This Special Life

Autism Advocacy & Support

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Got An Easily Overwhelmed Child? Try Social Stories. (You’ll Thank Us)

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Are you having a hard time getting your child to understand social situations or learn a new skill? Did you know there is an effective tool out there that is easy to use and fun? What is it?

Social stories!  

Here is a quick and easy guide to social stories.  In this article, I will show you what a social story is – and how you can easily make and use them at home.  

What The Heck Is A Social Story?

Children with autism often need help navigating social situations. Knowing intuitively how to act and what to say may be difficult, especially since some children on the spectrum struggle with understanding social cues, have speech delays or sensory issues, or focus on repetitive behaviors and/or stimming.

Simple greetings and social graces may come easy to neurotypical kids, but sometimes getting a child with autism to say “hello” to someone can be quite the task!

Social stories can help make these situations less overwhelming.

A social story is a narrative about different situations or skills that a child may experience. It uses simple language and pictures so kids can easily understand and visualize the story.

Almost any topic can be used in a social story. You can write about big life milestones like the first day of school or going on vacation. Stories can also be about everyday situations, like getting ready for bed or going to the store. Stories also can teach skills, like how to greet a friend or how to pick up toys.

Social stories are a wonderful tool that helps kids learn how to act and what to say in almost any social scenario. Sometimes verbal cues are not enough to teach concepts to kids with autism. Social stories helps kids see the skill or situation, which in turn reinforces understanding.

How To Create A Social Story

Typically the child reading the story is the main character! Most of the kids I’ve worked with love having a story written about them. Writing the story from this point of view helps place the child in the setting so they can relate better.

The structure of the story starts with a descriptive sentence, followed by a perspective sentence, then a cooperative sentence and lastly an affirmative sentence.

Here is an example to give you a better idea:  

I play with toys everyday: Descriptive sentence describes the situation. Sometimes I get upset when I have to stop playing: Perspective expresses characters view of the situation. When I get upset I can take deep breaths: Cooperative shows an action character can use to work through situations. It is good to stay calm when I have to be done playing. Affirmative affirms the desired behavior character uses.

With each sentence you can draw simple stick figure illustrations to correspond to the story. Stories can simply be written on notebook or printer paper folded in half.

Depending on the age of the child you can get them to help come up with the wording or draw pictures. They also enjoy being an author or illustrator.

How to Use Social Stories

A social story can be used at any time anywhere! The important thing to note is that the social story needs to relate to your child’s life.  

Before starting a story think of a skill that your child needs to learn or an encounter they may experience. Is there a skill your child struggles with? Is there something they need to learn? Is there an event coming up your child needs to prepare for? Answering these questions will help you determine the topic.

If you are helping your child acquire a new skill you can read a social story before practicing the skill. For example if your child is learning to make his bed you can read the story before making the bed. If your child is heading out to an event you can read the corresponding social story in advance to help prepare them for the event. Let’s say your child has a doctor’s appointment in a month, you could read the story over the course of a month so she knows what to expect when she gets to the appointment.

You don’t have to read the stories just at home though. Stories can be taken along to the store, read in the car or kids can bring them to school!  

Social stories are an effective and fun tool to use when it comes to helping kids through skills or situations. I have had great success with my clients over the years thanks to social stories. In fact when I’m struggling trying to get an idea across to one of my kids I think, “let’s make a social story about this,” and only then is my child able to better grasp the concept.

If you are struggling with helping your child with something try making a social story!

The Best Sensory Toys on Amazon, Hands Down.

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Not long ago, the best resources for high quality sensory toys were commercial suppliers for occupational therapy clinics and intervention centers. These days, we are living in the golden age of sensory products that fulfill physical regulation needs of children on the spectrum, enhance sensory play areas in the home, and are easily and quickly accessible via online ordering. 

The flip side, however, is that it can be overwhelming and time-consuming to sort through the many options available through store websites and online catalogs. 

In this article, we will pinpoint the 10 best sensory toys available on Amazon for children with autism and other special needs in the early childhood range (ages 3-8), so you can spend less time evaluating products and more time enjoying them with your child.

Our Criteria

We evaluated potential sensory toys according to three overarching criteria: 

  • cost
  • versatility 
  • longevity

Cost

Sensory toys shouldn’t break the bank. It’s important for families to be able to access a variety of high quality toys that are also reasonably priced. These toys are fewer and further between as you scroll through your search results in your Amazon store app, but they are out there. 

