As of January 19, 2012, Matthew can sight read at least 439 words (see photos below). He learns an average of 9 new words per week, flashcard style. I use plain unruled index cards and write the words with a black marker.
We review several words daily. He's a strong visual learner so learning to sight read is easy for him.
How do I choose which words to teach him? I started with words that he heard daily and are of high interest to him. Then I downloaded Mrs. Perkins' Dolch Sight Vocabulary (220 most common English words). And finally, we got a list of 1000 most common English words from NACD. (Also google "1000 most common English words").
Spontaneous speech is one of the areas we are focused on developing at home and at school. Early number concepts is another area. Matthew likes numbers. This week at school, Matthew spontaneously demonstrated that he could do simple math too.
Working on counting objects (I forgot what was used) at preschool, Matthew's teacher asks him to put 4 in a container. He counts 4 into the container.
Then 3. He counts 3 into the container.
Then 2. He counts 2 into the container.
Then 3 again. But there are only 2 left on the table. He counts 1, 2... pauses and scans the table. Then without any prompting he slowly says, "I need 1 more."
Teacher: Yes, you do need 1 more, Matthew.
Matthew (speaking slowly): I can't find any.
Teacher: What should we do?
(Matthew pauses thoughtfully).
Matthew: Get more in here (pointing to full container).
For some parents, a toddler climbing out of the crib is the sign for transitioning from crib to big kid bed. Sometimes the transition comes hand-in-hand with potty training. Others may have had to transition, not from a crib, but from cosleeping in the parents' bed. And I'm (wildly) guessing that in a few cases, it's the child that asks for a big kid bed.
Whatever the reason, the transition is necessary at some point. Timing varies for everyone, depending on circumstances and child and whether the parents are brave enough.
Lucky for us, Matthew had never attempted to climb out of his crib. We're still in the (loooong) process of potty-training but that isn't a consideration for us since Matthew is in a pull-up at naptime and a night-time pull up at night. He's in underwear the rest of the day though. And at his current language processing level, he would ask for ice cream (he says "I want ice cream please) but it is unlikely that he would ask for a big boy bed. He likes his brush teeth-read books-sleep in crib routine.
Like many parents, we had many questions before the transition. Is he ready to be out of his crib?
Will he transition well?
Should he go to a toddler bed or twin?
Should we take his toys out of his room? And books?
How much are we spending on a new twin bed, mattress protector, and sheets? What if he gets up in the middle of the night and wanders out of his room? What if he wanders into Elizabeth's room and wakes her? Or downstairs? Or outside?
The Big Boy Bed
After much deliberation and making phone calls for quotes on twin beds, we finally decided to transition him to a full bed. We moved the full bed from our guest room to his room. We have an extra queen mattress that will go into the guest room.
The big boy bed was extremely well received. Both kids were very excited. Initially, all the jumping, playing, and rolling on it make it seem like it wasn't going to work. Was Matthew going to be playing all night on his new bed? Oh boy!
Since transitioning on Sunday, he has taken 2 naps and had a good night's sleep on his big boy bed without incident. So it's looking like we won't need to buy a new twin bed, saving us at least $250. We just needed an extra mattress protector and extra sheets. His new big boy bed is on the floor with no safety rails. If he rolls off, it's only a 7 to 8-inch drop. The box spring and bed frame will be added on when he's older.
To address the issue of potentially wandering, we installed a door knob safety cover on his door to prevent him (or at least slow him down) from opening it from inside his room. It may not be the best solution but it works at this time and it is temporary until we find something better. A door knob safety cover is also on Elizabeth's door so he can't open her door. A third door knob safety cover is on the inside of the front door.
We're also considering installing an extra lock out of his reach on the front door and the door leading to the garage.
The gate on the stairs is not easy for him to move. But it's not impossible. He's still not totally steady walking down the stairs. Maybe a bell on the gate at night will help as an additional "alarm system" that would probably have less chance of waking Elizabeth.
I still remember sleepless nights when Matthew was an infant. As a first-time mom with him, I learned to sleep with my ears on alert for every cry that needed my attention. Having him in a big boy bed certainly adds new meaning to "sleepless, restless nights".
We all have wishlists. Commonly, it revolves around what we wish to receive or have - new shoes, a massage, an iPad, etc. I have such a list. I also have another wishlist - one that might seem more like a to-do list, in a way. I wish to contribute to society, to make a good difference in the community.
