Hi All,

I am mom to Dane who is 15 years old with Down Syndrome and Autism.  Dane has a brother who has ADHD and is 13.  We have had the little reader program for a number of years. Dane is non verbal and has a hearing impairment.  He has many challenges to learning including health problems (recurrent sinus and ear infections and Asthma).  We have had Little Reader for several years and I am back to using the curriculum.  He loves the sessions!    I think the curriculum and the program are great and wish we had had it when he was 2.  I love hearing other peoples stories and your approaches to teaching.

Hi Backworking!  Welcome.  I have an older child with Down Syndrome and Autism. I think the Little Reader curriculum is a great place to start. Approach it joyfully and persevere. Your child has a great future ahead.  Gravitate to people who have can-do attitudes. Best wishes

In the book "Teaching Reading to Children with Down Syndrome" by Patricia Logan Oelwein, the author said that they originally developed the reading program to help kids who were non-verbal to communicate.  The book is a great resource.  My son is older with Down Syndrome and Autism and non-verbal. He loves Little Reader curriculum. I do it with him twice a day. I am also doing the "Teaching Reading to Children with Down Syndrome" modified to use picture exchange as the labeling.  I use SymbolStix picture symbols https://www.n2y.com/symbolstix/default.aspx 

For signing if you think he is capable but not willing then the Verbal Behavior approach by starting with what he is motivated to have. So if he loves to watch a certain video like Sponge Bob you can let him watch a little bit, then pause and start with modeling the sign for movie saying only movie, then physically prompt him to do the sign and give more video, then repeat and then next time model say movie then hand over hand model but maybe wait half a second before hand over hand prompting.

Thank you for sharing this list. I would like to add another to the list.   "All kids have special needs."

Could your son be using peripheral vision? My with multiple disabilities uses his peripheral vision. It seems he is looking away but he is actually using his peripheral vision. Maybe if your child seems to be engaged but is looking away this could be the case. If your child is actually not seeing then maybe try using glue on printed flashcards to make a raised effect and let him feel it.