This isn’t the first time that commercials are using sign language, if you hadn’t seen this one, PepsiCo did for Super Bowl 2008 – check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffrq6cUoE5A

If you don’t already do this (especially if you are a parent and do not get enough quiet time) – you should mute your volume control when you are on the web and enjoy the silence!

I saw this article and found it very interesting, among the other many articles written in the above link. I especially took the limited time a child should spend watching TV. When my older boys were under the age of 2, I did allow them to watch shows that interacted with them, such as Sesame Street and Blues Clues during the week they would watch one show just about everyday – because that was the only time I could take a shower!

Now that they are older, I have noticed with my own boys that they LOVE to watch TV, maybe because it is limited to them. During the summer, I cut down the time to one show every other day and a movie on Friday nights. The youngest, isn’t interested in watching and so I play with him while his older brother’s watch, but we are in the same room with them and when his brothers laugh, then he will look and see what they are laughing at. Winter time is different, when we are hitting cabin fever due to really bad weather outdoors, I allow them to watch a couple of movies on those days.

It is my observation, that the older boys have more attention span to sit still and watch a show, while the youngest who is going to be 2 this December does not. Could it be related to how much time I allow them to watch or is it part of their innate personalities?  Not sure.

Check it out!

You are not alone if you are wondering when your child will sign back to you. I have enjoyed teaching my sons to sign, but it is obviously more thrilling to see them sign back with understanding.

I had started at infancy and once my son was done being fascinated with his hands, I would gently mold his hands into the first motion of a sign that I was saying/showing him. I also used all the five senses to improve his comprehension of what I was signing and saying. For example, I not only incorporated his hearing and sight, but also his taste and smell when I would provide him milk, and when he could wrap his hand around the bottle, that would incorporate touch.  

There are so many opinions available on how to teach, and signing is done the same way as teaching a child to talk. YOU can’t do anything except model for your child, and your child has to develop the small motor skills to be able to sign and develop their verbal skills to be able to speak.

Start young, sign often and your little one will understand what you are saying and due to the time you are spending saying and signing a specific word your child’s comprehension is increased. Problem solving skills are being taught and of course how to have a conversation. And communication is truly a vital part of social skills.  
]]> http://away2read.wordpress.com/2008/05/30/show-me-your-hands/feed/ 0 away2read http://away2read.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/signing-time/ http://away2read.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/signing-time/#comments Tue, 06 May 2008 16:37:59 +0000 away2read http://away2read.wordpress.com/?p=39 ]]> I am thrilled to see Signing Time on PBS, I enjoy watching Rachel Coleman and her story is inspiring, it is wonderful that her talents have brought so much joy to many families. Her creativeness is phenomenal, I love how she thought of using the colored band aids in her videos to show which fingers are being used!

Teaching your child to sign is a fun way to establish a higher level of communication. The book Everyday Signs for the Newborn Baby is a starting point for parents to learn to sign at their own pace, pick up the book and read it for sheer pleasure with their child as they learn to manipulate their hand shapes. The book is incredible as it is designed to provide the first and second motion of the sign at a flick of a flap. The reference guide in the back is perfect for many of us who forget what the sign is or how it is supposed to be motioned, especially if our little ones didn’t let us sleep much the night before:-)

Tanya

In recent years, it has been shown that exposure to sign language has a positive impact on the socialization of hearing children. When infants are taught to sign, parents are able to converse with them at a developmental stage when they are not yet capable of producing oral speech. The ability of a child to actively communicate earlier than would otherwise be possible appears to accelerate language development and to decrease the frustrations of communication.

Many parents use a collection of simplified or ad hoc signs called “baby sign”, as infants do not have the dexterity required for true ASL. However, parents can learn to recognize their baby’s approximations of adult ASL signs, just as they will later learn to recognize their approximations of oral language, so teaching an infant ASL is also possible. Typically young children will make an ASL sign in the correct location and use the correct hand motion, but may be able only to approximate the hand shape, for example, using one finger instead of three fingers in signing water.

1. Start slowly. Begin with simple word signs such as eat, drink and more when a baby starts exploring with their hands and using their small motor skills.
2. Be attentive. Follow the baby’s lead and from nine months onwards, observe what interests the child and introduce signs that will mirror their interest, such as the sign for airplane or dog.
3. Help them understand. Always say the word when you sign, say it slowly and annunciate. This gives your child the clear sounds of the word you are signing. As you provide a concrete form of the word, such as giving a child milk, signing milk and saying milk as you give milk to a child – you are increasing their awareness of what milk is and how to request it. You are providing a child with the basis of understanding what is milk as well as providing a child with a basis of one on one communication skills.  
4. Be clear. Speak slowly and clearly but in a natural way. No need to talk loud, and use different inflections in your voice, say signs with a sing song voice, or use character voices - it is fun seeing how intently your child watches you when you are dramatic. Have fun when you teach! 
5. Keep it simple. Keep it simple, using just one sign per sentence.
6. Be flexible. Be consistent in the signs you use but happily accept any signing attempts from the young child. All children invent signs, words, spelling (when they get older) it is a natural process, you keep signing correctly and your child will eventually sign correctly too.
7. Don’t pressure them. Do not get babies to ‘perform’ signs on demand.
8. Be patient. Be patient and relaxed about your baby and their signing, all children go through phases where they use signs that they have mastered and then choose not to sign, but always use lots of praise.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/sponsoredevents/autism_every_day.php

shares the perspective of living with a child with autism on a daily basis.

