2. Resources

Based on the areas of difficulty identified in the previous chapter,<sup>1</sup> the following resources were used to implement the different areas of intervention with Child 1:

Child 1's phonic skills were developed through use of targeted phonic instruction, use of phonically regular reading material, reading skill activity books, and phonic workbooks, and in particular:


<sup>1</sup> Child 1 was an 8-year old boy diagnosed as having a learning disability affecting reading, writing and spelling. His case profile and the assessment procedures used have been described in the previous chapter, to which the reader is referred for detail.

Reading fluency was developed through:

[1–3]. The two chapters are presented sequentially in this text, and are intended to be read in

In the initial chapter, Luria's theories were outlined in relation to the broader literature on automaticity. The initial description was then followed by a case study of an 8-year-old child presenting with difficulties in automaticity in reading, writing, and spelling, in addition to the

The current chapter focuses on the methods and materials used to work with Child 1, and how the programme was implemented. Child 1's results are then presented, together with the results of 13 other children with learning difficulties for whom similar methods and materials were applied. Following this, six contrast case studies are discussed, for which there was a

At the end of the current chapter, conclusions are drawn and the reader is referred to a resource of low-cost materials for developing automaticity in reading, writing, and spelling. The materials are currently being used by a network of parents, therapists, and teachers in

The aim is to highlight key implementation variables in developing automaticity in reading, writing, and spelling, and to provide the reader with access to a teaching resource that is evidence-based, as well as to the theory, types of assessment procedures, methods, and mate-

Based on the areas of difficulty identified in the previous chapter,<sup>1</sup> the following resources

Child 1's phonic skills were developed through use of targeted phonic instruction, use of phonically regular reading material, reading skill activity books, and phonic workbooks, and

• Instruction targeting the particular types of phonic errors identified in Child 1's profile on

Child 1 was an 8-year old boy diagnosed as having a learning disability affecting reading, writing and spelling. His case profile and the assessment procedures used have been described in the previous chapter, to which the reader is referred

• The reading fluency ebook series published through the author's practice [6]; • The foundation level phonic activity books accompanying this series [7]; and

• A series of phonic workbooks published by Modern Curriculum Press [8].

procedures used for assessment and development of his individual programme.

unique arrangement of materials and methods used.

rials linked to particular areas of a fluency-based programme.

were used to implement the different areas of intervention with Child 1:

Southern Africa, as well as internationally.

the Phonic Inventories [4, 5];

successive order.

152 Learning Disabilities - An International Perspective

2. Resources

in particular:

1

for detail.


Spelling ability was developed though:


Writing and spelling fluency was developed through:


Application of the above phonic analysis and fluency-based procedures was undertaken side by side with the types of activities suggested by Johnson and Myklebust [20] for remediation of disorders of written language, Harris and Smith [21], Harris and Sipay [22], and Spache [23] for developing skills in reading comprehension, and Moffett [24, 25] for using discourse as the basis for developing student-centred language arts curricula at Grade 3 and Grade 4 levels at school.

In summary, Child 1's programme involved a number of different functional activities within a fluency-based model (refer Table 1 following) in which there were three main areas of intervention, namely (a) language and reading comprehension; (b) reading fluency; and (c) writing and spelling fluency. In each of these areas of intervention there were a number of different components. The programme as a whole was activity-based, and conducted with the aim of developing basic perceptual, language, phonological and phonic skills, as well as automaticity in reading, writing, and spelling.

Table 1. Model of areas of intervention and components in the fluency-based programme.

Implicit in the model presented in Table 1 is the assumption that the processes of reading, writing, and spelling need to be linked to processes of phonological and perceptual development, language development, and comprehension. At least one fluency-based activity involving repetition was undertaken in each therapy session as a means of developing automaticity in these functional areas, as well as the linkages between the brain areas used in reading, writing, and spelling, on which automaticity is based.

#### 3. Programme implementation

Child 1's programme was implemented in hourly sessions, with two components (e.g. an activity based on a language and comprehension area component followed by a writing and spelling fluency activity; or a reading fluency activity followed by a writing and spelling fluency activity) being covered within the hour. As indicated earlier in this chapter, the reading fluency material was drawn from a resource of 80 graded, large-print, phonically based ebooks written by the author<sup>2</sup> . These were used both as material for developing reading fluency [26], as well as for activities designed to develop writing and spelling fluency [27, 28], with phonic analysis forming an essential component in both these areas of the programme. The reading fluency as well as the writing and spelling fluency activities and methods were then reinforced by being implemented at home<sup>3</sup> .

As English is a relatively complex written language system, both reading fluency and writing and spelling fluency, were developed through two linked strategies. On the one hand, fluencybased methods were used which aimed to develop automaticity through repetition, while at the same time phonic analysis was undertaken as the basis for developing alphabetic and word attack skills. This was done using a seven vowel phonic analysis system designed to simplify the phonic rules, while at the same time lessening the orthographic constraints applying in English text. The use of seven as opposed to five vowels was based on indications from Perfetti and McCutchen's work [29–32] and Perfetti et al.'s research in China [33] of a universal phonic principle which is applied across both shallow and more opaque as well as pictographically based orthographies, as soon as the phonological basis of a particular written language system is mastered by the child.

