Real life experiences: speech and language delay
As regular visitors to Longton library in Staffordshire, the Walker-Mills family are big fans of books. Mum Sharon started reading to both her children from birth - and Abigail, six, is now top of her class for English and not only reads voraciously but also writes, illustrates and binds her own books: "Not a day goes by when she hasn't got a book in her hand," says Sharon.
Her son Matthew, three, suffers from speech and language delay and doesn't concentrate on much for long: "But if you get the right book, you can sit and read to him for 10 to 15 minutes," says Sharon. "It's the only thing he will concentrate on." She's been reading to Matthew since birth and he got his own library card at just six months old.
"Reading's the only thing Matthew will concentrate on"
With help from Janet Cooper, Principal Speech and Language Therapist at the Sure Start local programme in North Staffordshire, Sharon is learning different ways of playing with Matthew to encourage his learning: "Rather than just following his lead in games, I emphasise certain words and instructions like 'Can you pick up the yellow cup?' and 'Can you pour some tea into the yellow cup?' It's the same when I'm reading to him - I emphasise certain words so he can recognise them. It's really effective."
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