Kayla Cornale's Invention= Sounds into Syllables for Autistic children.

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Sounds into Syllables - A Teaching System for Autistic Children

Complete Abstract

The purpose of my project is to assist autistic children in learning to identify letters, words and sentences so that they may one day be able to read. Scientific research indicates that many autistic children have difficulty processing language. I have developed a teaching system that incorporates language in a spoken, written and musical format in the hope of simultaneously activating multiple areas of the brain and in so doing improve the ability to learn language. The teaching system is as follows:

Sounds into Syllables Teaching System: 1. All 26 letters of the alphabet are physically placed on 26 designated keys of a piano. The initial emphasis is on the ‘musical sound’ of the letters. The child first plays a letter (such as ‘L’) on the piano and recognizes it as a definitive musical sound before he/she learns its spoken sound. 2. With the mastery of the alphabet, the child begins to learn 26 different animal nouns that each begin with a different letter of the alphabet. In learning the noun ‘lion’, the child sees the written word, plays it on the piano, listens and learns its musical identity, and then learns the spoken word. 3. The senses of touch, sight and hearing are further integrated at this point. While ‘lion’ exists as a musical, written and spoken word, it is given further definition by introducing a textured reproduction of the word, a drawing of the animal and sound effects of the animal roaring. There is an accompanying teaching book with 26 drawn animals and textured words as well as a companion sound effects CD. 4. The 26 animal nouns are then matched with 26 related verbs such as horse/gallop, dog/bark and lion/roar. There is a second workbook with the textured words and drawings of the animals in their passive and active states. The child now learns the related verbs in the same way he/she learned the nouns. 5. To establish the connection between the animal and its action, the child now moves to the computer. I have created an animated computer program designed specifically for the teaching system. As the child has been using the lettered piano keyboard, the transition to the computer keyboard is not that difficult. 6. Using the ‘lion’ example, the computer screen illustrates a computer keyboard with the word ‘lion’ written above it. Using the computer mouse*, the child must click on each correctly sequenced letter of the keyboard to spell the word ‘lion’, and with each correct letter he/she hears the accompanying piano note. Should the child click on the wrong letter, he/she does not hear the piano note. When the child spells the word correctly, the program takes him/her to the next page which illustrates a computer keyboard, picture of the lion and the word ‘roar’. If the child spells this word correctly the program takes him/her to an animation page. Here the child sees and hears an animated lion as it roars at a mouse. 7. The lion is placed in a ‘social’ situation, for when he roars at the mouse it reacts, verbally responds and then runs away. In each of these animations (of which there are presently 5) the animals are placed into a social context with other animals where an effort is made to show facial expressions, body language and dialogue relevant to the particular situation. This makes it more fun and interesting for the child and illustrates social interaction which is important for autistic children. *The computer mouse will be replaced with a direct link to the computer keyboard itself, however software limitations makes this impossible at the present time.

I began researching the developmental disabilities of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) in 2003. That research led me to the conclusion that the difficulties many autistic children have with processing language may be due in part to the inability of the two hemispheres of the brain to properly integrate information across the corpus callosum. Based upon this research I developed the teaching system up to and including step 3 and began working with my then eight year old cousin who is diagnosed with PDD-NOS. This work was the subject of my project for BASEF 2004 and was entitled Windows to their World. Since that time I have continued to work with my cousin throughout the school year. Based upon new research conducted since April 2004, I have expanded and enhanced the teaching system to include verbs and an animated computer program. These additions are outlined in steps 4 through 7 of the system. My cousin continues to make excellent progress, and she can now spell (both musically and verbally) 20 of the 26 animal names in her workbook. She can do this with no picture reference or prompts from me. She is currently working on learning 5 different verbs and their relationship to 5 related nouns (i.e. lion/roar). We are then shifting to the animated computer program described in steps 6 and 7. This is an ongoing process, and she continues to make real progress both in learning the words and understanding their relationship to each other. As with my last years project, the study sessions will continue into the future and beyond BASEF 2005.