A Tactile Approach to Reading Dr Lynette Bradley, Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, reports on the successful use of plastic alphabet letters in overcoming the reading difficulties of a group of children from ordinary schools

Reading and spelling difficulties are to be found right across the intellectual spectrum, but backward readers are a very mixed group. They differ from one another in the quality and degree of their reading and spelling problems as well as in general ability. It is only by understanding the reading and spelling processes that we will be able to help individuals whose problems are so varied.

My interest in pinning down these problems began in an ESN(S) school where individual differences seemed very marked after my experience of teaching infant school children. This is also true of the children referred to me now for investigation of puzzling individual learning dis- abilities, and reading and spelling problems in particular. They are different from one another in every way: age, ability and the type of reading and spelling handicap.

Common problem for backward readers Yet across these strong individual differences are some

common problems with the reading and spelling processes themselves. One such difficulty seems to be an inability to recognise when different words have sounds in common.

We looked at this in greater depth in a large group of backward readers who were all of normal intelligence (as measured by the .Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) but whose reading age was 18 months or more behind their chronological age. These children were all attending ordinary schools. They were asked to say which was the odd word out of four spoken words; three of the words had a sound in common which the fourth did not share (for example: cat mat pal hot). The backward readers (average age 10 years four months) made many more errors on this task than much younger children (average age seven years) who were reading normally and at the same level as the backward readers. Moreover the younger normal readers got better at this task as they grew older and more skilled, whereas the backward readers, despite their superior intellectual level, did not. New data from our present longitudinal study confirms that this ability to generalise from one spoken word to another plays an important part in learning to read and spell.

Value of plastic letters Another factor common to the clinical groups of back-

ward readers is the surprising effectiveness of one particular teaching technique. It frequently seems to meet the different and individual needs of many of the backward readers and in one way or another proves appropriate in helping them to master the alphabetic code. One reason for this is quickly apparent. The method involves using plastic letters to make words and it is possible to change, for example, round into found by simply changing over one letter, all the time keeping the common element, ound, intact. This means that it is an excellent way of teaching backward readers to generalise from one word to another.

The plastic letters also seem to have other advantages.

Backward readers and spellers feel more confident con- structing words using the letters than by writing, as they are often uncertain which letter, or even how many letters, to write. Children with visual perceptual problems find that the clear tactile image quickly helps them to differentiate between the letters, which are very easy to handle; h, n, and r , for example, feel very different from one another. A , e, i 0, ;; k, g; t , d; also feel very different from one another tactually, although they are difficult to distinguish kinaesthetically, there being little feedback from the change in the mouth during pronunciation. The tactile impression of these larger plastic letters helps to sort out these visual, auditory and kinaesthetic perceptual confusions in a way that is not possible with smaller printed letters. They provide, for others, a tangible medium in which to sort out the connection between written and spoken language.

In other words, this tactile approach seems to cater for many of the individual problems that the backward readers have while at the same time helping them to learn strategies basic to the reading and spelling processes. In the following paragraphs a selection of case histories is described in some detail, to illustrate the effectiveness of this tactile teaching technique.

Using the method with a 16 year old John was 16 when I met him. He was a friendly, quiet boy

who had caused concern over the years becuase he made virtually no progress with reading and spelling. Assessments since the age of eight had shown his intelligence and vocabu- lary to be normal, as were his eyesight and hearing. He was now old enough to leave school but willing to stay on if a way could be found to teach him to read and write.

This normally intelligent boy of 16 was reading at a seven year level (RA seven years four months, Neale), whilst his spelling was virtually non-existent (SA six years, Schonell). His performance on various tasks suggested that, although his spontantous use of language and vocabulary appeared normal, he had a poor auditory memory for material which was not meaningfully organised and a particular difficulty in analysing speech. This was most obvious in his attempts to spot whether or not different words have sounds in common, and children must learn to analyse what they hear in this way if they are to master the alphabetic code. For a one-syllable word might be represented by any number of letters when it is in print (for example a, to, cat, high, stand, spring). If the child can recognise that hatlcat or rnatlrnop, though different words, share a common element he is learning to analyse syllables, and to generalise from one word to another, both of which are essential for learning to read and spell.

