ABSTRACT
Initial reading and writing ‘attack skills’ are normally taught to children with profound hearing losses as early as two years, the age at which many embark on their formal education, within the normal constraints of nursery education. Since one of the first things learned is one’s own name, this and the names of other children in the class are stuck on the backs of chairs. This serves to establish personal identity, the identity of others and some idea of personal possession. By saying the child’s name and pointing to the name on the chair, what is said and what is written is associated. The child is also encouraged to speak its own name and that of classmates. A further activity is tracing over the letters with a finger. Since tactile and kinaesthetic sensations are so helpful in reinforcing the other senses, a similar procedure can be adopted with many objects in the classroom. To permit the children to do this the labels must be at a suitable height. Simply labelling without direct involvement results in what is written being disregarded and no more heeded than the wallpaper.