In April, when I first learned about the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation's (DSRTF) fundraising contest for their +15 campaign via email, I knew right away that I wanted to do it. I had attended the Dr. William Mobley's presentation at our local Down Syndrome Association annual conference last year. He is one of the researchers whom the DSRTF supports. I was awed and highly interested in his research findings - the continued progress from hypothesis to lab experimentation to very probable treatments - for preventing the early onset of dementia and improving learning for people with Down syndrome.
The top fundraiser would win an Apple iPad - one of today's most coveted gadgets, especially within the special needs community. I told Bill I wanted to win the iPad, not for us, but to donate to Matthew's preschool. I just thought, "What a great opportunity to raise money for Down syndrome cognition research and potentially help other kids!"
After a brief, informal meeting with Matthew's speech & language therapist, we determined that an iPad would certainly be an asset for the Early Childhood Special Education program. Many preschoolers with special needs such as Autism, speech and language delays, and developmental delays, who can use the iPad's touch screen, can benefit from using certain iPad apps. We've seen it in the news.
I've seen it first-hand with how Matthew independently navigates my iPhone (we haven't saved for an iPad yet) and how much he's learning. He looks for the apps I downloaded for him. He can practice speech sounds with SmallTalk Phonemes. He reviews his letters, colors, and shapes with Preschool Prep's "Meet the ___" series apps. He hears his words back with Talking Hippo or Talking Roby. He learns more sight words with various sight word apps. He builds his vocabulary with various kindergarten.com apps.
With help from family and friends, we started fundraising in April. The deadline was June 21, 2011. 3 garage sales, 1 month of selling pretzels, and several generous individual donations later, we raised $2,211.
Six hours ago, I received an email from the DSRTF informing me that we (Bill and Ria) were the top fundraisers. We were getting the iPad. Wow! I couldn't believe it. I was ecstatic! I had never done anything like this before.
We raised money and awareness for Down syndrome cognition research that will benefit thousands of people living with Down syndrome. Matthew's preschool will get the iPad, which will benefit more kids with special needs.
We owe many people many thanks. Bill and I would not have been able to do this on our own. Added on my to-do list: write iThank You letters to everyone who put in long hours preparing for the garage sale, worked during the sale, took care of the kids while I was busy at the garage sale, sponsored prizes for the garage sale raffle, donated on our fundraising page, bought pretzels, and wished us well.
Matthew graduated from his first year of preschool. He confidently walked up to his teacher when he was called, stopping halfway to soak in the applause and clapped along with the parents and grandparents who were there, making everyone laugh and smile and applaud even more. That's Matthew - my little guy who applauds himself and others for any job well done.
He received his preschool diploma. Who would've guessed that my confident little guy had a tearful first two weeks of preschool in November? On his mini-graduation day, he performed right alongside his classmates, moving to the music without missing a beat. They performed to the songs:
- Drive My Car by Laurie Berkner Band;
- We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner Band;
- Animal Action by Steve & Greg;
- 5 Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree by Steve & Greg;
- The Freeze by Steve & Greg.
He may have pouted in the very beginning when he was overwhelmed with the classroom full of unfamiliar grown-ups but he perfectly fine after the first song. After that, he just had fun dancing and being himself, doing what they had practiced for several days. Everyone was SO cute and they all did a wonderful job - teachers AND preschoolers.
One of his new favorite songs is "Drive My Car" by Laurie Berkner Band. I downloaded the song on my laptop and since Bill wasn't able to attend the graduation, Matthew showed off his dance moves at home as soon as he heard it playing on my laptop. And we played it again and again and again...and again, until he got tired.
The song is still playing in my head. He is sleeping now and I have a smile plastered on my face as I replay his graduation in my mind. He actually has pretty good sense of rhythm. I foresee music lessons in his future. Also many months of practicing jumping and improving tone, balance, and strength has resulted in lift-off when he jumps! That in itself deserves a big round of applause!
He'll be starting preschool summer class in the first week of June. And he starts his second year of preschool in August. I was sad that this was the last day that he would see some of his classmates as they move on to kindergarten. But as sociable as he is, I'm sure he'll be high-fivin' and offering hugs to new friends in the coming schoolyear.
At a seminar I attended, the speaker briefly talked about an activity to somewhat simulate how kids with Down syndrome have a hard time learning. The (typical) kids wore socks on their hands, had cotton in their ears, and a big marshmallow in their mouths. Then they were given instructions to follow. Not able to hear very well, it was hard to follow instructions. Not able to move their tongue very well, It was hard to talk. Not able to feel what they were touching very well, it was hard to manipulate objects such as scissors to cut paper or a pen to write.
