Laureate Learning

Laureate Learning
publishes computer software for children and adults
with special needs.

I first became aware of Laureate Learning software
when I was taking my child, Matthew, who has
complete Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum, to his
Speech-Language Pathologist for speech therapy
sessions.

Matthew is non-verbal with only a handful of words.
When Early Intervention was working with Matthew
in his early pre-school years it became very
apparent that, for Matthew, his best and most
effective method of communication (at that time)
would be through an augmentative communication
device.

Matthew has always liked to push a button and
see a toy light up or hear it say a message.
He is very auditory and he needs that voice
output coupled with a visual picture to be
able to communicate effectively and to express
himself both in terms of what he wants and
what he knows and understands.

The motivation factor is huge and a key factor
in figuring out so many wonderful ways to
teach and help create positive learning
tools for kids who have agenesis of the corpus
callosum or a corpus callosum disorder.

So, while Matthew’s Speech-Language Pathologist
was working with him during speech therapy
sessions to begin to learn how to use the
augmentative communication device we chose for
him, she set up her computer with some software
for Matthew to try (not knowing if he would like
it or even be able to use it). That is how we
first discovered Laureate Learning back when
Matthew was very young in about 1st grade. He
still uses Laureate Learning software today and
we both think it’s terrific!

The computer was also a big motivation for
my child, Matthew, to use the augmentative
communication device to make a request to
play “computer”. :)

At the time Matthew was using the computer
with a touch screen. His Speech-Language
Pathologist also worked with him to learn to
use a roller-ball type of mouse and he took to
that very well. Today Matthew is now able to
use a regular mouse by himself.

Laureate Learning offers a large variety of computer software for many abilities and skill levels. You can access Laureate Learning software by using a single switch, a touch screen, keyboard or a mouse.

Matthew’s favorites are:

First Words, First Words II & First Verbs

He also likes:

Nouns & Sounds

When you are looking at the website and exploring
the software products, be sure to click on the left
hand side of the screen where it says:

“View a short
VIDEO”

You will get to actually see a little demo of
the software in action and see how it works.
Please note that the Free CD Demo will give you
a much more hands-on experience and a far greater
idea of how the software works.

What do I like about Laureate Learning Systems?

Well, I especially like that Matthew likes it
and that it works for him.

I like that the computer software offers LOTS of
repetition. It gives you the ability to train
with a list of words and you can easily choose to
use only 2 or 4 or however many words you want
to use.

I like that you have a lot of control in terms
of how you configure the program so that you are
able to help your child learn at the most basic
beginning level with one picture on the screen
teaching your child that one picture at a time,
then advancing to two pictures such as
(horse and train) and it asks your child to
choose the horse. It will even keep track
of a child’s progress and provide short reports.

And…I like that Laureate Learning offers Laureate Family website and gives 50% discount on all their software to families. I like that a lot!

If this is something that interests you for your
own child I highly recommend that you request
their FREE CD Demo. This demo is a great opportunity to explore some of the software
Laureate offers for free with your child to get
an idea if your child will benefit from it.


Talk with your child’s Speech-Language Pathologist
about Laureate Learning software. Your child’s
Speech Therapist may already be familiar with
Laureate and may even be using it with clients.

If you do decide to make a purchase from Laureate
Learning I highly recommend purchasing the
“Sterling Editions” of software. They are an
upgraded software version with better graphics
and screen appearance. (I have used both the
classic versions and Sterling Editions and far
prefer the Sterling Editions).

Matthew’s beginning grade school teacher was so
excited when she got a copy of Creature Chorus
for her classroom and saw Matthew learn how to
use a mouse by himself and click on one of the
creatures then watch it move and make a silly
sound. I arrived at his classroom to pick him
up and his wonderful teacher (all smiles) had me
come in and was so excited to show me what
Matthew was doing. I was super thrilled!! :)


Be sure and request your Free CD Demo and try it
with your child. It just might be a pleasant
surprise and a brand new learning tool that
works for your child.

If you do decide to make a purchase from
Laureate Learning and you are the family of a
child with special needs or an adult with special
needs please make sure that you order from the Laureate Learning FAMILY website so you receive the 50% discount.

