We are delighted to be able to supply branches with the See and Learn Programmes for use with younger members, thanks to the funding of HB Fundays 2020. We have ordered a full set of See and Learn Resources for each branch, and are expecting delivery in the next few weeks.
The full kit will include all of the See and Learn packs currently available, covering speech, reading and language, and numbers.
Each branch will receive five See and Learn Speech sets, which can be used with babies from around 6 months old. The speech programme supports a structured approach to speech development, including learning to listen and remember sounds, hearing the differences between sounds, and making sounds and eventually combining these into words.
The five kits are:
- • Speech sounds
- • Combining sounds
- • Saying words 1-3
The seven kits in the See and Learn Language and Reading programme are also on their way. These are designed to support a structured, developmental approach to learning vocabulary. It is especially important for children with Down syndrome to be given visual support for learning new words and concepts, as many find it difficult to learn just from listening.
The seven kits are:
- • Vocabulary 1-3
- • Phrases 1-3
- • Sentences (2 boxes)
There is also a See and Learn First Counting Kit, which is the first stage of a numbers programme which is currently being developed.
These programmes can be used for children from 6 months to around 7 years. They use small predictable steps to support children at different stages of language development. Errorless learning techniques encourage participation and increase confidence and self-esteem.
As part of our project to make the programme more readily available, we have also been talking to the library service and to the county education centres.
We know that this kind of systematic, structured approach to learning can be very beneficial for young children with Down syndrome, and the initial project showed good results. We hope that by making the kits more easily available locally, more children can benefit.