Each product on our list is under $100, with most falling in the $10-$50 range.

Versatility

Sensory toys should address a variety of stimulation needs of your child across tactile, visual, and auditory inputs. For example, an ice cube is cool to the touch (tactile), seems transparent but is opaque if held up to the eye (visual), and makes a clattering noise if dropped into the sink (auditory). 

Sensory toys also facilitate play-based exploration of whole-body systems. These include proprioception (awareness of how one’s body moves and is positioned in space), the vestibular system (the sense of gravity and balance), and emotional and physical regulation.

For the purposes of this article, we will not be addressing olfactory or gustatory input of toys (smell and taste), though these are ideal sensory experiences to incorporate at mealtimes.

Longevity

Sensory toys are not a passing fad; they are a useful and aesthetically pleasing addition to your home as well as fun and educational. The toys on our list are durable and resilient, increasing the likelihood they will stand up to heavy usage and the test of time. 

They also meet our criteria for longevity in providing appeal for a variety of age groups, so your child can love them for a long time – but also, so parents and siblings can join in genuine enjoyment of collaborative and social play.

Magna-Tiles 

magna tiles

Magna-Tiles provide sensory input across tactile, visual, and auditory channels. Build small and large structures with pieces that are easy to hold and attach to each other, but also provide challenge opportunities to practice more complex fine motor skills via idiosyncratic tile combinations. 

Look through the tiles to change the color of the environment, or hide toys inside structures to see how they look different but don’t disappear completely. The tiles also make a satisfying clicking sound when attached, and louder cascading noises when structures are collapsed. 

The 32 piece starter set is around $50, and for folks able to spend a bit more, the 100 piece set is about $120. 

As for longevity, I bought the 100 piece set for my firstborn in 2012. The tiles have seen daily and weekly use ever since, but still look brand new. They remain a favorite toy for him seven years later, and my second child now joins in on family sensory play time with the tiles as well. 

There are also myriad alternative brands of magnetic tile sets available on Amazon in different styles, colors, shapes, and combinations.

Buy it here

Tee Pee Tent or Pop Up Play Tent

pop up tent

Again, you will find tons of options for either style of play tent on Amazon – but the overall idea is to provide a whole-body sensory experience for your child that allows them to engage in extended independent playtime as well as shared leisure time (like reading books together). 

Size permitting, these tents can grow with your child from facilitating beginning sensory and cognitive skill building experiences (object permanence, for example) to intermediate play and pre-academic skills later on (prepositions, following directions, and sequenced pretend play, to name a few).

Buy the tee pee tent here

Buy the pop up play tent here


Goodnight Moon Story Puppet & Props

good night moon puppets

Early literacy for your 3-8 year old can also come to life in sensory play. A compact set like this one is perfect for playtime on the go or in a small living space, but you can also find a variety of puppets in all sizes on Amazon as well as larger felt board storytelling sets. 

Sensory benefits of this type of toy include tactile engagement with characters and objects, auditory stimulation through children listening to the adult model the words of the story as well as vocally imitating words or sounds, and multimodal visual input through seeing two-dimensional pictures in the book come to life in 3D. 

Buy it here

Weaving Looms

loom set

There’s a reason why potholder looms have been around forever. In addition to their sensory benefits, these tactile close-ended activities also provide opportunities to practice beginning advocacy skills like asking for help as well as frustration tolerance and delayed gratification. 

There are a variety of looms available on Amazon ranging from those more appropriate for the very young to lap looms that can continue to provide productive and sensory-fulfilling entertainment well beyond early childhood. 

Buy it here

Modeling Clay

modelling clay

Another timeless classic, the sensory and creative possibilities with clay-based play are almost endless. Modeling clay can be a bit harder to manipulate than play dough or silly putty, but the extra effort required can provide valuable sensory input for children on the spectrum who seek tactile resistance to make sense of their environment. 

For facilitated family sensory playtime, download a beginner level stop motion app to your tablet or smartphone and create short movies together by posing your clay creations in component positions that create the illusion of movement – like waving or doing a yoga pose. 

For vestibular practice and further proprioceptive input, have your child star in a stop motion movie too, by mimicking the positions of clay creatures as you take pictures of each movement. Then, practice the movements in real time and compare how different that feels.

