ELR Software produces a range of computer programs designed by speech pathologists for speech, language & literacy intervention. Our programs may be used interactively within therapy sessions, to increase efficiency in service delivery, and to improve access to the Internet for people with special needs. We are also available as consultants to clinicians and research projects in the fields of literacy and accessibility issues associated with the Internet.
The aim of this newsletter is to inform you of developments and changes to our major products eLr (Extra Language Resources), Build-a-Sentence, Word Meanings, Rude Readers and EIA (Enhancing Internet Access). We welcome the opportunity for feedback and questions, and will be pleased to consider including reader contributions and announcements.
This Newsletter (and previous editions) as well as a "print-ready" PDF version of the current edition is available online at www.elr.com.au/news. An email version is also sent monthly to members of our mailing list (See Subscribing/Unsubscribing).
In this issue -
This month we have continued developing the phonemic awareness activities designed to be used in therapy for children with speech sound errors. 35 new activities have been added to the /m/ /n/ and /ng/ subsections in "Phonology - Skills and Early Sounds".
The tasks use the MultiPic Slideshow, SpinPics, LadderPics, and Pic sound buttons models. The first three of these models aim to strengthen the ability to identify words that start or end with a specific sound, and Pic sound buttons model targets segmenting of words (breaking words into sounds). In the identification tasks, there are two levels of difficulty. The easier level provides the child with words that are very different (high contrast). For example, "which one starts with /m/ - man, cat, seal". The more difficult level occurs when the child is presented with words that are more similar (low contrast). For example, "which one starts with /m/ - man nail bath". In the low contrast choice the beginning sounds are either nasal sounds or are produced with the same articulators as the /m/ sound, ie /m, n, b/.
These new sections provide material to work on targeted phonemic awareness skills. This type of intervention has been shown in the research to significantly improve literacy skills, especially for children who have speech sound errors. They are also useful for children who have literacy problems due to confusion with specific sounds or letters.
The role of the clinician or helper is critical in all of these tasks to deliver the verbal stimuli, provide feedback, and encourage strategies to increase auditory processing skills and letter sound knowledge.
As an occasional feature of this Newsletter, we include simple, unpaid announcements of products developed by other small, independent developers, who, like ourselves, are practising clinicians who have put their ideas and experience into resource materials for general distribution. Links and brief information about these sites may be found at www.elr.com.au/links/developers.htm. To date we have listed -
If you would like your materials listed on this page (at no charge), please contact us.
ELR has a number of free or evaluation files available for downloading directly from our website. Please see www.elr.com.au/downloads.htm for specific details. For other supporting materials and documents available for free download, please see www.elr.com.au/support.htm.
ELR Software is now able to offer eLr support and short tutorials over the web. We can provide this sort of support to individuals, or to groups who would like to have an overview of eLr. Please contact us for details.
- Speech Pathology Australia 2012 National Conference:
Sunday 24th - Wednesday 27th
We will have trade stand #11 at this conference. Contact us for further details
You are receiving ELR-News because you are an eLr subscriber, or have expressed an interest in either eLr, Rude Readers, Word Meanings, Build-a-Sentence or EIA. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail with details to news@elr.com.au
Copyright ©2012 ELR Software Pty Ltd
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