Why Children with Down Syndrome Struggle, and Why Raising Robust Readers Works

Why Phonics?

Why Conventional Phonics can Fail our Students

A Sound Approach to Reading

Down Syndrome Reading

The developers of Raising Robust Readers know, through first -hand knowledge and experience, that going beyond whole word memorization is essential for independent reading.

The developers have carefully analyzed conventional, traditional methods of teaching phonics and determined there are three highly probable reasons that learners experience confusion, frustration, and failure. (note: The Nation’s Report Card reveals 68% of 4th graders, nationwide, read below proficiency. That’s ALL 4th graders not 4th graders with Down syndrome! Something’s wrong here!!)

Raising Robust Readers therefore combines research-based best practices from the National Reading Panel, the National Right to Read Foundation, the International Dyslexia Association and the National Center for Learning Disabilities with decades of real life experiences working with individuals who have Down syndrome to create an alternate approach.

Building on data-proven Orton-Gillingham methodology, the developers have crafted a child-centered approach that enables students, their families and teachers to experience the English reading code as logical, sensible, predictable and easy to decode.

The Success is in the Sequence

One of the hallmarks of Raising Robust Readers instruction that sets our program apart (and we believe above) other phonics-based programs is our sequence of instruction. It is carefully crafted to go in small successful steps from simple to complex; from sounds to syllables and beyond to practical applications in real life.

The “typical” characteristics of a person with Down syndrome require routine, structure, predictability, and consistency. If that is the case, the "concept of blending" should not be taught with unpredictable sounds. THE SUCCESS is in THE SEQUENCE of Explicit Instruction.

Though the program is phonics-based and phonogram-specific, our "8 Exciting Components of Literacy" are embedded in instruction at all levels so that true reading is achieved.

English is Logical, Sensible and Predictable.   We teach it thay way...through play.

Phonograms are Fun to Learn

Raising Robust Readers is child-centered, not curriculum-driven. Because a main goal of our instruction is instilling the philosophy and principles of this approach--as opposed to filling in worksheets and completing workbooks--the program can be used with all ages and all stages using environmental print on the go wherever they go (from classroom to restaurants to grocery stores; in the car, in the doctor’s waiting room, and beyond.)

The Six Silly Syllables and
How to Cut the Cake (Syllable Division)

Our video instruction of the six syllable types and their effect on the sounds of vowels, along with guidelines for syllable division, takes the guesswork and insecurity out decoding longer words.`

With a strong, solid foundation built on simplicity, clarity, repetition, and predictability, students develop critical thinking and self-correction skills. Guessing and giving up are no longer the default choices when encountering unfamiliar words.


Adults with Down Syndrome

Robust Readers in Real Life:

Meet Devin and Casey, two young men with Down syndrome whose lives have been changed by the Raising Robust Readers program.

Teach Reading the Right Way

RaisingRobustReaders.com

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