Buy it here

Boomwhackers

boom whackers

Boomwhackers are not for the faint of heart, to be sure, as they can produce somewhat loud noises – but they are an excellent auditory and proprioceptive sensory toy. 

Boomwhackers can be used to create musical tones when “whacked” against any surface, including arms and legs without causing any pain or injury because they are hollow and so light. Because each tone makes a specific musical note, boomwhackers are also a great way to encourage early foundations for musical awareness and creativity.

Buy it here

Planetarium Projector

planet projector

These nightlights are a simple solution for comfort needs at bedtime or creating a sensory calming area at home, but that’s just the beginning. Turn on the planetarium projector in a darkened room during the day to provide variety in visual sensory input, or engage in beginner sensory visual play like shadow puppet games or variations on peekaboo and hide and seek. 

As children grow, the planetarium projector can provide a jumping off point for scientific exploration and spark curiosity about astronomy. Many of these projectors are designed to be portable so you can bring your child’s calming space wherever you go, either for short outings or longer travel.

Buy it here

Hammock Swing

hammock

One of the most tried and true sensory toys for children on the spectrum is an indoor swing. Amazon has myriad options for sensory swings that are child-focused as well as full-size swings you can install for the whole family to use that will also suit your home’s aesthetic design. 

However, these swings also come with the caveat that you will need to spend extra time and money to install them safely, possibly even going into your attic to secure additional 2x4s to existing studs to create a sturdy way to attach your weight-bearing swing. 

You can also invest in a freestanding swing stand, but this will most likely drive your costs over $100 by a significant margin. As an alternative, consider a freestanding hammock like the one linked above, which is under $100 and comes extremely well-reviewed. A bonus – it works for adults as well as children, so you and your child can spend quality time together reading or playing with legos in a comforting sensory environment.

Buy it here

Multi-Solution Wooden Puzzles

wood puzzle

Multi-solution puzzles such as this one provide opportunities to successfully complete single step problem solving as well as invent new ways to play by rearranging the pieces and testing which pieces will fit where. 

These puzzles provide tactile and visual sensory input as well as stimulation for your child from early developmental play to more complex problem solving as they grow. P’kolino puzzles are designed to withstand long term use and maintain their quality over time, but there are lots of 2D and 3D multi-solution wooden puzzles available on Amazon from other brands, too.

Buy it here

Construct and Play Sets

robot dog building sets

Construct and play sets allow for sensory experiences while building, as well as resulting a toy that can be used on an ongoing basis for additional sensory play – or taken apart and rebuilt as many times as desired. The most famous construct and play sets are Legos. 

But today you can find a variety of brands and styles of construct and play sets depending on your child’s preferences and fine motor readiness. In addition to tactile and visual input, these toys facilitate extended play opportunities and can easily be combined during imaginative play with other toys in the home to target the individual sensory needs of your child. 

Buy it here

Play With Blocks, Teach Self Regulation

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Did you know you can give your child therapy when you play with them?  You may be wondering how. Through play therapy! The great thing about play therapy is that it doesn’t feel like therapy. It’s just like normal play except with a bit more purpose.

Curious how you can teach your child by simply playing with them?  Keep reading to find out how play therapy can help you help your youngster.

What Is Play Therapy?

Play therapy is an intervention created by Dr. Stanley Greenspan that focuses on the relationship between the provider and the client, or in this case parent and child.  The thing is you don’t have to be a therapist and your kiddo doesn’t have to be a client! 

Another name used for play therapy is “floor time” because a lot of play takes place on the floor and parents get down to play at their child’s level.  You probably already do that on a daily basis.

Play therapy focuses on activities that engages children.  In other words, playing activities that your child already enjoys.  You probably do that when you play with your kid too.

Playing a favorite past-time on the floor probably sounds like regular play time.   What makes it therapeutic is that it focuses on using relationships to help children grow intellectually and emotionally.

Without the child realizing it, play sessions are lead by them.  Adults participate in play that is on the child’s developmental level and builds on their strengths.  Through this process the adults help kids expand their intellect, communication skills and emotions.

What Does Play Therapy Teach?

