The Association Method Book

This is the book that explains the association method and is the textbook to learning the association method and understanding it yourself.  I had the opportunity to watch a highly trained individual teach my child the method so I understood better what I was reading in the book.  Although I can not implement the theory & practice as well as a highly trained individual it is better to have some association method than none as it is not practiced by any speech pathologists or schools available to us.  So I read the book.  Then I came across a website one day as I was searching for others who taught the method, hoping for a blog. It was a blog.  To this day I can’t find it.  But it was a mother who read the book shown above who implemented what she learned and she taught her daughter the association method without any prior experience whatsoever.  And I thought to myself, as small as I felt learning something so big, that I’d give it a try too.  So I did.

My recommendation is to find someone who practices the method if you can.  If you can’t find an SLP who practices it educate them that the method exists.  They might be able to gain access to classes that can teach them the method so they can teach others & children/adults alike.  Don’t give up searching if you feel you can’t do it yourself.  Try to find a source to point you in the right direction.

After reading the book and losing access to the SLP that taught my kiddo with the method I purchased the kit sold at the university that teaches the method, online at their bookstore.  The link to their site is https://www.usm.edu/dubard/therapy-materials.

I’ll warn you it is expensive.  And the kit does not mean everything is laid out for you ready to use.  It is work in preparation on your part.  The book which should be read prior to getting started explains what to do with the materials in an indirect way so you understand what the materials are when they come out of the box. You receive a disk with your kit.  This disk represents the binders you will make for your child. It also contains slidepoint presentations where material can be reviewed on a computer that matches the material to the binder. The only problem is it is in print.  The method begins teaching in cursive. This means the binder that you first create would be in cursive.  This includes the cards you create to match those binder pages. So you end up with 2 books   One in cursive and one printed from the kit in print.  The cards provided in the kit are also in print. I don’t mind this because it gives me the opportunity to teach both forms of writing simontaneoisly even though print naturally is learned with the knowledge of cursive.  Be prepared to spend time on arrangement after your purchase.