCVC (Consonant-Consonant-Vowel-Consonant)● Stop, plan

● VCe

● kite, cute, rope

● Vowel Digraphs (‘teams’)◦ ai, ay, ee, ea, ie, ei, oo, ou. ow, oe, oo, ue, ey, ay, oy, oi, au, aw

Parents

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● Letter Sounds- MSN● Emphasis on vowels

● CVC-flip books, Hockey Game

● Consonant Digraphs- sorts

◦ (sh, ch, th, wh)

● CCVC- Blends BINGO, picture sort

● VCE- ‘magic e’ wand or bossy ‘e’

● Vowel Digraphs (‘teams’)-board game◦ ai, ay, ee, ea, ie, ei, oo, ou. ow,

oe, oo, ue, ey, ay, oy, oi, au, awai

ai

ai

ee

ee

ee

oo

oo

oo

oo

oo

ee

ee

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● Letter Sounds- MSN● Vowels

● CVC-flip books, Hockey Game

● Consonant Digraphs- sorts

◦ (sh, ch, th, wh)

● CCVC- Blends BINGO, picture sort

● VCE- ‘magic e’ wand or bossy ‘e’

● Vowel Digraphs (‘teams’)- board game◦ ai, ay, ee, ea, ie, ei, oo, ou, ow, oe, oo, ue, ey, ay, oy, oi, au, aw

● Vocabulary allows us to access texts in a more meaningful

way; helping us to make connections to new concepts.

● Learners with Down syndrome often have strengths in

naming or labeling things. It is important to support them in

expanding on their frequently used vocabulary.

● Use images and personal connections

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● Choose words from favourite songs and

books

● Model using new words in sentences

within contexts that are meaningful and fun for your child

● Google images

● Have student complete a sentence

containing a new word

● Build cognitive skills such as categorizing

using novel and well known words

● Teach the concept of noun, verb and

adjective and sort words based on these

categories.

● Before reading a new text discuss any

new words and relate them to student’s

prior knowledge.

● After reading, have the learner choose a word they did not understand or one they

found interesting. ● Synonyms

● Provide humorous scenarios in which to

use the word in a sentence.

● Choose a “word of the week” and give points each time the word is used

� Flow, expression, accuracy and responding to punctuation

● Readers who are not fluent tend to read one word at a time and sound choppy or robotic.

● Hearing what fluent reading sounds like is an important part of developing fluency

● Learners with Down syndrome need more rehearsal and repetition

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• Phrasing

• To, With, By approach

• Repeated readings and timed readings

• Reading with different voices

• Scripts

• Recording readings and self evaluations

• Use high meaning sight word sentences

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• Discrepancy between comprehension and reading level

• Several components effectively functioning simultaneously

• word reading, vocabulary, background knowledge, language

ability,

� applying cognitive strategies: questioning, monitoring,

inferencing, problem solving

• Attention and Motivation

• Choose books of interest

� Provide choice

• We understand texts more when we can connect them to

our own experiences

• Comprehension heavily relies on short term working memory

• Choose books that are at an independent reading level so

that resources are not wasted on decoding new words

• Activate prior knowledge so that information “sticks”

• Give a purpose for reading

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Integrates prior knowledge with the text to arrive at a deeper

meaning.

Knows her purpose or goal for reading and monitors herself to

ensure the goal is met.

Explicit Teaching

• Text structures

• Non Fiction or Informational Texts

• Fiction or Narrative or Stories

• Strategies of what good readers do

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D Characters—Who?

D Setting---Where? When?

D Beginning-Middle-End

D Problem—What? Why?

D Solution– How?

• Facts vs. Opinion

� Fact--you can prove, it is true

� Opinion-how you feel or think

• Main Idea and details

• Table of Contents

• Bold Print

• Glossary

• Photos and captions

• Maps

• Index

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I think that Katy Perry is the best singer because ________________________________________________________

When I hear her I feel ________________________________________________________

The best time to listen to Katy Perry is ________________________________________________________

1. She has won an

award.

2. _______________

3. ________________

Facts about Katy

Perry

Main Idea: __________________________Main Idea: __________________________Main Idea: __________________________Main Idea: __________________________

Detail #1 Detail #2

Detail #3

Detail #4

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� Skim through the book

� Look at the cover, pictures and titles

� What do you think this book is going to be about?

� What do you already know about this topic?

� What do the pictures or titles make you think of?

� Set a purpose, write down a prediction

� Ask questions (give choices for answers)

� WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? WHY?

� Make a picture in your mind.

What do the characters look like?

What does the setting look like?

� Highlight new words.

� Do you understand what is happening?

� What does the story remind you of?

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� Make connections from your life to the book

� What does it remind you of?

� Retell the story

� What was the problem and solution in the story?

� What did you like? What didn’t you like?

� Were your predictions right??

My favourite part is_____________________.

This reminds me of____________________._.

I don’t understand_________________.__ .

I don’t like __________________._____.

Who is in this story?

Where is this story taking place?

The next page is going to be about…

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The text said…

Title: __________________

I was thinking…Why did ….?That reminds me of…I’m wondering…I’m feeling… I’m noticing….

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●Auditory information should be paired with visual Auditory information should be paired with visual Auditory information should be paired with visual Auditory information should be paired with visual informationinformationinformationinformation

◦ visual representation of a question, they can access the information as many times as they need to for as long as they need to◦ Auditory information is momentary; it cannot be

re-visited unless it is remembered◦ Opportunities to respond using visual prompts

such as multiple choices written on separate cards should be provided

Sight Words

Phonological Awareness

● Fly swatter● Plastic Bowling Set● Blank grids and flash cards

● Small blocks or poker chips● Stretchy snake or shoelace ● Syllable picture cards● Small drum

● CVC picture cards

● Letter cards or magnetic

letters

● Egg carton

● Visual place holder

● Humorous scenarios

● Personal dictionary

● Google Image

● Laminated grid● Dry Erase Marker

Phonics

Vocabulary

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Comprehension

Question Sticks

Visual Organizers

High interest books

High frequency phrases

Favourite books (at independent reading level)

Single pages from favouritebooks

Board games

Small white board

Laminated cards (erasable)

Multi-purpose

Fluency

Websites/ Blogs:

• Readworks: short reading passages

www.readwords.org

• Readinga-z.com: leveled readers

www.readinga-z.com

● Reading Rockets: free printables for

reading instruction

http://www.readingrockets.org/

● Florida Center for Reading Research:

free printables for reading instruction

http://www.fcrr.org/

● The Measured Mom: free printables for

phonics and phonological awareness

http://www.themeasuredmom.com

Apps:

• Special Words-Special iApps

• Special Stories -Special iApps

• ABC Pocket Phonics -Apps in My

Pocket Ltd.

• Starfall ABCs -Starfall Education

• Spelling Magic 1, 2 and 3 -Preschool

University

Books:

• Teaching Reading to Children with

Down Syndrome

by Patricia Logan Oelwin

• Reading Pathways: Simple Exercises

to Improve Reading Fluency

by Dolores G. Hiskes

● Phonics Pathways: Clear Steps to

Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling

by Dolores G. Hiskes

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� Reading development is not linear

� Opportunities for Generalization

� Try to approach each skill in at

least three different ways

� Reading material must be high

interest, at the student’s level and

within their life experience

� Varied Repetition

"When I say to a parent,

"read to a child", I don't

want it to sound like

medicine. I want it to

sound like chocolate. “

— Mem Fox

Contact Us!

Eleanor Stewart

eleanor@dsrf.org

Danielle McKinney

danielle@dsrf.org