The goal of play therapy is to teach kids intellectual and emotional skills in 6 areas which are:

  • Self-regulation
  • Relationship building
  • Communicating with others
  • Complex communication interactions
  • Emotional ideas 
  • Emotional thinking

Play is a natural methodology for kids to learn and practice self-regulation, communication and exploring emotions so that they can reach their full potential.

What Does Play Therapy Look Like

Play-time happens in a calm space.  During play-time kids select the activity and start playing.  The adult then joins the child and follows their lead. From there, while playing, the grown-up engages in interactions with the youngster in a back and forth manner.

Let’s use building blocks as an example.  Let’s say your child starts building a tower.  You let them stack a few blocks, then you help build.  Keep interactions minimal, just follow their lead or imitate them.

Next your child crashes the tower with his hands so you follow suit.  After awhile you suggest building a taller tower, or using a ball for crashing.  As you build you slowly expand the activity by changing the type of tower, labeling colors or shapes or bringing in action figures.  All of this helps your child respond and interact with you.,  

As your child grows, you can use strategies to help build your child’s interests to encourage higher levels of interaction.  Going back to the block illustration, you can use the same play themes with other types of building toys like Lincoln Logs or Legoes.  You can try building a house instead of a tower.

Tips For Success

Play therapy is a great way to bond with your child and teach him or her valuable communication and emotional skills.  To ensure success be sure to:

  • Meet your child at his or her level
  • Assess your child to see how he or she is feeling, acting so you know how to respond
  • Let your child lead or initiate activities
  • Avoid introducing ideas too soon
  • If child gets frustrated either stop or back away
  • Keep it fun

Don’t underestimate the power of play!  You’ll be amazed at what play therapy can do for you and your child.

11 Easy As Heck Thanksgiving Decorations For Kids

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Can you believe it?

This year has flown past! One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is making fun, simple crafts to decorate. I’m definitely on a budget when it comes to decorating for the holidays, so I typically make my own DIY décor.

This year I thought it would be fun to involve the kiddos in the decoration making process. So I’ve found tons of fun DIY decorations for fall that you can make with your kids! These crafts/decorations are simple and easy to make which is a must when you’re already busy getting ready for the holidays!

So let’s get started! Here are my favorite DIY Thanksgiving decorations that you can make with your kids!

Glitter Leaves

This might be my favorite DIY Thanksgiving decoration. It’s so easy to make! And it will cost you less than $5! All you have to do is cover some artificial leaves with Elmer’s glue and then cover the leaves with glitter! After it dries you can punch a hole in each leaf so you can hang them around your home!

You can find the full tutorial here: Glitter Leaves

Yarn Pumpkins

I love these yarn pumpkins! They’re so cute and would be easy to make with your kids! All you need is orange yarn, Elmer’s glue, a balloon, and a green pipe cleaner!

You can find the full tutorial for this project here: DIY Yarn Pumpkins

Mini Felt Pumpkins

These felt pumpkins are adorable! This is a simple sewing project for teaching your kiddos how to sew. All you need is some orange and green felt, green and black string, and cotton balls.

First, you’ll need to cut out two pumpkins shapes in your orange felt. I recommend printing a template from google, so that it’s exact. You can also cut a small green rectangle from the green felt for the stem.

You can stitch in the eyes and mouth of the pumpkin, or you can draw them on with sharpie to make it simpler.

Next, start sewing the two pieces of felt together! Remember when you reach the top of the pumpkin to put in your green rectangle for the stem and sew it in! Once there is only an inch of unsewn space left, stuff the pumpkin full of cotton balls. Then sew it up the rest of the way! Simple!

This is a great beginners sewing project, and I think these pumpkins would look adorable in a fall wreath, or in a fall garland!

Pine Cone Turkey

This might be the simplest project on here! All you need is some orange felt, a pine cone, googly eyes, glue, and feathers. Cut the felt into a small triangle for the turkey’s beak. Glue the googly eyes and beak to the bottom of the pine cone and glue the feathers to the top! I love how simple, but cute this DIY decoration is.

DIY Paper Pumpkins

I love these simple paper pumpkins! It’s an easy project for your kids and it looks great when it’s done! You can find the tutorial for this project here: DIY Paper Pumpkins

DIY Glitter Pumpkins

I love these glittery pumpkins! This DIY décor item is probably better for older children (it could get messy with little kids!) I love how simple and easy this project is and I think these glitter pumpkins would be the perfect addition to a mantle or dining room table!

