ABSTRACT
The rebus approach has many possibilities in a wide variety of applications, many of which have yet to be exploited. It is these possibilities, rather than established success, which have prompted the inclusion of a discussion of the system. Clearly, the number of schools using a rebus approach is too small to merit any definite conclusion. Yet there are indications of its value with dull pupils and with some who have found reading exceptionally difficult. The rebus system was proposed to create such a situation and this is the basic rationale for its use. Use of a rebus technique offers three main advantages: it assists language development; it prepares for reading skills; and it links language and reading. The rebus system provides normally developing young children with experience of second-order symbolization, visually presented language sequences and cross-modal operation of spoken and 'written' language at an earlier age than would be possible with conventional print.
