Multisensory Literacy Intervention Allison Harrison

Visual Phonics Systematic program that provides visual access to English phonological system Supplementary visual/kinesthetic cues 46 hand gestures 1:1 correspondence of signs and sounds in English Helps with phonemic awareness Not a communication system

Why is it important? Early acquisition of sound-letter correspondence and phonemic awareness predicts later reading success Fluent and accurate decoding is necessary for comprehension If decoding time is lengthy, working memory will not hold onto info for comprehension

In DHH Populations Positive research to support use of visual phonics Case studies and single subject designs show improvement in phonological awareness and reading “DHH children are often already at a disadvantage when developing spoken language and literacy due to limited and/or a lack of consistent access to the auditory and linguistic input necessary for language development” (Entwisle et al., 2016)

How they’re different

In At-Risk Populations Research with Kindergarteners at risk for reading failure showed positive results Better performance on DIBELS Maintenance 1 week and 1 month post instruction VP was taught as supplement to large group instruction in general ed. classroom

Other Multisensory Interventions Orton-Gillingham multisensory instruction Air-spelling Tapping out syllables, sounds Barton Reading Program Differently colored tiles to differentiate sounds (i.e. vowels and consonants) Finger spelling – hold up one finger per sound to spell word

References Cihon, T. M., Gardner, R., Morrison, D., & Paul, P. V. (2008). Using Visual Phonics as a Strategic Intervention to Increase Literacy Behaviors for Kindergarten Participants At-Risk for Reading Failure. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention, 5(3), 138-155. Entwisle, L. K., Brouwer, K., Hanson, E., & Messersmith, J. (2016). A Systematic Review of Emergent Literacy Interventions for Preschool-Age Children With Cochlear Implants. Contemporary Issues In Communication Science & Disorders, 4364. Foster, W., & Miller, M. (2007). Development of the literacy achievement gap: a longitudinal study of kindergarten through third grade. Language, Speech & Hearing Services In Schools, 38(3), 173-181. Gardner, R., Cihon, T. M., Morrison, D., & Paul, P. (2013). Implementing Visual Phonics With Hearing Kindergarteners At Risk for Reading Failure. Preventing School Failure, 57(1), 30- 42. Smith, A., & Wang, Y. (2010). The impact of visual phonics on the phonological awareness and speech production of a student who is deaf: a case study. American Annals Of The Deaf, 155(2), 124-130.

References Suskind, D. (2015). Thirty million words: Building a child's brain. New York, NY: Dutton. What is See the Sound - Visual Phonics?. (2011). In See the Sound. Retrieved from http://seethesound.org/visual_phonics.html Woolsey, M., Satterfield, S., & Roberson, L. (2006). Visual phonics: an English code buster?. American Annals Of The Deaf, 151(4), 452-457. Giess, S., Rivers, K. O., Kennedy, K., & Lombardino, L. J. (2012). Effects of Multisensory Phonics-Based Training on the Word Recognition and Spelling Skills of Adolescents with Reading Disabilities. International Journal Of Special Education, 27(1), 60-73. Magpuri-Lavell, T., Paige, D., Williams, R., Akins, K., & Cameron, M. (2014). The effects of a summer reading program using simultaneous multisensory instruction of language arts on reading proficiency. Reading Improvement, 51(4), 361-372.