How to teach a child who is non-verbal and cognitively delayed to read.

What I love most about education is that there is no right formula to teach or learn anything. There is no perfect curriculum, no perfect tool, no perfect teacher.
You should be encouraged by this knowledge as a parent of a child with special needs because this means that you can be as creative as you want in order to meet your child’s needs. Due to this child-specific type of teaching, you can expect true results.

When it comes to reading, you might think it may never be possible for your child to one day pick up a novel and read leisurely for hours. For some children, this may indeed be true. However, this does not mean that literacy is to be completely scratched off your lesson plans. Instead, you have an obligation to expose your child to the experiences that are necessary for his life-long success. It’s through this exposure that doors open, the mind expands, and brain connections are made.
Once new brain connections are made (known as “synaptic pruning”), there is no knowing the limit of your child’s learning abilities
(see more on neuroplasticity in the resources below). He may indeed one day pick up that novel and read.
You cannot fully know the extent to which your child will be able to read; therefore, you cannot limit him – even if today you think it’s impossible.
This isn’t about being hopeful and unrealistic. It’s about being a teacher.

• How do you teach a child who is non-verbal to read?
• How do you teach a child who is cognitively delayed to understand words and texts?

The answer, as with everything else, is that you begin right where he is. Then, through intensive instruction that meets his learning style, you can get him to the next stage.

Questions to begin the journey to teaching reading (or any concept):

• What is my child able to do? What does he enjoy doing?
• Are there characters/ brands that he loves? (ex: Disney characters? Dolls? Cars? Other?)
• What are his challenges?
• What is his learning style/ dominant intelligence?

As an example, we’ll look at the concept of reading with regards to my son, who is both non-verbal and cognitively delayed. Since he cannot tell me what he’s thinking, I keenly observe his pre-reading behaviors.

What is he able to do reading-wise? What does he enjoy doing reading-wise?	sits to “read” with an adult and enjoys familiar stories enjoys perusing books on his own (esp. board books) holds/ turns book right-side up looks at pictures in books (books with real photos hold his attention) anticipates parts in a story he has heard several times (ex: repetitive phrases) enjoys finger-plays, chants/ rhymes, repetitive books, audio stories, storytelling, ASL signs selects books to read when we ask, “Which one?” uses pictures as clues to which book he wants (ex: knows that Jack and the Beanstalk is the book with the green plants and the man on the front cover) understands a story is coming from the use of the words “One day” or “Once upon a time” when storytelling (without a book) – he stops what he’s doing, smiles and comes closer
Which characters/brands does he respond to most?	Signing Time™ characters are his favorite characters from Kids
What are his challenges reading-wise?	staying with a book for an extended amount of time (can sit for 3-4 minutes, but then looks for a new book or another activity) turning the pages on his own (best with board books) holding the book with both hands not sure that he understands that the black marks on a page are words that tell the story or hold meaning does not yet know letter names or symbols
What is his learning style? Dominant Intelligence?	Tactile/ kinesthetic learning style Musical + interpersonal intelligence

Where to go next?

First, I acknowledge all that he is already able to do. (That’s quite an extensive list!) These are all prerequisites to reading, even if it doesn’t seem like true reading just yet. These behaviors demonstrate critically important skills that are required to get him to the next stage.
                                    

Skills to acquire	Strategies for getting there
staying with book for an extended amount of time when “reading” with adult	begin with the maximum amount of time he is able to sit to listen to a story (average in a week), slowly increase the time by a minute each week (until average time it takes to complete the reading of a book) allow him to listen for part of the story, then go off and play for the rest while adult continues telling/reading the story use books that maintain his attention for longer (ie: Signing Time™ board books)
holding book with both hands + turning pages	practice holding toys, scarves/ fabric and other tools with both hands throughout the day using board book, show hand-over-hand how to hold the book with one hand and flip with the other
understand that text on page are words	point to words when adult reads aloud (demonstrating L to R direction) use big books so that letters are large enough to notice

Just because your child cannot speak or read aloud, does not mean that he cannot learn to read.

The same is true for a child with cognitive delays. Meet your child where he’s at, plan the activities accordingly and you before you know it, you will find yourself checking-off the acquired skills on the list!

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How to spend money wisely in College.

College is all about freedom and with freedom comes responsibility. Once we go off to college, we are expected to do everything on our own including taking care of money issues. Usually, when we enter in college, we get so distracted by everything that goes on around us that we lose track of our expenses. With so many new things to see and be a part of, before you know it, your monthly allowance is over. This is where the responsibility that follows freedom comes into play. How you spend your money will ultimately affect you so it’s important to spend money wisely and if possible, to save some money every month. Here are a couple of tips that can help you to spend your money more wisely:

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Make a budget and stick to it:

Planning in advance is the key to success. If you make a list of your expenses at the beginning of the month, you will know exactly where you stand financially. This estimation can be very helpful when it comes to spending on entertainment because you will know your limit. Following a plan will also ensure that you do not have to compromise on the essential things like books and stationary because of overspending.

Prioritize:

Prioritizing is very important when it comes to spending money wisely. Priorities are always on the basis of ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ so the first step is to be able to distinguish clearly between the two. Any expense related to your course is a necessity, a ‘need’ and should not be avoided or delayed.

Look for theatres that give a student discount:

Being a student and using money wisely is not synonymous with a boring life. It just means that you should consider the alternatives before you spend on something. A lot of theatres in and around the campus give student discounts. In fact some of the theatres are really affordable and they cater especially to students. Look for such an option if you want to watch a movie in a theatre.