As English orthography is complex, opaque, and takes longer to grasp than more transparent orthographies [34], the author's aim was to make English orthography transparent through consistent use of a phonic analysis system which was consistent, easy to explain, and easy for Child 1 to master and then apply. Use of seven vowels removed many of the inconsistencies and constraints implicit in the tasks of learning to read, copy, write, and spell using the English language, with which Child 1 was experiencing difficulty. As the largeprint reading materials in the practice's database had been written based on phonic principles, they could be used as the basis for both the reading fluency as well as the writing and spelling areas of intervention. The ebooks were thus used both in therapy, and were also made available by email to Child 1's parents so that sufficient repetition could be provided on a daily basis for automaticity to develop.

Theoretically, these areas of intervention and components in Child 1's programme reflected the previous contributions of Orton and Gillingham [35–37], Fernald [38], and the Spaldings [39– 41], as well as the particular contributions of Sister Mary Caroline on the vowel combinations useful in phonic analysis [42]. The emphasis on linking the development of reading and

Implicit in the model presented in Table 1 is the assumption that the processes of reading, writing, and spelling need to be linked to processes of phonological and perceptual development, language development, and comprehension. At least one fluency-based activity involving repetition was undertaken in each therapy session as a means of developing automaticity in these functional areas, as well as the linkages between the brain areas used in reading, writing,

**Founda�on Level Readers and Ac�vity Books** Founda�onal Speech and Language Skills

Phonological and Phonic Skills

Hierarchical Oral Rate of Rate of Ques�oning (Passages) Oral and Silent Reading Coying and Wri�ng

Table 1. Model of areas of intervention and components in the fluency-based programme.

Auditory and Visual Perceptual + Processing Abili�es

Basic Le�er Forma�on, Wri�ng and Typing Skills

**Language and Reading Comprehension Reading Fluency Wri�ng and Spelling Fluency** Understanding Words and Higher level founda�onal Sequenced Wri�ng and Sentences readers + ini�al core readers Copying Skills

Main Ideas in Paragraphs 3 x 3 Oral Impress Method Seven Vowel Phonic Analysis System

Prompts for Comprehension Silent Reading and Higher Targeted Analysis, Revisualisa�on and in Reading Passages Level Fluency Readers Sequen�al Spelling Programme

Hierarchical Wri�en Extension Reading Descrip�ve and Crea�ve Wri�ng

Summaries and Oral and Wri�en Summary + 10 word a day Spelling Programme

**Core Series Readers**

Child 1's programme was implemented in hourly sessions, with two components (e.g. an activity based on a language and comprehension area component followed by a writing and

and spelling, on which automaticity is based.

3. Programme implementation

Reviews Precis

154 Learning Disabilities - An International Perspective

Ques�oning (Passages)

<sup>2</sup> There are currently more than 80 ebooks in the data base of the author's practice The resource is being added to steadily, and the material is made available at low cost to others who wish to use it. Manuals for the reading, writing and spelling methods used with these materials are also made available by email to parents, teachers and therapists in the network of programme users. See http://www.charlespotter.org

<sup>3</sup> The author sent 11 ebooks to Child 1's mother by email over the period between March 2014 and June 2016. These materials were used on a regular basis for both reading fluency work conducted four times a week as well as for writing and spelling fluency activities conducted by the author as an integral part of therapy sessions. The Seven Vowel Phonic Analysis System was also used by Child 1 to learn for his weekly spelling tests at school.

orthography shared commonalities with the models proposed by Frith [43, 44], Ehri [45], and Wolf and her colleagues [46, 47]. The emphasis on developing automaticity through paired reading was based on similar assumptions to the work of Heckelman [48–50] and Laberge and Samuels [51], as well as the approaches described by Topping [52–55].

The techniques used for developing automaticity through combined use of repetitive paired reading and visual tracking in the 3 3 Oral Impress Method, the emphasis on developing writing and spelling automaticity through repetitive phonic analysis using the Seven Vowel Phonic Analysis System, and the emphasis on the development of sequentialisation and working memory skills through use of graded sentence and paragraph dictation passages in the Targeted Analysis, Revisualisation, and Sequential Spelling Programme reflected the author's own contributions. Each of these would appear from the literature to be unique.

It is important to stress that in addition to fluency-based activities, work was also undertaken during therapy sessions with Child 1 in areas of language and comprehension, drawing on the types of exercises suggested by Johnson and Myklebust [56], Harris and Smith [57], Spache [58], Harris and Sipay [59], as well as Moffett [60, 61]. The programme as a whole can thus be described as both fluency-based as well as language and comprehension-based. The two fluency-based areas of intervention (reading, and writing and spelling fluency) were conceptualised as activitybased and hierarchical, while the language and comprehension area was conceptualised as more eclectic, with skills requiring intervention determined both by initial assessment, as well as by clinical teaching. Each area of intervention in therapy was undertaken using simple, low-cost material [62]. In addition, phonically based reading material from the practice's database was made available by email to Child 1's mother to support her reinforcement of the fluency-based activities implemented as an integral part of each therapy session.