So John was first giveq an auditory organisation task. Four words, three of which share a common sound, are spoken by the teacher and the pupil is asked to spot the odd word out; for example, sun, gun, rub, f un ; lot, cot, pot,

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Special Education: Forward Trends, Voi. 8, No. 4

hat; ham, tap, had, hat; Bradley, 1980). Although most five year old children can manage this task, John failed miserably in all three conditions (first sound, mid sound, last sound) and he was particularly bad when the common sound was embedded in the middle of the word (mid sound). In view of his poor auditory memory span (he could repeat three words correctly but could repeat four items only if he organised them in a context), the three conditions were repeated using only three words in each trial (for example: sun, gun, rub). John fared no better on this task which can be managed successfully by four year old children. He also had difficulty in producing a word which rhymed with, or started with the same sound as, a given word. Not surprisingly he could not read three-letter words that he did not know and wrote fun as f ion; slip as sip; rag as rak.

a common element. The spoken word is intangible and transitory; there is nothing to hold on to. Beginning with an everyday familiar word helped him to translate his fleeting auditory impressions into something concrete and finite that he could handle, manipulate and take apart.

He made the familiar word and using plastic letters. His inability to analyse the syllabic unit meant that initiallv he needed to work with ‘chunks’ or whole syllables that ha could add to. The plastic letters for and stayed on the table while John was asked to think of words that rhymed with it and was then shown that he simply needed to put h at the beginning to make the word hand. He quickly got the idea, and changed h land t o Ifand; bland; sfand and then stfand.

John was delighted with this. He quickly also sorted out b and d as it was not possible to reverse or invert them since

Condition 1 Condition 2 Condition 3

Last sound different

hat mat @ cat -

@hop pop top

Middle sound different

mop hop@ lop

pat @ bat cat

First sound different

rot rod rock@

lick lid @ lip

sun gun@ fun

- hen peg leg

fin @ pin win

map cap gap cl;;;;;) cot @ fox pot

fill @ hill mill

peel seed feed

pack lack @ back

lot @ pot

fun pin @ girn

@ dig pig wig - red fed lid @ wag rag bag @ fell @ well bell

dog fog jug @ fish @ wish mash

-

@ bun bus rg j

pip pin @ ham@ had hat

peg pen a pet

fish 0 fig kick @ dog doll dot

seed seal deep@

room& root roof

Notes

ae-v

~

Errors 3 Errors Errors G 0 Lymtte Brd*y 1980 6

John made most errors in the mid sound condition.

John’s inability to copy text accurately, or t o reproduce correctly printed words presented one at a time for five seconds and then removed (e.g. high), suggested that his memory for visually presented verbal material was not good enough to provide an alternative route for learning to read and to spell. He was still attaching incorrect labels t o certain letters, confusing dlb: bfd: sfc: gfk: when asked to name them, and yfu: b f d : cfs: dfb: gfk: afc: ufw when asked to write them. As he performed well on tests of word retrieval and naming, it seemed that these letter confusions were perceptual ones. However the difference between his memory for meaningful and non-meaningful verbal material also suggested that he was more likely to remember printed words if they were meaningful t o him.

The plastic letters provided a tangible and concrete medium to demonstrate to John that certain words share

each of these particular plastic letters (Alpha-beta Script) has a small protrusion on the back.

Many backward readers have acquired bits and pieces of knowledge about the alphabetic code over the years but do not always know when or how to use them. John was no exception. When I asked him if he knew which letters made the sound ing he put out the correct three letters.

He was then able to make stand into standing and it is impossible to describe his pleasure, after his years of failure, at being able to produce written language - particularly such long words!

Backward readers are often reluctant to try these manoeuvres in pen or pencil. Furthermore, they may be told to write similar words down in word ‘groups’ but none- theless fail to grasp the concept behind ‘group’. When the child changes one word to another with the plastic letters,

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this concept is reinforced each time he makes a new word, since the plastic letters common to the group remain from one word to another. This is particularly effective when intro- ducing groups such as llighlt; f l ighl t ; s i g h It; sligh; hligh.

John would now go through the manoeuvres with and again and might suggest other words. It was important that the words used were suggested by him, and indeed brighter children might propose words like handsome or candle. For the less verbal child a little judicious prompting is permitted but it is important t o practise restraint here. A child whose problem is retrieving appropriate words from memory when he needs them is more likely to retrieve words which are in his own vocabulary.

John quickly relaxed as he realised that any error could be disposed of by removing or changing the plastic letters. This is an important point with very bright children and adults who are reluctant to put things down in writing when they realise that they are likely to be wrong. Written errors are unfortunately permanent and a perpetual reminder to the writer of his inadequacy - little wonder that he becomes reluctant to commit himself in pencil or ink.

John records his word group in a spacial work book, with and at the top of the page. As he has worked the words out first with the plastic letters, he will write down patterns only for words which he knows are correct. He uses cursive script. It is possible that motor skills might be a good medium for him but as he has never known how to write words he has had little opportunity to explore this possibility. A recently published research project of mine has demonstrated that correct writing of words and subsequent practice, using an adaptation of the simultaneous oral spelling method, works particularly well for backward readers with different handicaps (Bradley, 1980; 198 1).