It's not impossible. It just takes more effort.
So when Matthew comes home from school with some of his works of art, I save the exceptional ones that say:
"I did it!"
"I'm having fun"
"I'm learning!"
Matthewangelo's Gallery
Here is my little avant-garde's impression of lines.
(He has become more consistent at imitating horizontal and vertical lines. His occupational therapist drew the 4 lines on the left side of the paper.)
A circle.
(He did an awesome job drawing a circle yesterday, copying his teacher's example. He drew the big circle in the middle of the paper.)
Cutting along a thick line with minimal assistance using a spring-loaded preschool scissors.
While working on matching sight word cards with Matthew the other day, I decided to try (to test) and see if he would recognize the word if I didn't show him the picture. I showed him the word "Daddy" - no picture so there was no other visual cue other than the written word - and he said "dee", which is his verbal approximation for Daddy. He recognized the word! He was sight reading!
I was very excited about his new skill. He is about a month away from his 3rd birthday and he can sight read. He learned this through using homemade materials only.
I videotaped him after discovering his latest skill.
When Did We Start? What Did We Use? Homemade Sight Word Cards It was in April 2010 that we had started working on matching my homemade sight word cards, which I wrote about in my previous posts Book Review: Teaching Reading to Children with Down Syndrome and Speech and Reading Connection. This wasn't anything I included in our Early Intervention program goals. I decided to pursue this myself. I wanted him to: - to learn to recognize letters of the alphabet. - to pay attention to words. Prior to this, he was only interested in the picture if I showed him the picture and word on a single page. - to eventually make the association between words and the things they represent.
At that time, Matthew had the skills to identify, differentiate, match and label objects and pictures so I decided it was a good time to start learning some sight words, which is a whole-word approach to reading. Being a visual learner, Matthew sees the word like he would an image and associates it with an object or action via what he has previously stored to memory.
Picture Cards I had also used another set of picture cards that I made for him in late 2009. The picture was printed on one side and the word was on the other. We originally used these for pointing, identifying and labeling the pictures so we'd look at the picture only. When we started with learning sight words, I'd show him the word first just to draw his attention to the word and then flip it over to show him what the word represented.
Word Cards These are simply cards with a word. I put some on our fridge next to his fridge toys using magnetic tape and labeled toy boxes using adhesive velcro. I also used them for matching with the picture/sight word cards that have the picture and word on the same side.
Homemade Videos In addition to the picture cards and word cards, I also created a couple of alphabet videos which I shared on a previous post "Alphabet Home Videos".
Laying the picture card with the word on the same side in front of him I'd say, "Here's a picture of Daddy." Then pointing to the word card, I'd say "This word says Daddy. Let's put 'Daddy'(the word) on Daddy (the photo card). Yay! Good job!" We did this repeatedly for maybe a minute each time several times a day, depending on his interest level. I didn't push it if he wasn't in the mood for playing this matching game.
I introduced the other sight words when I saw that he was matching words successfully with less prompting from me.
Another game we played with the word cards is what I like to call "peek-a-word". This was literally holding the word card behind our little whiteboard so that it is out of sight and then making it pop up randomly around the whiteboard. I'd say the word everytime Matthew could see it. If I made the word "milk" run across the top of the whiteboard, I'd say "milk, milk, milk, milk, milk" animatedly until it disappeared behind the whiteboard. Matthew thought this was pretty funny.
What's next? It would be interesting to see if Matthew would recognize the words that he does now if they were written differently. For example, if the letter 'a' in the word 'Daddy' was written in a different font/style, would that throw him off?
More words, here we come! Maybe we'll try short sentences such as "I see ____" or "I want ____" and create a little book.
Other Resources What works for us may not work for others. Some have better luck with pre-made programs such as the ones I've listed in Early Reading Programs.
Look at what Matthew has been able to do recently! He can walk up and down a single 5-inch high step all by himself - a demonstration of good motor control, coordination, leg strength, and balance. He usually needs me to hold one or both of his hands to navigate a step. He surprised me as I was taking photos one afternoon and I managed to capture the moment through my lens.
His newest ability is also featured at Windmills and Tulips, where inspiring individuals with Down syndrome are spotlighted in "T21 Abilities Can Do Monday".
