The things you want to know

What is the difference between Units of Sound and Units of Sound:Literacy that fits?

	Units of Sound			Literacy that fits
	Has variable licences from 1 to unlimited users			Is not licensed for professional use by schools or tutors
	Is used in Schools, Colleges and Community Centres			Is for home use only.
	Has a comprehensive Student Management system for multiple users			Keeps programme details for up to 3 users
	Is delivered by professionals			Has audio help on every screen to explain exactly what to do
	Placement is controlled by administrator			Has a different placement and monitoring system from Units of Sound

What is Units of Sound: Literacy that fits?
Units of Sound: Literacy that fits is the home edition of the successful Units of Sound programme used in many schools and colleges to teach reading and spelling.
There are 4 programmes within Units of Sound: Literacy that fits – Reading, Spelling, Memory and Dictation.

Who is it intended for?
Units of Sound will help anyone who wants to improve their reading and/or spelling. It is suitable for children from the age of seven or eight and adults of any age.

Is it just for dyslexic students?
Units of Sound was designed to help dyslexic readers but has been used to help non-dyslexic poor readers – in line with the research that ‘ordinary poor readers’ benefit from the same teaching and learning methods designed for dyslexic students. Rice, M. & Brooks, G. (2004): Developmental dyslexia in adults: A research review. London.

What range does it cover?
Units of Sound content covers reading and spelling from Year 1 – Year 10 for children and Entry 1 – Level 3 for adults.

Can an adult use the programme on his/her own?
Certainly, Literacy that fits has built in audio help on every page. The programme is intuitive and easy to follow. Adults with poor reading skills may need initial help setting up the programme at the right level and with the Check Reading exercises. Adults simply wishing to improve their spelling will find they manage the programme on their own.

Why isn’t Units of Sound recommended under the age of seven?
Units of Sound isn’t recommended for use with small children who are learning to read where there is plenty of age appropriate material. However, as soon as parents feel their child is falling behind there is a range of resources available in the Dyslexia Action shop. Please, ask for a brochure or browse on-line

What is placement?
Placement is a screening process to see what words can be read or spelt so that the learner starts the programme at a point which is tailored for them. (So it’s like a test? – Similar but the answers given inform the programme of a starting point rather than giving a score)

Do I need training to use Units of Sound effectively
Units of Sound Professional has a tutorial which describes the main functions and the Help! manual can be printed from the program group. We can also provide face to face training to step staff through the main functions of the programme. We recommend initial training for schools where a number of staff are going to use the programme. A distance learning course is also available which ensures you get the best out of the programme for you and your students. A blended learning course is also available combining the face to face and distance learning training packages.
Literacy that fits has been designed to be used in the home market but support and set-up sessions can be found at any of Dyslexia Action’s centres.

How much should you do in a week?
It is up to the teacher or individual to decide but two pages a week is a normal progression. This allows for plenty of work if an overlap is used and all four programmes are covered. Reading and spelling are designed to be covered at different levels but the pace is the same. Literacy that fits has an overlap built in and 3 pages can be completed before there is any repeat. However, it is unwise to move through the programme too fast as the knowledge will not be consolidated.

How do I know where to start?
Both Units of Sound and Literacy that fits programmes have placement tests which set the programme for each student. These should be completed before working on the programmes.

Why can’t private tutors use Literacy that fits?
Literacy that fits is priced for the home market and as such is not intended for tutors who charge for lessons.

Why aren’t there any pictures?
The structure of Units of Sound makes pictures unnecessary. They would detract from the decoding of words and distract the student. Also pictures tend to be age appropriate which would limit the advantage Units of Sound has of being skills appropriate rather than age related.

Why can’t you change the background colour?
The background colour is set at pale cream and the text is dark grey - although on many monitors this appears as black out of white, it is in fact muted so that there is no resonance. Coloured text is used to indicate various features so changing the background might lead to confusion. The majority of students manage very well although tutors sometimes come across students with a visual problem. In these cases we suggest a programme called ClaroView which is beneficial for all computer work.

Why doesn’t the programme fill the whole screen?
The purpose of a central area for the programme is to concentrate the focus of the student on an area which is visually comfortable. The border not only contains information but prevents the eyes darting about the screen. As screen sizes and resolutions change we have increased the size of the frames so that more of the screen is covered. Look out soon for the increased Student Management screens.

If you have further questions you would like answered do contact us:

Email: unitsofsound@dyslexiaaction.org.uk

Write to:
Educational Development
Dyslexia Action
2 Grosvenor Gardens
London
SW1W 0DH