Because John has so much difficulty analysing the syllabic unit it is important that initially he continues to work with ‘chunks’ or whole syllables. The next logical group for him is ing (standing: ing; ring; sing; sting, etc.) John will learn, as he places each plastic letter in the ‘chunk’ or syllable, that each speech (syllabic) unit can be represented by more than one graphemic (written) unit. Thus unlderlstand has three speech units but the first unit has two letters, the second has three letters, and the third has five letters. This complex and abstract relationship between spoken and written language is a very difficult concept for backward readers, most aptly expressed by one young man as ‘I just don’t get it!’ It is surprising, though, how this tactile and concrete approach helps to overcome this barrier. It is rather like using counters to sort out number problems. It provides the opportunity to manipulate a finite number of letters until the correct result is obtained; and then, again in a concrete way, to generalise from that situation to another.

Steps in the remedial programme John’s remedial programme is organised in the following

way: (1) work from syllabic chunks that he knows, e.g. and, ing; (2) generalise from these to ones related by sound, using the plastic letters; (3) record in sound families using simultaneous oral spelling, (SOS); (4) writing lessons; (5) learn other words he needs (e.g. particular subject vocabularies) using the plastic letters and SOS;

(6) (7) work on analysing words into syllabic units (e.g. unlderlstand) ; (8)

The plastic letters also provide a useful medium for teaching children who have not made any connection between print and spoken language, as the next two case histories show.

learn to segment the syllable, using 1 and 2;

learn basic rules for word building and analysis.

Beginning with apple Adam was a nine year old slow learning child in a special

school for maladjusted children. He could not read or write at all and did not have much to say for himself. After a very one-sided conversation about himself and his inability to read other people’s books, I asked him to suggest a topic for a book that he could write himself. He said ‘apple’, and despite my best efforts, apple was the only word that I could get out of him. It may have been that A for apple had registered since A was also for Adam.

So we made an apple-shaped book, coloured apple colour. We used the plastic letters to make the word apple to go on the front. The only letter that Adam knew was a. We said apple, and listened for the sound that came next. We estab- lished together that it was the sound p , but Adam did not know which letter was needed. I showed him the p , and we put two of them after the a . We said apple again, and I showed him the 1 and then the e that were needed to complete the word apple. We looked at it and then I scrambled up these particular letters and asked Adam to make the word again. It took three or four attempts before he was successful. Then he wrote apple on a piece of paper.

We had to do this one letter at a time as he did not know how to write them but it was alriglit to spend time doing this. We said the sound of each letter as he practised it and made sure that we established a correct left to right pattern for each one. The advantage of making the word first with the plastic letters is that the whole word has been established before the individual letters are considered and written. So we are using a ‘whole word’ approach in one way, whilst in another the child learns that words are made up of indi- vidual letters. Because he finds out what these letters are before he has to write the word down, he never makes errors.

Adam’s hands were round and flat. He found it very difficult to write small neat letters. He would not have been able to use small printed letters to make words as he would have been unable to manage them. Although not clumsy his podgy fingers made fine motor tasks difficult. The larger plastic letters, that fitted over and around his fingers, were easy to handle; the shapes were so distinct that he would soon learn to recognise them. He had been unable to do this through writing or by looking at them.

Adam was not likely to remember the word apple if I took the letters away before he wrote it, so we left them there while he proudly wrote apple on the cover of his apple- shaped book. We intended to have Apple Book by Adam on the front but we had covered enough for one session. Adam made apple once more with the letters and took away with him his own set of letters and apple written on a card.

The second session At the next session a week later it was clear that these

had not been used but we followed the same procedure and Adam was able to make apple by himself at the second attempt. We then tackled book in the same way. It took

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three individual sessions before we had Apple Book by Adam on the cover.

Because Adam’s vocabulary and conversation were so limited we had no problem about restricting our ‘stories’. Each session we made one story using the plastic letters and recorded it on a new page with a drawing. ‘Adam is by the apple tree’ was followed by ‘The car is by the apple tree’ and ‘Adam is by the car’. After about eight sessions Adam was able to make several of the words without any help and was sometimes writing words without using the plastic letters first - although this is only advisable if you are certain that the words will be correct.

“’9179.

Adam’s progress might have been quicker had the method also been adopted in his classroom. Eventually this happened in a most delightful way. Not surprisingly all 12 children in his class needed a lot of individual attention. One morning, when every child including Adam demanded attention at the same time, his teacher told Adam to get out his letters and make something. He had never used his letters in class before. Imagine her surprise when Adam asked ‘How do you make “bridge”?’. He had made quite a reasonable attempt at a sentence and now needed that word. So the letters are a good way of letting the child make his own effort while the teacher is occupied elsewhere. She can then check and give any necessary help before the sentence is recorded - surely a satisfactory situation for both pupil and teacher.

