Use the SSP Speech Sound Play Plan before teaching any phonics programme, not just the Speech Sound Pics Approach, to screen for dyslexia risk by assessing phonemic awareness and phonological working memory. We are identifying the 1 in 4 children at risk of struggling to learn phonics before phonics instruction begins.
IPA-aligned Phonemies are Speech Sound Monsters®. They show children the speech sound value of letters. Letters are pictures of speech sounds (Speech Sound Pics®), making word mapping visual, linguistic, and fun. Preventing the dyslexia pardox!

The Speech Sound Code
Speech Sounds Made Simple, Visual and Child-Friendly
Meet the Phonemies: Helping Children Speak, See and Show Speech Sounds
Every Phonemie in the Speech Sound Monster Family helps children by articulating speech sounds they may not yet be able to produce themselves.
Each Phonemie (Speech Sound Monster) gives a clear visual form to a sound in spoken English, allowing children to understand, recognise and work with sounds even when they cannot say them out loud.
For children who are non-speaking, whether due to communication differences, developmental needs or personal choice, every Phonemie provides a way to show the sound they are thinking of.
Children can point to a Phonemie to express the sound they want to use. This supports spoken language development and allows children to take part in communication without pressure.
Phonemies do more than represent speech sounds. The Phonemies makes the Speech Sound Code visible and accessible, helping children communicate, read and spell in ways that are non-pressured, emotionally supportive and led by the child. Children are free to explore sounds without needing to speak or get it right straight away. Their communication efforts are always recognised and respected.
The Speech Sound Monsters represent The Speech Sound Code, a universal system of speech sounds that is also represented by the International Phonetic Alphabet. They offer a consistent way to represent the sounds of English, even when accents vary. The visual characters may change slightly to reflect accent differences, but the underlying code remains the same.
This makes them ideal for children learning English as an additional language, as well as for children with speech, language and communication needs. The Phonemies help all children connect spoken sounds to written words in a clear, engaging and consistent way.

