(Emergent literacy) begins with the child’s early nonverbal and verbal interactions with others, awareness of the environment, and explorations.                                         Clay, M.M. (1991). Becoming literate: The construction of inner control. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books.

Neuman, S. & Roskos, K. (1993). Language and literacy learning in the early years: An integrated approach. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

APH Recommends that learners use the following products sequentially, dependent on their level of development:

Sensory Learning Kit – 1-08611-00

A kit for use in the development of skills for learners with the most significant challenges. This kit is an extensive set of sensory items and written materials that help the most significantly challenged learners increase their curiosity and develop specific skills. Tools in this kit may be used to help create daily schedules, lesson plans, and alternative assessments for play or functional routines.

Sensory Learning Kit Homegrown Video – 1-30022-DVD

This video features Sensory Learning Kit author and workshop facilitator Millie Smith as she talks to the viewer about the SLK and as she conducts an assessment with Barb, an adult learner. This brief overview DVD provides the viewer with information about how the use of the SLK benefits learners at the sensory motor level.

SAM: Symbols and Meaning – 1-08854-00

A kit for students with visual and multiple impairments and pre-k children with visual impairments who are just beginning to use symbols – the late sensorimotor, early preoperational stage of cognitive development.

The SAM Guidebook  provides strategies for developing a strong sensory foundation for concepts about people, objects, actions, and places so that symbols referring to them are meaningful.