The Code Overlay: Show the Code!
Phonemies help children see, hear, and articulate phonemes, which makes the speech to print relationship clearer and word mapping more accessible. This visual and linguistic support is particularly helpful for neurodivergent learners who benefit from explicit cues when developing early reading and spelling skills. Welcome to the home of The Code Overrlay! Phonemies®, pronounced /f əʊ n iː m i: z/, are IPA aligned Speech Sound Monsters® that show the code. Find out why this matters: Phonics Reform England (PRE)
“Give me a child before seven and I will make certain they never qualify for a dyslexia diagnosis.”
Emma Hartnell-Baker, The Early Dyslexia Risk Screening Centre. Preventing the Dyslexia Paradox
About Emma Hartnell-Baker aka "The Word Mapper" and Neurodivergent Reading Whisperer®
Emma has over 20 years of experience teaching children and training educators. She has held a wide range of roles, including nursery owner and manager, OFSTED inspector, classroom teacher and school behaviour advisor.
She holds a Level 7 qualification (Masters Degree in Special Educational Needs) and has delivered training for PATOSS and other organisations committed to inclusion, equity and diversity.
In Australia, Emma was known for modelling best practice in schools. Teachers would observe her working with children who were struggling to read and spell, without being told anything about them, so they could see how she identified learning gaps and determined next steps. In most cases, this took less than 20 minutes. Her Speech Sound Pics (SSP) Approach is being used across all states to teach visual and linguistic phonics as the foundation of word mapping mastery. It is the only self-paced phonics programme in the world, designed for less teaching, more self-teaching. Other than a whole class 'Speech Sound Play' phase children soon work through the Core Code at their own pace. The Speech Sound Pic Approach is designed to match instruction to each individual child within the neurodiverrse classroom, recognising that too much explicit teaching for some children can be just as problematic as too little support for others. Those screened as high risk for dyslexia in term 1 receive 1:1 Speedie Readies support for ten minutes a day! The Village With Three Corners books have been a game changer for SSP teachers.
Become a specialist in supporting neuroreadies. Emma Hartnell-Baker is an expert in teaching autistic children to read.
Current Word Mapping Mastery® Projects
As The Upstream Team, our obsession is finding an easier and faster route to self-teaching reading for pleasure for all neuro-types. 📖
TheDyslexiaParadox.com
This work is shaped by pattern-seeking neurodivergent thinking and a deep understanding that reading depends on how efficiently the brain detects, stores, and predicts patterns in speech and print. Speech Sound Mapping is being named in more and more EHC plans
🧠 Faster orthographic mapping starts with supporting speech sound processing and understanding how prediction machines, our brains, work. Our word mapping systems support children from the earliest stages to communicate their way and move into self-teaching, so reading becomes fluent, effortless, and something children choose to do.
🌈 MySpeekie® is the world’s first one-screen AAC for non-speaking children who cannot (yet!) type, read, or spell. Spoken and written language soon merge.
🧩 Speech Sound Play develops phonemic awareness through play before phonics begins. It supports accurate speech sound processing so children are ready to map sounds to print.
The Speech Sound Pics® Approach builds on this foundation, making speech sound to grapheme mapping visible and supporting successful self-paced phonics learning in the R/KS1 classroom.
SpeechSoundPics.com
🌟 We’ve built the first Word Mapping Mastery® technology that connects speech and print for all words. Using the Code Mapping® algorithm and Phonemies (Speech Sound Monsters®), the code is shown with Mapped Words®. It is the first truly bidirectional word mapping system.
😢 This matters because around one in four children aged 7+ have not securely stored enough written words to read and spell fluently. These orthographic learning gaps are preventable.
📚 SpeedieReadies.com includes access to the Village With Three Corners series. The first 50 books are orthographically mapped to support daily word storage and early self-teaching, helping prevent the Dyslexia Paradox.
🎹 The Monster Spelling Piano app and MyWordz® with MySpeekie® support the Speedie Readies system.
🔎 TheSpellingRoutine.com
The Spelling Routine uses Mapped Words® to show the code for dyslexic learners, with or without Phonemies, so words are recognised instantly and spelt correctly months later.
It is one of The Core Four activities.
“If they don’t know it, show it.”
Forget coloured overlays, use the Code Overlay.
Emma Hartnell-Baker, MEd SEN
“The Word Mapper”
WordMappingMastery.com
Former owner and manager of two nurseries rated Outstanding
Former OFSTED Inspector
Based in England, supporting reading for pleasure in Australian schools
Doctoral researcher, University of Reading
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