Adapting Wilson Reading System Materials to Meet the Needs of Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

Roz Rowley
Perkins School for the Blind

Kim Charlson
Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library

Justine Carlone-Rines
Perkins School for the Blind

What Is the Wilson Reading System?

According to Wilson Language System, although it's easy to blame the educational system, overcrowded classrooms and dwindling budgets, the fact is that many people, regardless of their age, have not been able to acquire reading and writing skills because their learning needs have never been properly assessed (Jean DeRosa, personal communication, August, 2002). The majority of these people are subject to a core deficit at the most basic level of language skill: that of phonological coding. They have never acquired what so many of us take for granted, an internalized ability to analyze the structure of words in English and apply their understanding of that structure when reading and spelling.

Whether caused by dyslexia or some other language-based learning difficulty, a late introduction to English or overreliance on whole language programs, this deficit must be corrected by direct, multisensory, structured language teaching.

The mission at Wilson Language Training is to address that deficit. The company brings to the task more than a decade of experience and a proven method for helping people of all ages to become fluent, accurate readers.

The Wilson Reading System teaches students the structure of words and language through a carefully sequenced, 12-step program that helps them master decoding and spelling (encoding) in English. Unlike other programs that overwhelm the student with rules, the Wilson Reading System allows the student to learn cumulatively and systematically. Wilson students move forward from success to success, which makes the process work for student and teacher alike.

The Wilson Reading System was originally designed for adults and students in grades 5-12, but has been revised so that it can be used with elementary students as well. Wilson Reading System materials feature two separate vocabulary levels: Level A vocabulary is suitable for elementary school students, ESL students and older students with limited vocabularies; while Level B vocabulary is appropriate for students beyond elementary grades, with more advanced vocabularies. The Wilson Reading System can be used for one-to-one tutoring or in small groups.

The System is based on accepted Orton-Gillingham philosophy and principles as well as on current reading research. It has proven highly successful with students who have been unable to learn encoding and decoding through traditional basal methods, whole language or other phonics programs and who require multi-sensory language instruction to master the phonological coding system of English. ESL students who lack written English skills have also found success through this direct, multi-sensory approach. Students learn by hearing sounds; manipulating color-coded sound, syllable and word cards; performing finger-tapping exercises; writing down spoken words and sentences; reading aloud, repeating what they have read in their own words, and hearing others read it as well. Skills and knowledge are reinforced verbally, aurally, tactually and visually and learned well (Wilson, 2002).

Case Study

The adapted Wilson Reading System has been quite successful in teaching braille reading skills to a 19-year-old blind student through a pilot project at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts. Stephen has struggled with phonics and braille for years. He finally recognized 95 percent of the braille contractions after four years of work. He struggled with decoding words and breaking them into syllables, but he still could not accurately decode short vowel sounds consistently. Once he became frustrated attempting to read, Stephen lost the initiative to continue working. His instructors felt that there had to be a program that could be used to encourage him to pursue reading. Thus began our quest for a new, structured reading program.

After hearing of the many successes of the Wilson Reading System with middle and high school students and adults, a team of Perkins staff investigated whether this approach could be used successfully with students who are blind or visually impaired. Arrangements were made to hold a ten-hour overview workshop at Perkins School for the Blind in February 2002. The twenty-five teachers involved were very impressed with what they saw and learned, and efforts began to adapt the program for our population.

During the summer of 2002, Vicky Berg, a low vision specialist, and I worked on adapting the sound cards, word cards, and syllable cards, and identifying a board that could be used in place of the magnet tiles provided as a part of the Wilson System. Another colleague, Kristyn Leigh, a teacher and certified Braille transcriber, worked on scanning and producing the WADE test (Wilson Assessment of Decoding Encoding), as well as Student Readers One, Two, and Three.

Coordinated instruction began with Stephen in September 2002. Since then, he has completed the first two student readers and is currently working in Book 3. He has learned all of the short vowel sounds through the Wilson Sound Cards and key words by reading them in braille. A special Velcro(r)-enhanced board for holding the modified word cards was made for use with the program by the Perkins Instructional Materials Center. Stephen was able to read the cards placed on the board easily because they were well secured. The consonant cards were labeled with one braille dot in the middle of the top edge, the vowel cards with two braille dots in the middle of the top edge, and the welded sound cards with three braille dots along the top edge. In addition, the Wilson Word Cards for Levels One, Two, and Three were laminated and brailled. These simple, but time-consuming, steps were necessary to begin using the Wilson program with a blind student.

As of March 2003, Stephen's speed and decoding skills have increased significantly. When reading lists of words, sentences, and short stories at the beginning of Book 3, he now decodes the words with 95 percent accuracy. The controlled text has been tremendously important in allowing Stephen to experience a sense of accomplishment. His periods of frustration and delays in class have dropped significantly.

Since Stephen has directly experienced success in his reading, he is willing to take risks and is more motivated to practice. In an effort to keep materials interesting for Stephen, authentic texts were introduced to his reading program. He responded positively to this new material, although it was somewhat challenging for him at times.

When Stephen was asked how he felt about his success with the Wilson Reading System, he responded, "Finding a program that worked efficiently has helped me read a variety of materials such as braille labels in our Student Store, recipes, shopping lists, and pleasure books." He continued, "I also feel more confident and fluent when I read. I am so grateful that this program is working for me. I wish we had found it years ago! I think that it has been good to have my speech therapist working together with my braille and reading teacher."

Observations

1. Two additional classes per week with Stephen's Speech and Language Pathologist, Justine Carlone-Rines, have provided Stephen with help in combining some of the more difficult blends and digraphs.
2. Stephen's participation in many exercises related to ear training of the troublesome sounds contributed positively to the overall learning process.
3. More than two periods a week should be given to a visually impaired student learning this program because it takes longer to complete each lesson.
4. Knowing contracted braille beforehand made it easier to work on decoding skills.

Available Braille Materials

1. Books One, Two and Three of the Wilson Student Readers by Barbara Wilson have been produced in braille by the Perkins School for the Blind, and Books Four, Five, and Six are currently in production.
2. Stories for Older Students: Book One by Jay Brown has also been transcribed.

To discuss obtaining braille copies of materials or braille formatted (BRF) files for in-house embossing, translated at 40 cells per line and 25 lines per page, contact Kim Charlson. For additional information contact The Wilson Reading System, 175 West Main Street, Millbury, MA 01527-1915, 508-865-5699, www.wilsonlanguage.com, info@wilsonlanguage.com.

References

Wilson Reading Systems (2002). Wilson language training overview. Found at www.wilsonlanguage.com.

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