A customer recently wrote us asking what materials we'd recommend to help someone with aphasia learn to read. Although everyone has different learning strengths and struggles, two products stand out as effective products to begin with in teaching those who need very visual, concrete helps with letters and words.
The SnapLetters™ Alphabet Teaching Cards contain the alphabet letters embedded in visuals which tie together letter shape and sound. If you think that the alliterative jingle that accompanies each letter might be too much for the individual you're working with, just say the sound that the letter makes and the image that goes with it. For example, in the image to the right, the letter M has been made into a series of mountains, tying together the shape and sound of the letter M. Emphasizing the letter shapes and sounds through visuals helps those who'd otherwise struggle to learn the letter of the alphabet through repetitive drilling and memorization.
The second product we recommend for those who need a strong visual is our new set of SnapWords™ Nouns Teaching Cards. This set of cards contains 59 nouns commonly used across the curriculum, including animals, landforms, space, people, geography, seasons, weather, body parts and clothing, school-related words, and others. The concrete words are a perfect start for those who struggle to remember (such as those with aphasia), as the words tie to concrete objects around the individual. The powerful visual also remains in the individual's mind better than an abstract concept like a plain word would.
Those are two products we recommend beginning with as you seek to teach someone with aphasia to read. Use the comments below to share what you've found to be helpful in working with individuals with aphasia.
Thanks for stopping by and reading!
Posted by: Sarah Major | February 03, 2012 at 09:02 AM