See and Learn Saying Words 1

See and Learn Saying Words 1 is designed to help children with Down syndrome to develop clear speech. It may also be helpful for other children with similar speech difficulties.

See and Learn Saying Words 1 provides simple activities that encourage the imitation and repetition of one- and two-syllable words. It includes eight sets of words, each starting with a speech sound that usually develops early in typical development (b, d, m, p, y, n, w and h). The 72 target words represent a range of vowel-consonant combinations and are selected from vocabulary suitable for younger children.

See and Learn Saying Words 1 can help parents, teachers and therapists support regular speech practice. Research suggests that practice and repetition are necessary to develop clearer speech.

See and Learn Saying Words 1 builds on the skills taught in the previous two See and Learn Speech steps.

Activities

See and Learn Saying Words 1 features three activities:

• Learning to Say Words - using picture prompt cards and speechreading cues to encourage first attempts at saying words
• Practising Saying Words - using sets of picture prompt cards in games to encourage more complete word production
• Rehearsing Saying Words - multiple repetitions of specific words to improve the clarity and consistency of word production

Suitability

Children can start the activities in See and Learn Saying Words 1 when they:

• can produce at least some of the consonants b, d, m, p, y, n, w or h - for example, m, and b
• can produce simple combinations of these consonants and a vowel - for example, moo and baa

We recommend that young children practice these activities as soon as they meet these criteria. However, the activities are also suitable for older children who need additional practice to improve their speech clarity.