Allographs* Allographs is a revolutionary spelling program based on new discoveries about the structure of the English writing system. Research by the author has revealed that about 90% of words in print are represented by 176 spellings. When these spellings are taught in an orderly way, consistent with the logic of an alphabet code, students of any age can learn to read and spell with relative ease. Allographs lessons are partially scripted and no special training is required to teach this program. Lessons are designed to work for all ages and in any setting ranging from home tutoring to the classroom. Lessons are set out in two programs. Allographs I teaches spellings for common English words up to 3 syllables long. It is designed for students with a reading/spelling age of 7 to 8 years who have some knowledge of basic phonics. Allographs I consists of a Teacher Manual, a Spelling Dictionary with 3,000 words, and a Workbook/Storybook. Allographs II focuses on multi-syllable words and the Latin layer of the spelling code. It is suitable for students with a reading/spelling age of 8 years or higher. Allographs II consists of a Teacher Manual and a student Workbook/Dictionary containing over 3,000 words. NOTE: Allographs uses the spelling standard for U.S. and Canada. A supplement containing UK spellings is provided in the Teacher Manual. *Allographs: “All the written symbols (spelling patterns) to mark each sound in a language.”

English is a compounding language in which root words are modified (changed in meaning) by adding prefixes and suffixes. The rules of the spelling game change at this level, and attention shifts to the syllable unit and spellings for prefixes and suffixes. This new knowledge makes a profound difference in reading and spelling skills and dramatically enhances reading comprehension and vocabulary. Lessons begin with simple compounding of common English words (doghouse, sunset) and gradually build to include Latin and Greek-based words up to six syllables in length. For example, “inform” (a verb) can be changed to a noun by adding the suffix “shun,” spelled “tion,” a suffix used in thousands of words. It has three common spellings: information, aggression, optician, and four rare ones. Once the student learns when these spellings are used (ÔcianÕ always marks an occupation), difficult words suddenly become easy to read and spell. Long, “scary” words like “determination” can be broken down to easily decodable units: de/ter/min/a/tion. Once these patterns are understood, students as young as eight years can learn to read and spell thousands of new words in a just a few lessons. Allographs II Manual contains fifty-nine partially scripted lessons. Sample lessons for the higher levels of the code provide a platform for continuing development using the Student Workbook/Dictionary. Both components are essential to teach this program effectively.

Allographs(TM) II is a fundamental breakthrough in understanding the logic of the advanced spelling code. It teaches the spelling patterns used in multi-syllable words in 59 partially scripted lessons.

The Sound Steps to Reading Storybook contains the full text of the story fragment that begins each lesson. These stories should be read by the parent or teacher later on the same day after the lesson has been completed. Each story features the target sound (phoneme) for that lesson. The stories are humorous and written in rhyme. Trials in the U.S. and the U.K showed that children love them. Many children can begin reading these stories on their own (with a little help) about midway through the program. This is highly motivating. By the end of the program all children can read these stories with ease. The stories will work well with any synthetic phonics program that teaches the spelling alternatives for the sounds in English. Sound Steps to Reading is based on the author’s analysis of the English writing system, one of the most complex writing systems in the world. Mastering this complexity is solved by careful sequencing of the lessons so the child is never confronted with something he cannot do. Every lesson is scripted and no training is necessary to use this program. Lessons contain the same activities in the same order: 1) listening for the target sound in a story 2) a structured listening exercise 3) handwriting training and practice 4) segmenting and blending sounds in real words (reading) 5) copying words 6) spelling dictation 7) reading stories written with words/spellings taught so far. Lessons are cumulative. Each lesson builds on the previous lesson and only contains words with the sounds and spellings the child has been taught. When lessons proceed at the recommended pace of 3 lessons per week, most children become excellent readers, writers, and spellers in about 20-25 weeks. For classroom teachers, lessons will take about one school year. It is advised that the later lessons (last set) be reviewed at the start of first grade. Research results. A study on two kindergarten classrooms was carried out at the Willows School In Los Angeles. Most children could not read at the start of school. When they were tested at the end of the year, 42% scored in the top 1% in the nation, and 75% scored in the top 10%, based on test norms. All but one child scored well above “average.” There are two components to this program. The complete program must include both books. • The Sound Steps to Reading Handbook contains all lessons, all exercises and worksheets. • The Sound Steps to Reading Storybook contains the full text of the story fragment that begins each lesson.

The domain of Communication Disorders has grown exponentially in the last two decades and has come to encompass much more than audiology, speech impediments and early language impairment. The realization that most developmental and learning disorders are language-based or language-related has brought insights from theoretical and empirical linguistics and its clinical applications to the forefront of Communication Disorders science. The current handbook takes an integrated psycholinguistic, neurolinguistic, and sociolinguistic perspective on Communication Disorders by targeting the interface between language and cognition as the context for understanding disrupted abilities and behaviors and providing solutions for treatment and therapy. Researchers and practitioners will be able to find in this handbook state-of-the-art information on typical and atypical development of language and communication (dis)abilities across the human lifespan from infancy to the aging brain, covering all major clinical disorders and conditions in various social and communicative contexts, such as spoken and written language and discourse, literacy issues, bilingualism, and socio-economic status.

A neuropsychologist shows how outmoded methods for teaching reading have resulted in plummeting literacy levels and offers a new program.