Making Sense of Sounds for Reading and Spelling Based on the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing (LiPS) Program

Reading is a complex process that can generally be divided into two components: Word Identification, or decoding specific words on the page, and Comprehension, or constructing meaning from the text.

Most children become fluent decoders in the early grades, learning to identify, blend, and segment the sounds in words. Soon, they can focus their attention on fine-tuning their comprehension skills.

For almost 20% of students, however, this fluency does not come easily. They continue to struggle so much with the decoding aspect of reading that comprehension suffers. Poor readers frequently fall behind in other areas of language development due to a lack of exposure to the rich vocabulary, organization, and style of written language.

Difficulties with the sound system of language are often chronic, persisting into adulthood and resulting in life-long difficulties with reading and spelling.

A primary cause of difficulties in word recognition is a deficit in Phonemic Awareness, or the ability to recognize and manipulate the sound sequences of language.

Deficits in phonemic awareness result in errors such as adding, substituting, or reversing sounds and letters in reading and writing.

As a sensory-cognitive function, phonemic awareness can be developed. Intensive, direct, sequential instruction regarding the sound system of language is needed to reduce the risk of reading failure for these students.

The Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing (LiPS) program is a structured, systematic training of phonemic awareness, using feedback at an oral-motor level to establish the multi-sensory input necessary to compensate for deficits in processing sound sequences.

LiPS intervention trains the student to classify the mouth movements that produce speech sounds, associate letters with the movements, and verify sounds within syllables and words as a means for self-monitoring and verifying how spoken and written words map to each other.

For many students, LiPS is an excellent follow-up strategy after completion of Fast ForWord® programs, to reinforce the rapid and accurate processing of speech that has been developed through Fast ForWord®, and to provide direct instruction regarding strategies for decoding and spelling.

Other students may benefit from a balanced approach utilizing phonemic awareness training along with reading-language therapy to address comprehension deficits.

Early identification of at-risk students is critical. Children who don't easily learn the names of alphabet letters and their sounds, who lack the concept of rhyming words, who don't understanding "beginning" and "ending" sounds, or who have difficulty blending sounds into words may have deficits in phonemic awareness.

The speech-language professionals at Abilities have extensive training and experience regarding the sound system of language, phonemic awareness, and the continuum of language development throughout the school years.