Look around the campus to find affordable entertainment options:

If movies don’t interest you that much, every campus offers other entertainment options like concerts and festival which are very affordable. In fact, some of them don’t even charge any entry fee so be on the lookout for something like that.

Look for clearance sales/student discounts when you shop:

An important part of being a college student is wearing the right clothes to portray the right image. When shopping for clothes in college, keep your eyes open for clearance sales. You can also ask around for a student discount because some shops in and around the campus provide that option as well.

Use second hand textbooks and furniture:

Second hand goods can be just as good as the new ones if chosen wisely. Things like books and furniture can be a big expense during college so if you get good quality second hand products at a discount, buy them instead of spending more for meeting the same purpose.

Instead of buying DVDs and additional books, borrow them from the library:

Your library is an untapped resource of knowledge and entertainment. The next time you want some extra reading material or if you want to watch a movie, go to your library and borrow books/DVDs from there without having to pay a single penny.

Open a student checking account/student savings account:

It will give you a place to store all your savings (if any) so that you don’t end up spending everything. This is not an expense or a saving but it will help you to better understand where you stand financially so that you can make wise decisions.

Be around people who spend wisely: 

The kind of people you spend your time with really makes a difference when it comes to spending money. Students who have a lot of money will not care about where they spend it and having them as friends will pressurize you to spend money beyond your comfort zone at some point. Associate with those who understand the value of money and spend it with care.

Spending money wisely is a good habit to grow up with, its a foundation on how we will spend our money in  when we have families and business .

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147 Kenyan University students killed by al-shabab

Gunmen from the militant Islamist group al-Shabab yesterday killed at least 147 people and took students hostage at a university in north-eastern Kenya.

But by evening, the operation to secure the Garissa University College campus was over, with all four attackers killed, Kenyan government officials said.
Officials said 587 students had been evacuated, 79 of whom were injured.

An overnight curfew was imposed in parts of the country after the incident.
Four counties near the Kenya-Somalia border, Garissa, Wajir, Mandera and Tana River, would have dusk-to-dawn curfews imposed, disaster MANAGEMENT officials said.
Nine critically injured students were airlifted to the capital Nairobi for treatment, they added.

But each student had been accounted for by the end of the evacuation, reported the BBC.
UN Secretary-Genera,l Ban Ki-moon condemned what he called a “terrorist attack” and said the UN was ready to help Kenya “prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism”.

The Kenyan government has named Mohamed Kuno, a high-ranking al-Shabab official, as the mastermind of the attack.
A BBC Somali Service reporter said Kuno was a headmaster at an Islamic school in Garissa before he quit in 2007.

It placed a bounty of $53,000 (£36,000) on him which was later raised to $217,000 (£140,000). A BBC Somali Service reporter said Kuno was a headmaster at an Islamic school in Garissa before he quit in 2007. He goes by the nickname “Dulyadeyn”, which means “long-armed one” in Somali.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta offered his condolences to families of the victims and ordered “urgent steps” to ensure police recruits could begin training immediately. “We have suffered unnecessarily due to shortage of security personnel,” he said.
Earlier, al-Shabab told the BBC its members were holding Christians hostage and freeing Muslims.

The gunmen reportedly ordered students to lie down on the floor, but some of them escaped.
Student Augustine Alanga told the BBC: “It was horrible, there was shooting everywhere.”

He said it was “pathetic” that the university was only guarded by two police officers.
Student Collins Wetangula said when the gunmen entered his hostel, he could hear them opening doors and asking if the people inside were Muslims or Christians, the AP news agency reported.

“If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot. With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die,” he said.
Al-Shabab said it attacked the university because it is at war with Kenya.

Kenyan troops entered Somalia in October 2011 in an effort to stop the Islamists from crossing the long, porous border between the two countries and kidnapping people - but their presence achieved the opposite effect, provoking al-Shabab to increase its activity in Kenya.
Al-Shabab is fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia and is banned as a terrorist group by both the US and the UK.
“It was horrible, there was shooting everywhere,” student Alanga told the BBC.

The Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre said all staff at the university had been accounted for.
The university opened in 2011 and is the only place of higher education in the region.

The BBC added that because of its proximity to Somalia, Garissa is an easy target for al-Shabab militants and there have been several attacks in the past.

The UK and Australia issued alerts this week warning of potential terror attacks in parts of the country, including Garissa. There has also been a specific alert for universities in the country.
George Musamali, a security specialist and former officer in Kenya's paramilitary police, told the BBC the authorities had “failed the students” by being poorly prepared.

“We’ve had intel (intelligence) for the last three months that al-Shabab was planning this kind of attack... and still they have been successful,” he said.

Reacting to the incident yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan condemned al-Shabab’s attack on the university.
He also extended his heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Kenya and to the families of those who died in the gruesome terrorist attack on the Garissa University College in Kenya.

The president, in a statement by presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, utterly condemned the deliberate targeting of innocent persons, schools and other soft targets by terrorists.

He said such atrocious, despicable and barbaric acts of violence ought to have no place in any civilised society.
Jonathan assured President Kenyatta and the brotherly people of Kenya that Nigeria stands in full solidarity with them as they come to grips once again with the aftermath of another heinous terrorist attack on their country.

Nigeria, Jonathan affirmed, would continue to work with Kenya, other African countries and the international community to rid the world of all terrorist groups.

He said he believed that the attack on the Kenyan university and other similar atrocities across the world must strengthen and solidify the resolve of the global community to take more urgent and coordinated actions to speedily defeat the agents of global terror.

SOURCE;THISDAYLIVE.

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