Love & Learning: A Reading Program Geared to Children with Special Needs
by Julie Borchardt (sjborchardt@netzero.net)
Newsletter - Fall 2000

At a monthly gathering of children with Down syndrome, their mothers, and siblings, one mother brought along a video tape demonstrating the literacy techniques used in the "Love and Learning" program. We watched in amazement as Maria Kotlinski, then a 5-year-old girl with Down syndrome, clearly and accurately read numerous individual words and paragraphs. Based on the recent research showing the benefits of early literacy in children with Down syndrome, several mothers decided to try the program out for themselves. Siobhan Murphy started using the first three kits with her son, Aidan, when he was 2 ½. "It’s a wonderful program. He loves the videos, and the books offer us an opportunity for some rewarding one-on-one interactive reading time," Siobhan noted.

Joe and Susan Kotlinski developed the Love and Learning program for their daughter, Maria. The Love and Learning technique is a multisensory approach for teaching language and reading development to infants and toddlers, in particular. The program consists of special audio tapes, video tapes, and books, with parental involvement. The Kotlinski’s have also recently developed a computer program that reinforces what a child has learned in the kits. The Love and Learning audio tape is played at naptime, bedtime or playtime and lets the child hear the words spoken in a clear, slow manner. These same words are presented in the corresponding video, both visually and pronounced phonetically. Special books present the same words and reinforce the audio tapes and video tapes as well as provide a special time for parent and child to read together.

Joe noted that the seed for developing the Love & Learning technique was planted the day after their daughter was born. "The genetics doctor at the hospital told us that we could expect our daughter to learn to feed and dress herself but she would likely not attain higher functioning skills like reading," said Joe. The Kotlinski’s started looking early for materials to help Maria in this area. "Out of the frustration of not being able to find suitable materials, we decided to make them ourselves," said Joe. His background as an engineer and Susan’s experience as an editor at a magazine helped, "but there was a lot of learning in the process of developing the video/audio tapes, books and now computer programs," Joe noted. "The development of the materials/technique was more intuitive—and a good part divine inspiration—than based on current research because we could not find very much on teaching reading to infants and toddlers." Joe also noted that although it is now common sense to show a child a visual cue (i.e. a printed word) to help with pronunciation and language, at the time (mid-1980’s) it was thought that a person must first learn to speak before he could be taught to read.

The following is the Kotlinski’s daughter’s experience with the program:
"Maria was not only born with Down syndrome, but also had seizures for the first year and a half of her life. Medication eventually controlled the seizures but it also made Maria very lethargic. Her development was so delayed that the doctors thought she had a severe hearing loss. Currently she has minor eyesight problems because of cataracts. So you can see that Maria has had other medical concerns besides Down syndrome."
"We began using the alphabet audio tape when she was about a year old. However, it was another year and a half before she really began to vocalize the sounds she was hearing. We now feel that although she was not repeating these sounds, she was storing this information for the time when she would be ready to verbalize. In her book Communication Skills in Children with Down Syndrome, Dr. Libby Kumin states that ‘while the typically developing child will probably hear a word 2,000 times or more before she uses that word in speech, children with Down Syndrome often need to hear it even more.’ So you can see how important this repetition is and also appreciate audio/video technology which allows your child to get the repetition she needs without you doing it all!"
"Likewise, we read the alphabet book to Maria for over a year before she started to repeat the sounds of the letters. More important than her vocalizing or reading, however, was the positive feeling (love) she was connecting with the learning process. We would get comfortable on the sofa and spend several minutes each day (5 days a week) reading the book. We never pressured Maria into saying the letter, even if she had said it before. If she did not say the letter, we said it for her and moved onto the next."
"Maria is now 15. I believe that introducing Maria to reading (giving her a visual representation of the word) was the key to developing her language. With language Maria realized she had influence/control over her environment and what she experienced. Since human beings interact primarily through language (parent to child, teacher to child and child to child) her development would have been significantly delayed. Maria is going into High School this year. She will be mainstreamed for half the time and in a special ed class for the other half. Basic math skills remain a challenge for her. But language, reading and spelling continue to be her strong points. Where Maria will go from here? Can't say for sure. We will keep an open mind and do what we can to assist her in a loving and caring way."

The Love & Learning technique consists of seven kits. Kits progress from simple words based on the alphabet (kit 1) to advanced conversational skills (kit 6) and descriptive, fun words (kit 7) (see sidebar). Because of the slower, deliberate way in which the kits present the vocabulary, the Kotlinski’s note that their materials work best with children under the age of 4 who have not been exposed to a lot of television. In particular, they feel that a child age infant – 3 years of age is the ideal time to start. Children who are nonverbal and 4 years of age or older have also responded to the kits successfully, according to their literature. This may be because of the slower presentation which makes the information easier for the child to understand.

Siobhan Murphy decided to try the first three kits with her son, Aidan, when he was 2 ½. "It’s a wonderful program. He loves the videos, and the books offer us an opportunity for some rewarding one-on-one interactive reading time," Siobhan noted.

Children 4 years or older who are already watching television may be accustomed to the "glitz" in many children’s programs and movies. However, if a parent is already reading to their child on a regular basis, the Kotlinskis have found that introducing the books to the child first will increase the child’s interest in the video tapes. Likewise, adolescents and adults who have a limited reading vocabulary (less than 100 words) and who want to learn to read may benefit from the materials. Because they have the desire to read, they may watch the tapes consistently and use the books themselves.

The Kotlinski’s note that each component of the kit is important and shouldn’t be underestimated. The audio tape was one of their most successful teaching tools with their daughter. They recommend using the audio tape before naptime and bedtime. At first the child just listens to the sounds, but after awhile, they will probably try making the sounds themselves. This was the case for Murphy’s son, Aidan. "We use the audiotapes in the car. They’re very effective," Siobhan said. "Aidan imitates the words he hears." Repetition is the key for the child to organize and process sounds, according to the Kotlinski’s.

The video tapes work on improving articulation and comprehension by breaking down complex sounds (words) into manageable parts, displaying letters and words, and objects associated with them, in a clearly presented format. For example, on the ABC video in kit #1, the video shows the letter "a", then the word "apple", and finally, it shows Maria eating an apple. Since most children will watch 5,000 hours of television by the time they are in the first grade, TV may as well be used in a responsible, constructive way as opposed to passive entertainment, according to the Kotlinski’s. They found that the simple, straightforward manner of their videos were easier for their daughter to comprehend than the "glitz and glamour" of other videos. Although other videos were captivating for her, Maria didn’t truly understand what was happening and was overwhelmed.

The book portion of the kit is another way of providing repetition for the words that are presented in the audio tape and video tape. But perhaps the most important part of the books is that the child is making an association between the feelings of love and warmth of being with Mom or Dad, and the learning process. "This good feeling will be the basis of everything else in her life," they note. Parents need only to read the book once to their child each weekday. Even if the child does not attend to the book, this will provide another chance for her to hear the sounds of the letters and words as you read them.

Siobhan Murphy is happy she decided to try the Love & Learning program after seeing the introductory video. "Aidan’s speech is progressing slowly but steadily," Murphy said. "We believe that the Love and Learning program has had and continues to have a very positive effect on his speech, language, comprehension and reading skills."

"We believe our children have a love/wisdom/light that needs to be shared with the world," says Joe Kotlinski. "Helping our children develop their language skills will help make it possible for them to share their wisdom with us."

During the past 13 years over 3,000 families have used the Love & Learning. For more information, visit the Kotlinski’s web-site at www.loveandlearning.com or write Love and Learning, P.O. Box 4088, Dearborn, Michigan 48126-4088, Phone: (313) 581-8436.