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global developmental delay

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

Can a child with global developmental delay learn to read?

I am teaching a 6 year old child with GDD. Lindamood doesn’t work because he has language and speech delay. I have tried Slingerland and phonics, but he tends to memorize the key words. Lately he has learned the following letters and sounds: m s a i t, but he could only blend 2 letters. When he blends 3 letters say “mat”, he says the key word mittens for m. Maybe I need to teach all the letters and sounds first and teach him to blend 2 letters only?

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 09/21/2002 - 1:57 PM

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You are correct that you must back up in your scope and sequence to the pre-reading skills: identifying letters and associative sounds. Back up to one letter in the sequence and try building to the back end of of CVC words. Endings like ap, at, am, ab, ag, ot, etc. as he/she gets the vowels down. Then add a consonent on the front. (I use little magnetic squares on a cookie sheet—but also use cardstock squares that I print letters on for students to play wordgames.)

When you ask if a student like this can learn to read, the question is not if, but how and how long? It will be very slow moving. I have worked with some students with cognitive delays *and* speech/language issues who couldn’t do Lindamood. I did some whole word, especially with pictures. (Like the SRA Reading Lab sort of thing.) I did some phonics with that. Very, very slow progress.

I would also do some VAKT (Visual/Auditory/Tactile/ Kinesthetic) kinds of exercises in an effort to slowly build memory. I carefully print letters and have the student trace over. I don’t try the eye-hand coordinative stuff of having them trace without a visual cue until they can read some on their own. Saying the sound while you trace is really important to memory.

It will be slow.

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