FM.G.99 LOOKS AT BOOKS INDEPENDENTLY

Looking at books with you will remain important to your child for years to come, but this is also an activity he can enjoy on his own. You want your child to become more self-sufficient in his play, for his sake as well as your own, and looking quietly at books can provide him with hours of constructive enjoyment throughout his life.

How to Assess

Materials: Picture books and simple storybooks enjoyed by your child.

Method: Observe your child as he looks at books on his own.

Score plus if your child will sit and look at at least 2 books consecutively, without adult attention. He should look at most of the pages, in their correct order.

How to Teach

Teach by encouragement (this includes supplying a range of interesting books) and, just as importantly, by example. Ensure that there is a time each day, however brief, when you sit with your book and your child sits with his.

Young children are more likely to look independently at books they know well, so don’t hesitate to read his favourite books to him over and over. Children enjoy and learn from such repetition.

If you let your child help to choose his bedtime stories, you will probably find that old favourites are chosen again and again, and that these may be the books he chooses most often to ‘read’ to himself.

Playtime and Round-the-house Activities

Your child might enjoy ‘reading’ a book to his assembled soft toys and dolls or to a special doll that he is putting to bed. He may also enjoy making ‘pretend’ storybooks out of paper, using magazine pages or illustrating blank pages with his crayons. Encourage him to ‘read’ his books, to himself or to you. It doesn’t matter if his story makes no sense; what is important here is that he is incorporating his book skills into his play.

When you feel he is ready, you could give him time to read a book or two to himself at bedtime. Do this as well as, and not instead of, reading to him yourself.

REMEMBERING AND EXTENDING THIS SEQUENCE

By now books will be such an established part of your child’s life that you won’t need to plan opportunities to practise.

The next big step forward comes when your child begins to learn to read. When the time comes, approach this new step with confidence. Many children with intellectual disabilities can and do learn to read. Our experience at Macquarie tells us that any child who is able to progress through this Program will be able to acquire some reading skills, and many of the children with Down’s Syndrome who have gone on to normal schools have been able to keep pace with their classmates in reading for many years. We hope you will give it a try with your child.