Tutorial here: DIY Glitter Pumpkins

DIY Thankful Tree

I love this cute DIY tree. I think it’s an adorable decoration that’s also great for getting your family thinking about what they’re grateful for! This easy decoration is perfect for kids and they’ll love being able to write down what they’re thankful for on the leaves of this tree!

Tutorial: DIY Thankful Tree

Fruit Kabob Turkey Centerpiece

I love that not only is this a creative and fun centerpiece for Thanksgiving, but it is also perfect for displaying your fruit and cheese appetizers. This project is so simple, and your kids can help you put all of the fruit and cheese on to the skewers!

Tutorial here: Fruit Kabob Turkey Centerpiece

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Cute Candy Turkey Treats

These little Reese’s Pieces filled turkeys are so cute! They’re so easy to make and they would be fun for a classroom treat or for a fun treat for your Thanksgiving guests.

Tutorial Here: Candy Turkey Treats

Turkey Hershey Kisses

These cute turkey’s are made from some card stock and Hershey Kisses! These would be a quick and easy craft your kids could make for their classmates or they would be a fun “appetizer/dessert” on Thanksgiving.

You can find the tutorial here: Turkey Hershey Kisses

Thanksgiving Placemats

These placemats are adorable! I think they would be absolutely perfect for the kids table at Thanksgiving dinner! Your kids will love that they got to put their handprint on the place mats and it’s a fun and easy project for you!

Turkey Reese’s Pieces Bowl

I love this cute turkey candy bowl! It would be so easy to make and your kids will love getting to trace and cut out their hand prints for the turkeys feathers. This is perfect for displaying any yummy treats you have on Thanksgiving!

Tutorial here: Turkey Reese’s Pieces Bowl

Scarecrow Popsicle Stick Magnet

I love this adorable magnet! Your kids will love getting to put the cute scarecrow face together. This would be a cute addition to any refrigerator or front door!

Tutorial Here: Scarecrow Popsicle Stick Magnet


Which of these Thanksgiving crafts is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below.



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These 7 Simple Hacks Take The Frustration Out Of Homework Time

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After a long day in the classroom, homework is the last thing on your child’s mind. A child with special needs may have an even harder time settling down and trying to focus on the task at hand.

Recognize that struggles with homework will not resolve overnight. In order to help homework time run smoothly, parents need to be in tune with their child’s specific challenges and implement strategies based on their strengths and weaknesses.

The following techniques may help reduce your child’s frustrations and make homework time less stressful for everyone in the house. 

Unwind and Relax

Unless you are dealing with strict time constraints, allow your child 30 to 45 minutes of downtime before getting to work. Depending on after school activities, you may need to tailor this based on your child’s schedule, but try to carve out a few minutes to allow your child to unwind and decompress. Let them watch a television show, play a game on their tablet, or enjoy a snack while telling you about their day. After they have a chance to relax, have them grab their backpack and start their homework. Once your child gets used to this schedule, they will come to realize what is expected of them. If possible, try to begin homework at the same time each day. Children respond to routine and a structured learning environment.

Move, Move, Move

Some children benefit from some form of physical activity before they pick up a book. Encourage your child to run around outside, swing on a swing, or jump on the trampoline after school. A quick bike or shooting hoops may be all they need to refocus and get down to studying.

Create A Designated Homework Area

By setting aside an area just for homework, your child has a space reserved just for them. Place your child in a quiet location near to where you will be. Create a homework toolbox filled with all the supplies they will need. Refresh the box periodically, replacing worn out crayons and pencils sharpened down to stubs. If your child craves sensory input, you should include a few of your child’s favorite fidget toys. Keep a pack of gum on hand. Sometimes, chewing a piece of gum can also help maintain focus.

Break It Up

If you see your child beginning to get frustrated with an assignment, have them take a five minute break to do something fun. Have them stand up and do jumping jacks or run around the front lawn. Pull out a container of clay or a jump rope and have your child redirect their energy elsewhere. After a few minutes they should be ready to get back to work. Some days, more than one break might be required.

Use Technology

If your child has difficulty with writing, ask their teacher if they can type up their assignments instead. Ask if you can employ a talk to text program or have them video themselves responding to essay questions using an app such as Flipgrid. Once you remove their frustration putting pencil to paper, you may find that they will put more thought and creativity into their writing assignments. There is a wealth of devices and software programs available to help children with special needs learn in a way tailored for them.

