"Thank you so much. My son is really responding to the visual phonics techniques. He enjoys it and I'm so glad I can use it at home."

Jill
Mother of a son with a hearing impairment
Illinois

"I began using this program with him as soon as the class was over - in a non-traditional approach. I started using the signs just to "clean up" some of his errors- the visual signs originally were just to start him to look at me for the cue.  Then we began it in his 2 times a week language development section of his training in a more structured style.  We began introducing the hand signs in a DT type format using the cue "what does the letter say" - then sign the sound and model then move forward with removing the sound (and have him do the sound.  We are introducing the written component in a DT trial  (starting with match & sound) and using a word wheel that he likes to do -  When he left school on June 11th, he had only mastered 6 phonics all year Long I, Long A, S, T, M, C (please know  that others were introduced but never mastered above 30%).   Well ladies as of today - he has mastered 9MORE in just a little over 2 weeks!  He also was able to more easily "decode" some simple words we worked on by using the visual sign to cue! YEAH. The best part was today as we worked, I asked about a word he was supposed to have learned - You could see him trying to find the word in his memory word bank the word was  Blue.  I pointed to the letter "b" and asked - what does the letter say - AND HE SIGNED THE B BACK TO ME AND SAID IT!  then his brain triggered the remainder of the word!  I was very excited.  It seems to be helping him "retrieve" faster also!

So we are very pleased with the results and will be continuing it in our program with him.  Thank you!"

Carla
Mother of a son with autism, vision issue and a mild, unilateral hearing loss
Illinois

"Although I have used a variety of cues during my career, I like the organization of this approach and the fact that other disciplines such as LD, ESL and reading could use STS-VP.  I am currently using the hand cues with my K-1 students--phonological, apraxic, ataxic--and they are all imitating me as they make their sounds.  My thought is to have their teachers eventually use the cues to help eneralization/carryover."

Tina
Speech Language Pathologist
Illinois

"I use Visual Phonics every moment of every day that I practice at an elementary school in Fargo, North Dakota.  I use it for : 

•Articulation by showing what I am hearing and what we are targeting.  It is especially helpful for deleted medial and final sounds;  

•Phonological Awareness by pairing hand signs with activities involving rhyming, sound location, number of sound in words. positions of sounds in words, etc.; 

•Phonics instruction by coding all sounds as the children learn to read and gradually fading this out as they become stronger readers. 

•In Stuttering I use it as a cue to terminate a block and use the /h/ as a gentle, relaxed cue for initiation of speech. This works for voice, as well. 

•Language- it is useful for first sound cuing in word finding and vocabulary learning.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg!"

Faith
SLP & Visual Phonics Trainer
Fargo, North Dakota

"As an SLP, I have always integrated visual cues with target sounds in articulation therapy.  I was excited to learn a set system of visual symbols to strengthen my therapy techniques.  Because I believe that articulation and reading are strongly correlated, I also thought VP would be an asset for inclusion in the general education classrooms.  

I was anxious to get started using VP right away, yet my congested schedule left no room for implementation with students outside of my caseload.  Therefore, I met with my principal and briefed him on the workshop.  I proposed that I would work with “at risk” 1st graders to increase their reading abilities in place of my daily 30 minute lunch duty.  The next day my lunch duty was covered, and I started the screening process to find the lowest students out of four 1st grade classrooms.  In a few days, we had our “Secret Code Club” formed.  It consisted of five students who had not yet mastered letter names or sounds.  Two out of the five missed 21 out of 52 letter names (upper & lower case) and 31 of the sounds.  

In only a few short months, they had learned their letters and sounds.  By February, the “Secret Code Club” was moving on to blending CVC words. 

Shortly after implementing VP with the 1st graders, I was hooked on the concept!  I then started working with “at risks” kindergartners 10 to 15 minutes at the end of each day.  Many quickly caught up to the 1st graders.  Both teachers and parents reported that they had noticed an increase in the students’ self confidence.  They were using their signs to spell and sound out words during independent class work and homework.

“See The Sound” links the abstract to the concrete which results in learning. 

 

I have also had successful results after implementing VP with a severe emotional behavior disordered student and a 3 year old speech impaired student.  The results that I have witnessed this year have been amazing – “See The Sound” has truly had a positive impact on the students’ academic and emotional growth."

Pat
SLP & Visual Phonics Trainer
Georgia