A few months ago, Mike and I decided to buy a program called "Your Baby Can Read". We hoped that if Korben could learn to read, he would better understand conversation etc. We have not been disappointed. Korben has learned the words taught in the program very quickly - which is exactly what we were hoping for because, like most autistic children, he has great memorization skills.
Since he was doing so well learning the words, his speech therapist thought she could apply the same structure of flash cards and use of written words to help him learn to say 4 word phrases. She had tried in vain for weeks with all the typical ways to teach him this skill. However, when she wrote the words out on cards Korben was able to say the sentences every time. We have continued to use this learning style at home and he has finally started talking in sentences. Apparently, he is a visual learner, and once he could visualize how a sentence worked, he understood that he could say words grouped together. Add that to his ability to memorize so many words, and we already had a basic group of words to practice with him.
I finally got a video of him practicing his flash cards so that I could show what he has learned. At first, I thought he had just memorized the cards based on color or text etc, but they can be in any order, any color, hand-written, or in a sentence in a book, and he can still identify them. He even sounds out the words and is trying to sound out new words based on the words he has already memorized. Needless to say, I am a HUGE supporter of this program. Not only has it helped Korben with his speech, but he seems to have gained confidence, knowing that he excels at his "words". He still has a hard time conversing, but he is headed in the right direction.
8 comments:
AWSOME!!!! Way to go Korben! He has come such a long way and I love how excited he gets to show us his new things when we come visit. He has shown so much progress. The hard work is paying off. Keep it up.
That is great! He just seems to keep improving in all you are trying to help him with. He's doing awesome... and so you are you guys!
That is the coolest video ever!! I was watching it when LeRoy walked in the room and he was so amazed that he had me start it at the beginning again so he could see the whole thing. Our favorites were: monkey, gorilla and rhinocerous. Sooo Cute!
I also love his own expression of excitement in the activity and how he sounds the words out. What a smart kid! (and a smart mom for getting the program!)
We had a program like that years ago that I worked with some of you kids. I was amazed then at how well it worked for some of you. It is obviously what he needs to help him. Great job Korben and Kate
That is amazing! Gorilla and bellybutton are soooo cute! What a great program. Good job Korben!
I love how he says gorilla and umbrella. Such a cute and SMART little guy!
What a great find. I can imagine how thrilled you were that it worked so well. How does he do that. I'm still amazed because he seems way to young to know how to read. What a smarty. Andie can only recognize her own name and some of the alphabet. I wonder where we get a program like that?
Totally Awesome Korben!
That's amazing how many big words he can say. I like that you aren't just working on small words but the bigger words most wouldn't expect. He is doing so well. His memorization skills are awesome but isn't that what we do when we read? We memorize letters that combine to form words that we memorize that make up sentences. He's well on his way. The sad thing is many kids far beyond his age can't even read that much so he is doing amazing.
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