Meet Alf!

Speech Sound Mapping (SSM) was added to Alfie's EHCP in 2024 when he was 8 and, as you can see, he was unable to read basic CVC words after two years of a synthetic phonics programme and had shut down.
 

I was only able to spend four weeks running my Train-the-Teacher model. I was supposed to be training two members of staff, but one pulled out. I had been annoyed by her finger tapping on Alfie's board and my feedback didn't go down well. At the end of the four weeks her boss told me they didn't want to be mentored by me any longer, mentioned something about not liking my negative attitude to the school phonics programme, and someone else stepped in. I also took a photo in an empty room with no children of a blank wall where I thought the Spelling Clouds were going to be put up, to remind his teacher, and was told that this is a safeguarding issue. I asked the trust for support but didn't want to raise a complaint as I had hoped to resolve the issue amicably.
 

Although Speech Sound Mapping was written into Alfie's EHCP, this meant I was no longer able to deliver the training and support written into his plan. I am not against any programme until it gets in the way of a child's learning, especially if it negatively impacts their self-esteem. Alf would shut down when anything relating to phonics was shown. I am amazed he kept so calm. So yes, for Alf this was not a good fit. There was an implication that Alf simply wasn't able to learn to read, and I disagreed. 
 

It's not the first time I've been told I am not welcome. Being mentored by me can be confronting and I tend not to sugar coat things when I am worried about the child. My autism means I feel these issues deeply and have a strong sense of social justice, especially when children are being failed by systems that adults are expected not to question.

Some adults working in SEN seem not to like being challenged. Often, however, the children have no voice. I do. And I am building tech to quite literally give non-speaking children a voice.

He is now reading with comprehension and loves the Village With Three Corners. I knew he would. He loves the Phonemies and used them to check graphemes he didn't know until his pattern-seeking brain took over. But I was unable to be involved. Frustrating.
 

I have just been asked by his family to assess him again, ready for his transition to a new school, and despite this amazing transformation in reading, I am disappointed in his progress in letter formation and writing. He has lost so much time, and I think he is capable of so much more. I have created this page to start conversations around EHCPs and what can get in the way.
 

There can be a tendency to underestimate autistic children and have low expectations, combined with little to no training in word mapping for the adults working with children like Alfie. Some may also try to block change if it conflicts with their beliefs around what autistic children need. Much of what is routinely used across England in SEN is not grounded in strong scientific evidence, despite being widely accepted in schools.

A teaching assistant has been teaching him and trying her best, but it is time to show what happens when he gets the intervention he needs. Now that he is moving schools, I need to get him back on track. More than that, I want us to start being more honest about what is broken in the existing system. Children like Alf fall through the cracks, and Ill go into that in more depth in a few weeks. 

In the meantime I'd like to share some clips and I'll talk you through them. I will tell his Mum what to do, and she will video it as I want to show that anyone can support their child if given the right support. We launch a 90 minute on-demand course for those new to word mapping soon as everyone deserves this insight.

Let's see what we can do in the weeks left before the Summer. Please do show your support by liking the videos, which will be uploaded to YouTube, as Alfie will be doing this to help others.
He is one of the kindest, sweetest boys I have ever met.

Miss Emma

Emma Hartnell-Baker MEd SEN aka The Word Mapping Nerd