The SIGNALONG Companion to the Oxford Reading Tree

The first stage of a major new literacy project has just been launched.  “The SIGNALONG Companion To The Oxford Reading Tree” was the brainchild of Nigel Over of Livingston, father of a boy with Smith-Magenis Syndrome.

When his son Matthew first started at Broxburn Primary School, West Lothian in August 2002. he had been taught SIGNALONG to help him convey his message when his speech was lacking. He could identify and sign key words, but what about reading full sentences and stories? The hunt began to find the sign for every word for his school’s reading scheme – the familiar stories of Biff, Chip, Kipper and Floppy. This started as a fairly easy exercise, but as Matthew progressed through the stages it became more and more challenging to find the signs for the words, in context and correct tense.

Having pulled the vocabulary together for Matthew, for Stage 1 and 1+, the real benefit of this project became apparent – a complete sign vocabulary for a nationally recognised reading scheme; something that would help a lot more children with communication challenges, their teachers and their parents. Nigel contacted The SIGNALONG Group offering them his work and got in touch with Oxford University Press to suggest that they give SIGNALONG permission to publish this so that all children would be able to benefit. Oxford University Press has licensed SIGNALONG to go ahead with the project, and recognising that they are a charity, have not charged them for this. 

The result was the creation of “The SIGNALONG Companion to the Oxford Reading Tree”. The Oxford Reading Tree is a well-planned programme which takes children from the earliest stages of reading, and the first manual contains signs to match the vocabulary from Stage 1 and Stage 1+. The signs are organised alphabetically and  are supported by clear and simple line drawings, making the vocabulary accessible without the need to attend a training course to learn signs. In addition to signs for the words in the text, the Companion also includes grammatical markers. When key-word signing is used, grammar, conjunctions etc are ignored, but for the purposes of demonstrating reading skills these must be included.

“The SIGNALONG Companion to the Oxford Reading Tree” is published by The SIGNALONG Group of Rochester, Kent. Further information can be obtained from Mike Kennard, tel: 0870 774 3752, e-mail: mkennard@signalong.org.uk, website: www.signalong.org.uk   

The SIGNALONG Group is a charity dedicated to enabling children and adults with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders to overcome language difficulties. Between 1992 and 2005 about 14,000 signs have been researched and published in manuals serving a wide range of age and ability, from pre-school and pre-language to adulthood and independent living.

Contact details for further information:

Michael Kennard, Chief Executive, The SIGNALONG Group, Stratford House, Waterside Court, Neptune Way, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4NZ

Tel: 0870 774 3752      E-mail: mkennard@signalong.org.uk

Website: www.signalong.org.uk

Registered Charity No: 1039788