Dr. Marion Blank
Phonics
Ask Dr. Blank
Dr. Marion Blank is an award winning psychologist, the director of the A Light on Literacy program at Columbia University in New York, and the creator of the reading and writing program, Phonics Plus Five. A developmental psychologist with a specialization in language (both spoken and written) and learning, Dr. Blank has developed literacy programs for children with learning disabilities including children with ASD (autistic spectrum disorder), who do not speak.

Visit Dr. Blank's Blog on Reading & Writing for her latest thoughts, articles and answers to parents' and teachers' questions.

 
 
  Phonics Plus Five Reading & Writing Program (for all children ages 4-10)
 
Phonics Plus Five Phonics Plus Five is the ONLY system that teaches all 6 skills required for reading success! Designed for children from 4 to 10 years of age, this amazingly effective and easy-to-use Phonics Plus Five program also benefits older children who are experiencing difficulties in learning to read and write.

To learn more about this amazing reading and writing program visit phonicsplusfive.com.
 
  Teaching Meaningful Reading to Children with Autism: Yes, It Can Be Done--Even with Children Who Do Not Speak
  Considerable effort goes into teaching children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) to speak, but very little into teaching them to read or write. The unquestioned assumption has been that their problems in spoken language make the mastery of written language highly questionable, if not impossible.

This view is reinforced by the two major systems for teaching reading which are predicated on using skills that are not in the children's repertoires. One system is phonics, which concentrates on sound analysis and sound production. The other is whole language, which concentrates on complex stories and independent writing. Both require levels of language that are unbelievably demanding for children with ASD. For the many who do not speak, neither approach can even be attempted.

Nevertheless, our experience has shown that reading and writing is possible in many children with ASD, even those who do not speak. Indeed, reading is a focus of interest and joy that is unique in the world of ASD. We can only see this by going beyond the assumptions and techniques that have hamstrung progress for far too long. Then we find that the goals of literacy are not simply attainable, they are actually far more attainable than are those of spoken language.

In some ways, this should not be surprising. Isn't one of the most common observations that the "children loves letters." What we have not seen, because we have not looked, is that this love is not an isolated symptom, but a sign of a deep interest in the printed word. Indeed, the children's motivation to master written language allows the instruction to move to relatively high levels of language mastery--levels that are often far higher than those that can be achieved with spoken language.

Our pilot program in teaching literacy via distance learning
We are currently accepting applications from families in different parts of the country who are interested in participating in the literacy program without the need to travel for training and supervision. For this distance learning pilot program, a child should meet the following criteria:

  • at least four years of age (there is no older age limit)
  • able to work with compliance for about 10 minutes at a time with an adult
  • does not display severe aggression
Families who are interested can email Dr. Marion Blank, or call her at 212 305 4663.

We will then schedule a phone consultation at a mutually convenient time. The families selected for the program will have to submit a video of selected home interactions to determine if the child is likely to have the skills to benefit from the program.

Components of the program

Ten manuals composed of over 200 lessons with each lesson providing precise details and criteria for the activities to be carried out. The manuals teach the following skills:

  • Handwriting: your child learns to produce, via handwriting, all the letters of the alphabet
  • Sequencing: your child learns the left-to-right sequencing skills of reading, along with developing the memory skills for holding visual sequences in mind
  • Keyboarding: your child learns to type on a keyboard, using all the letters of the alphabet and the space bar (to segment words)
  • Receptive Language: your child learns to execute multi-step commands involving nouns and verbs (that lay the basis for the comprehension of written material)
  • Reading 1:  your child learns to read and write simple sentences and follow written commands.
  • Reading 2:  in addition to new vocabulary, the child is introduced to a range of questions such as
    Who is this    ? What are these? & What is the kid doing?
  • Reading 3:  along with new vocabulary, child learns mastery of the past tense and s/he is introduced to pronouns (he, his, she, her, they)
  • Reading 4:  teaching at this level includes words for categories (e.g., animal); prepositions (e.g., in), and simple stories.
  • Reading 5:  vocabulary continues to increase, as does story complexity (which now involves linking intentions such as ‘he wants to ' to actions such as "so he is going to ..")
  • Reading 6:   the words and structures the child has learned are used to create sustained (written) discussion on a topic

Toys: to help the child connect the language to the world, realistic figures (involving animals, people, vehicles, etc.) are used throughout the program. All the necessary materials are supplied.

Supervision: The program is designed to be conducted on a distance learning basis with regularly scheduled video supervision of home sessions that are carried out via live phone discussions with our professional staff.

The structure of the program: the program is carried out 5-6 times a week, with each session taking about 45-60 minutes.  The full program takes about 9 months to 1 year to be completed.
 
 
The Autism Perspective Magazine