Sign Language is one of the ways to help a child that is not talking, or cannot speak clearly, start communicating.
Sometimes children are identified very early as being children who will have speech delay due to a particular disability i.e. Down syndrome, Rhett syndrome, Autism, CHARGE syndrome.
But for some children the diagnosis does not come as early and its not till they quite literally have been left behind by their peers that parents truly realised that something is wrong. With friends assuring them that they know someone who didn't talk till ..... or Nan saying oh Tommy he was always a very quiet boy.....
For others they know something is wrong but because their child is not showing definitive signs of this or that disability they keep getting brushed off by the medical profession, therefore delaying intervention.
There can be many different reasons for a child not talking and too many to go into here.
What we are looking at is, a child that it is hoped will one day, be able to talk or speak clearly enough for others to understand.
So then parents are told to look at AAC - which is Augmentative and or Alternative Communication. There are different types of AAC both in aided and unaided types.
For some children they will use AAC very short term, others may go thru the early years aided, while others may use AAC all their lives. Some will use only one type ie Symbols, and then there are others that will use multiple types throughout their lives ie Sign Language + Pictures + voice. Some will find their spoken language becomes clear enough on its own to be understood yet others may use very little if any spoken language because of its difficulty to be understood or produce.
Key Word Signing (also referred to as Makaton {using Auslan signs}) can often be suggested as a great way to get your child communicating quickly. Depending often on who first gets to speak to and explain to the parents, the benefits and drawbacks of different forms of AAC.
I have found over the last 14 years that I constantly meet parents who's children are truly struggling thru their lives because they are so limited in their communication. These parents have not been told about Key Word Signing or have been advised against it. This, I am sad to say, in this age of technology that allows for proper research, is occurring with Professionals not doing enough research or allowing their prejudices to show thru.
To anyone out there that is a doubter remember this - one of the most important things in a child's life is to be able to communicate.
Not speak - that will come when and if possible at a later date but for the here and now in their lives they need to be able to let you know their most basic needs, pleasures and wants. What a parent chooses to do for their child is their decision and no one else has the right to dictate what they should or should not do.
I am not saying that Sign Language is the only choice but it is definitely a choice that should be offered to and suggested as an option with all the correct information supplied.
Also please remember, these are my personal views (sometimes very strong and passionate) and I do not profess to know everything there is to know about AAC and what is best for each and every child.
There are as many children out there using other forms of AAC and doing just as well as those using sign language.
There are also children out there that have the disabilities I have mentioned and they have never needed AAC (Elysha/s best friend who also has Down syndrome is one).
Then there are those that I have worked with, who are 10 yrs old +, that still have no form of communication going, and their parents are still waiting for their children to start talking because they were advised against using sign language.
Time for coffee, next time I hope to chat about Elysha and some of the obstacle's we have hit over the years. Love to hear what you have to say - ojin me in letting the world know how great Key Word Signing is.
Sometimes children are identified very early as being children who will have speech delay due to a particular disability i.e. Down syndrome, Rhett syndrome, Autism, CHARGE syndrome.
But for some children the diagnosis does not come as early and its not till they quite literally have been left behind by their peers that parents truly realised that something is wrong. With friends assuring them that they know someone who didn't talk till ..... or Nan saying oh Tommy he was always a very quiet boy.....
For others they know something is wrong but because their child is not showing definitive signs of this or that disability they keep getting brushed off by the medical profession, therefore delaying intervention.
There can be many different reasons for a child not talking and too many to go into here.
What we are looking at is, a child that it is hoped will one day, be able to talk or speak clearly enough for others to understand.
So then parents are told to look at AAC - which is Augmentative and or Alternative Communication. There are different types of AAC both in aided and unaided types.
For some children they will use AAC very short term, others may go thru the early years aided, while others may use AAC all their lives. Some will use only one type ie Symbols, and then there are others that will use multiple types throughout their lives ie Sign Language + Pictures + voice. Some will find their spoken language becomes clear enough on its own to be understood yet others may use very little if any spoken language because of its difficulty to be understood or produce.
Key Word Signing (also referred to as Makaton {using Auslan signs}) can often be suggested as a great way to get your child communicating quickly. Depending often on who first gets to speak to and explain to the parents, the benefits and drawbacks of different forms of AAC.
I have found over the last 14 years that I constantly meet parents who's children are truly struggling thru their lives because they are so limited in their communication. These parents have not been told about Key Word Signing or have been advised against it. This, I am sad to say, in this age of technology that allows for proper research, is occurring with Professionals not doing enough research or allowing their prejudices to show thru.
To anyone out there that is a doubter remember this - one of the most important things in a child's life is to be able to communicate.
Not speak - that will come when and if possible at a later date but for the here and now in their lives they need to be able to let you know their most basic needs, pleasures and wants. What a parent chooses to do for their child is their decision and no one else has the right to dictate what they should or should not do.
I am not saying that Sign Language is the only choice but it is definitely a choice that should be offered to and suggested as an option with all the correct information supplied.
Also please remember, these are my personal views (sometimes very strong and passionate) and I do not profess to know everything there is to know about AAC and what is best for each and every child.
There are as many children out there using other forms of AAC and doing just as well as those using sign language.
There are also children out there that have the disabilities I have mentioned and they have never needed AAC (Elysha/s best friend who also has Down syndrome is one).
Then there are those that I have worked with, who are 10 yrs old +, that still have no form of communication going, and their parents are still waiting for their children to start talking because they were advised against using sign language.
Time for coffee, next time I hope to chat about Elysha and some of the obstacle's we have hit over the years. Love to hear what you have to say - ojin me in letting the world know how great Key Word Signing is.
No comments:
Post a Comment