Oh, and I also like a few more things about
Laureate:

Damaged CDs Replaced!
If your CD gets damaged, we'll replace it free
of charge. Just contact us to arrange a
replacement. Please have your serial number
available.

Satisfaction Guaranteed!
If for any reason you are not fully satisfied
with your Laureate software, you may return
the program to us within 60 days for a prompt
credit or refund. HARDWARE IS NOT RETURNABLE.

Preview Policy
If you'd like to try a program before you
purchase it, we'll send you any Laureate
product free of charge for up to 30 days.
Just call us with a purchase order or credit
card number. If the product doesn't meet your
needs, send it back within 30 days and you can
try something else. HARDWARE IS NOT AVAILABLE
FOR PREVIEW.

Upgrade to a New Version
You can send in any Laureate program and upgrade
to a new version of THE SAME PROGRAM for just $60!
This includes upgrading to a new type of computer
(MS-DOS to Mac/Win CD) or to a new Sterling Edition.

You must return your old CD(s) or disk(s) along
with your order for the new version of the same
title. This Upgrade Policy cannot be combined
with any other offer.

It’s all in writing on their website.

I'd love to hear what you think about Laureate
software if you use it or decide to try it.

If you have discovered a teaching method that
helps your child learn please consider clicking
on "comments" and sharing (with all the readers)
what it is. What you have to offer may very well
be something that helps another child learn.

ACC & Educational Teaching Tools

Every child with Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum is not alike in terms of how they learn and what they might struggle with. As convenient as it would be to pull a 'How to Teach a Child with ACC' book off the shelf and have the exact magical miracle teaching method at your fingertips...it just doesn't exist yet. What does exist is good old-fashioned roll up your sleeves, put on your thinking caps, pay close attention to that child and what motivates that child and offer as many teaching tools and methods as it takes until something works. Oh, and one other very important ingredient is essential to that equation...
P A T I E N C E.

In my previous post I said I would share some of the educational tools that I have found helpful for my child, Matthew. So take a look and keep in mind that every child is different and what works well for one child doesn't work so well for another child.



Living Books Interactive Animated Stories CD Roms

I discovered Living Books when I was searching for teaching tools online. After much reading online, exploring websites that sold Living Books and reading reviews I became aware that our local library has several Living Books Interactive stories on CD Rom to borrow. Well, BINGO! It worked and Living Books are a big hit with Matthew. He took to them immediately and wants to read the Living Books stories everyday on the computer. One of Matthew's Favorites is "Arthur's Birthday". There are several other Living Books stories on CD Rom:

Dr. Seuss's ABC
Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs & Ham
The Tortoise and the Hare
Mercer Mayer's Just Grandma and Me
Arthur's Reading Race
Mercer Mayer's Little Monster at School
Arthur's Computer Adventure
Arthur's Teacher Trouble - story and spelling pages



What do we love about Living Books?

These animated storybooks on computer give a child the option to have the entire book read to them or they may choose the Play feature which gives the child the opportunity to listen to each page of the story as it is read to them and then they may click on anything on the page and watch that object come alive, hear that character talk, listen to dishes sing silly songs, etc.



In addition the child can click on any word in the story and have the word read aloud. They can also click on the beginning of the words to hear the entire page read aloud again.

The possibilities are endless in terms of how you can approach teaching methods with your child as well as allowing your child to explore, discover and go at his or her own pace.

Having the option to play in the story keeps their attention and makes it fun.

Af first Matthew would only click on the pictures and characters once the page was read but now he is clicking away on words and even finding words when I ask him where a certain word is.

If you think that Living Books Animated Stories on CD Rom may be worth trying be sure to check and see if you can borrow them from your local library to test them out. Then if you end up wanting to purchase one or more of the Living Books Animated Interactive Stories on CD Rom check out ebay. I was able to purchase the CD Roms through ebay and a few other online places for much less and I even bought a couple of them gently used for a few dollars.

I will add more educational teaching tools over the next few weeks that I have discovered to be positive and successful learning methods for my child, Matthew.

Have you found something educational that helps your child with ACC? Please feel free to post a comment and share what it is.