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Autism news: This activity is crucial to success in reading November 12, 2020 |
Hello! Reading was never so much fun. My son and I were enjoying his favorite book, Curious George. When we got to the part where George took an “accidental” swim in the ocean, his eyes locked with mine as he giggled with delight. In that unusual moment, we were actually sharing a joke! This was coming from a boy who rarely, if ever, made eye contact. As far as I can remember, he had never understood or shared a joke with anyone before. This is just one example of the power and benefit of reading with your child. Studies prove the effectiveness of reading to children. Research shows that this simple activity improves cognitive functioning, reading comprehension, listening abilities, spelling, vocabulary and other academic skills. Reading to your child also helps her improve letter recognition and the ability to match letters with sounds. Equally important, if you choose books your child loves, she will be more likely to love reading and encouraged to read on her own. If these reasons aren’t enough, a study published in the Pediatrics journal also found that this important habit decreases aggression and other negative behavior, even in the long term. What’s really great is that you can get started today. You probably have at least a few children’s books at home. Isn’t it amazing that the simple act of reading a story to your child each day could reap so many benefits? This one daily practice is probably the single most important activity for improving your child’s reading skills. But of course, our kids still must be formally taught how to read. That’s why over the last few months I’ve been working on a book that will help you learn how to teach your child with autism to read. Forget the myth that our kids can’t learn. My son has moderate-to-severe autism, and reading is probably his best subject. If he can learn to read, I’m confident that you can teach your child to read. In my upcoming book, I will teach you step by step exactly how I taught my son to read. I’ll help you learn the basics of how to teach your child to “break the code” of words and techniques for helping your child understand what he is reading. You’ll also learn how to avoid some pitfalls you may face as you navigate teaching reading to a child with autism. I’m now putting the finishing touches on the book and hope to have it available soon. So stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, you can check out the link at the end of this message for a few tips to get you started with reading to your child. Warm Regards, Kay Donato https://www.discoverautismhelp.com/ Find tips for reading to your child here. |
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