Adam then made steady progress, and a few months later was able to write unaided:

Individual help was necessary, though, to get him started.

Capitalising on artistic ability Stephen was eight years old and had attended the same

day school for three years. He was of low average intelligence. He had stopped talking to adults though he had been observed talking to other children. He could not read or write at all.

At our first meeting he was silent, head down, and would not talk. We began to play with bricks on the floor but when I said that if he wanted to learn to read and write we would need to work at the table he went and sat there. I gave him my usual talk (certainly there was no conversation!) about writing his own book but it was difficult to decide on a topic as he would not speak. However he carried one of those personal place mats with his name on it and a boat, so ‘we’ (he nodded but would not look up) decided that he would be the captain of a boat and go on adventures. We made Stories by Stephen with the letters and he printed it on the cover, which he illustrated most beautifully.

It was quite a while before Stephen and I made eye contact. He would sit, head down, and nod in agreement to my suggested sentence, and then we made the words in the same way as I had with Adam, except that I could not get Stephen to read them back to me. But he had enormous difficulty remembering even the correct letters of his name. As I only saw him once a week I gave a set of letters to his mother. I would give her a copy of each sentence we had made and during the week she would help him to make the words in it with the letters. Needless to say .our story had to be repetitive.

But he had one great advantage. He could draw beautifully and his printing was well controlled. Therefore I began to teach him to use cursive script, because his printed words were so badly spaced that it was difficult to tell which letters belonged together. When he used cursive script spaces only occurred between words. It did mean teaching him cursive script as well as everything else but children are usually well motivated to do this as they seem to consider it more adult.

As Stephen improved his ‘home’ task changed and I asked him to keep a diary. Each evening he would make one short sentence with the letters about one of the day’s events and, after his mother had checked it, he recorded it. I had to keep a careful watch on this. At the end of the day a child may be tired; while a short sentence may be enough parents tend to expect more and more. The sentence then becomes more ‘theirs’ than his. He will lose interest and again have tremendous difficulty making the connection between speech and print.

Stephen also started a word ‘group’ book, generalising

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from the words in his written stories. We ‘published’ the stories in a typewritten edition, minus the contextual cues of his pictures, and two additional publications used the same words (by this time from his own vocabulary) in new stories. His first ‘real’ reading book was The Li t t le R e d Hen .

In Stephen’s case it is doubtful if a conventional approach to reading and spelling would have worked. Although fortu- nately not many backward readers are so distressed, a similar approach can be used effectively in the classroom. Often a teacher feels that it is inadvisable for some children to write straight into their ‘news’ books, as they are having such difficulty learning words. Instead of waiting for her undivided attention they can be attempting their ‘news’ using the letters. Not only are they constructively occupied; the teacher can see problems at a glance and can use the letters to help the pupil sort out the difficulty.

or specific problems with organisation or difficulty retrieving words from memory; and adults who had experienced years of failure. But as well as catering for these individual differences these three descriptions give some indication of the important link the method provides between spoken and written language for many severely handicapped children, by enabling them to develop strategies basic to the reading and spelling processes.

Research has shown us that the ability to generalise from one word to another is an important factor in learning to read and to spell. The plastic letters provide a most effective medium for teaching children this strategy, which involves learning to analyse the syllable at phonemic level. One further essential is motivation and this is frequently re- kindled as children discover that the plastic letters help them to find the key to the alphabetic code.

An extract from Stephen‘s diary (actual size; preceding illustrations have been reduced in size).

The ‘diary’ is an excellent way of persuading older and brighter children to do a little work well on a regular basis.

Stephen’s own pictures revealed a delightful but well concealed sense of humour and an understanding of language that might otherwise have gone unnoticed (he refused to colour a window blue because ‘it really is transparent’).

~ ~~~~~~~~

Success of the tactile method These few descriptions show some of the ways in which

tactile teaching can help students to sort out perceptual confusions. Many further examples could be given. This tactile method has helped poor spellers; children who had general

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REFERENCES Bradley, L. (1980) Assessing Reading Difficulties: A Diagnostic and

Remedial Approach. London & Basingstoke: Macmillan Education. Bradley, L. (1951) The organisation of motor patterns for spelling:

an effective remedial strategy for backward readers. Develop mental Medicine and ChildNeurology, 23,83-91 (reprints available from the Centre for the Teaching of Reading, Reading University).

The Alpha-beta plastic letters (No. 2 set script) are available from many toy shops and branches of W.H. Smith.

Dr. L. Bradley and Prof. P. Bryant are running the five-year longitu- dinal study ‘Reading skills in young children and the recognition of auditory similarities’ which is now in its fourth year.