Books on tape are a great resource for children with special needs. Your child’s teacher may even be able to access their textbooks on tape as well. You can always request an extra copy of their texts to keep at home so you can help reinforce what was learned in the classroom.

Reward Good Behavior

Some children respond to a rewards system. A sticker chart is a great way to encourage your child to complete their homework each night. Keep the chart prominently displayed on your refrigerator or bulletin board as a reminder of their success. Have your child accumulate stickers to work towards a goal. Ten stickers may equal a trip to pick up something from the dollar store. One hundred stickers may allow them to pick out a toy or game from their wish list. Keep reminding your child of the reward they will receive after they successfully complete their assignments.

Ask For Help

If you are struggling with helping your child succeed, contact their teachers. Never be afraid to reach out to see what tips and tricks they find useful in the classroom. Using all of your available resources, will facilitate a positive learning experience.

5 Simple Ideas To Help Your ASD Child Learn To Read

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As a parent of a child with autism, your role becomes mother, father, child development expert, therapist, advocate, and teacher all wrapped up in one. This constant feeling of having to be “on” for your child across all environments is exhausting.

It can be hard to balance making time to engage in relaxing family activities (that don’t feel like they have an agenda) with making time for meaningful learning exercises (that don’t feel inordinately difficult).

In this post, we will discuss how to embed practice opportunities for one such skill that can be difficult for children with autism to learn – reading – within the home environment. By embedding these opportunities so that they naturally occur, interacting with novel material becomes social, fun, and easy.

Create a Literacy Rich Environment

In addition to stocking up on a variety of children’s books, you can create a rich literacy environment in your home and community in other ways as well. For example, let photographs and art hung on the walls serve as vehicles for conversing around imagery and practicing visual sequencing (“it is raining in this picture, so the woman has an umbrella to keep her dry”).

Visit your local library or bookstore, either for a playgroup or structured story time activity, or simply to browse books or play in the children’s area. These activities help to build a foundation for your child with autism where reading their environment as well as reading text becomes an intrinsically motivating experience.

Find Practice Opportunities in Daily Life

Engineers do all of the proverbial heavy lifting at the outset, before anything is actually built, by design. This way they don’t have to think about it later; everything they have included in their blueprint becomes automatic during construction and ongoing building usage.

Similarly, as a parent you can frontload literacy to begin with, making it easy to practice with your child with autism during ongoing daily living activities.

For example, purchasing magnetic letters for your fridge, foam letters for your bathtub, alphabet puzzles for the playroom, and alphabet board books for your child’s bookshelf increases ongoing opportunities to practice phonemic awareness (sounds associated with each letter), blending (“C-A-M spells Cam! That’s Mac backwards!”), and other early decoding skills such as rhyming and vowel vs. consonant awareness. 

Listen to Audio Books

Consider audiobooks as a way to embed literacy on the go or while doing other things at home, like playing with Legos or making dinner. Audiobooks can be an enriching experience even when you and your child are just listening rather than trying to follow along with the speaker word-by-word in a printed book.

Audio books also help create an early foundation for comprehension skills by exposing your child to narrative patterns across a variety of unique examples.

Let Literacy be Fun

You may be reading this and thinking “this all sounds wonderful, but my child just doesn’t like to read.” Children with autism may have a harder time accessing motivation and reinforcement within books than others, and this can start as early as during the first and second year.

They may not seek out books, or decline to finish a book being read to them. They may fixate on one particular book about a favorite subject, and insist on reading that book and only that book over and over every night at bedtime.

The important thing to keep in mind with early literacy is that it should be child-directed. By honoring your child’s requests and opinions about books early on, you will teach them that their actions matter.

The child with autism whose parent allows them to naturally close a book on page 3 rather than getting into a power struggle over making it to the end of the story may be much more likely to initiate reading all the way to page 5 or beyond on the next day.

It is OK to follow your child’s lead when it comes to literacy and reading, even if that results in unconventional outcomes. By freeing yourself and your child from excessively prescriptive ideas about what reading “should” look like, you create room to explore the wide world of literacy as it links directly to your lives, and establish a foundation for more complex reading skills to emerge later on.