I found her daily struggles and the other parents daily views on raising their children in the short version of the film, to be courageous. As one of the parents who had within a few years found that all her children were diagnosed with autism.! In this mom’s outward disposition I found her views as working through parenting similar to many other parents views when difficult situations arise and as a parent you work through it and you don’t quit on your child. At least that is what I had taken away from her brief interview.

I find much of what this film brings is realistic, as a parent – I will go out on a limb , but I do not think that Alison Singers words implies that it is socially appropriate behavior to harm your child in anyway.  I will make a comment that I myself have made comments about harming my own children at one point or another – and I KNOW that it is a form of release in speech. I would find it hard to imagine any parent not thinking terrible thoughts at one point in their life about their child as they raise a child (autistic or not). This is my opinion and it is also a realistic right on the film maker to place such a personal comment about herself and how others may feel, but it is not to indicate that it is a behavior that will be followed through nor is it a socially acceptable behavior to actively follow through on the thoughts to make it a terrible reality to harm a child.

I agree that if a child cannot speak that it ABSOLUTELY important to teach that child a way to communicate and to be understood!

I am thankful for your comments athenivandx and I found your blog not only interesting, but your poetry wonderful – I do hope more will read it:  http://athenivanidx.wordpress.com/

1. Trouble getting a diagnosis? Bring in video, letters.

Alison Singer, executive vice president of Autism Speaks, an awareness and advocacy organization, suggests videotaping your child’s behavior and showing it to the doctor. “You could play it on your laptop, or even just bring in the video camera,” she says.

Getting a letter of support from your child’s day-care provider or preschool teacher might also help.

“Teachers are seen as other professionals, and a letter saying, ‘In 20 years of teaching, this behavior is really unusual,’ can go far,” says Singer, who has a 10-year-old daughter with autism. If your child isn’t in day care or school, even a letter from a neighbor who knows your child could help, she says.

Singer emphasizes that parents shouldn’t push their pediatrician for a diagnosis. “We’re saying, refer the child to a developmental pediatrician for additional screening and testing. Because when a parent thinks something is wrong with their child, they’re usually right,” she says.

Educating yourself about autism will also help you have a discussion with your pediatrician. Autism Speaks, First Signs, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all give excellent overviews. Autism Speaks’ Video Glossary has more than 100 video clips comparing the behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders with the behavior of a typical child.

2. Sign up for early intervention

Any child younger than age 3 with a developmental delay is eligible to receive services through Early Intervention, a government-mandated program that provides services to eligible children. Services are free of charge, and vary from state to state, but may include speech and language instruction and occupational and physical therapy.

To learn how to apply for Early Intervention, click on this state-by-state directory from the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities and scroll down.

Early Intervention is invaluable because it links parents to services in the community, but Lisa Goring, mother of a child with autism and director of family services at Autism Speaks, warns that parents may also have to search on their own, since it can be hard to find services without a long waiting list. “There just aren’t enough service providers for the kids who need them,” Goring says. To find services on your own, wrightslaw.com, which offers information about special education law and advocacy, has a Yellow Pages for Kids that lists providers.

Long waits are so prevalent that Nancy Wiseman, founder and president of the advocacy group First Signs, whose 12-year-old daughter has autism, has a few suggestions for how to get in quicker. First, parents should stress the age of their child (many clinics will give priority to children under 3), and should ask the pediatrician to make a call to the specialist. More suggestions are in her book “Could it be Autism? A Parent’s Guide to the First Signs and Next Steps.”

3. Know your child’s rights in school

When your child enters public school, he or she has rights under federal and state laws. The U.S. Department of Education has information about federal laws and state laws. The National Association of Parents with Children in Special Education has information about children’s legal rights as well.

Wiseman says that even with these protections, you’ll still have to work to get what’s best for your child.

For example, Wiseman moved to get into a different school district, and then a few years later, when that district no longer worked well for her daughter, she twice fought to place her child out of the district.

“It’s very frustrating to battle a school, and you really have to do your homework,” she says.

You and the district will come up with an Individual Education Plan. Wiseman recommends “The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child” by attorney Lawrence Siegel.

Also, school districts often have a Special Education Parent Teacher Association. Parents there can often give good advice on how to work with the school district.

4. Sign up for a research study

If you live near a major research university, Wiseman suggests finding out whether anyone is looking for children with autism for research studies. Sometimes, these universities will provide care for your child as part of the study. Wiseman’s group, First Signs, has a list, as does Autism Speaks.

5. Get support from other parents

Judith Steuber, who raised two grandsons with autism, said that if she had to do it all over again, she would do one thing very differently. “From the beginning, I wish I’d had more support from other parents,” says Steuber, who now acts as a mentor for special-needs parents in her school district. “I think that makes a big difference.”

Autism Speaks has a state-by-state list of support groups. You can find a chapter of The Autism Society of America here.

There are electronic support groups on Yahoo, the Berkeley Parents Network, and Autism Web. The Arc has support groups for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; Wiseman says many have a large number of parents of children with autism.

Source: CNN Health

• Family – mom-dad, boy-girl, marriage, brother-sister, grandpa-grandma, aunt-uncle, baby, single, divorced-separate
• Places – home, work, school, store, church, come-go, car/drive, in-out, with
• Time – day, night, week, month, year, will-(future), before-(in the past), today-(now), finish-(“all done!”)
• Temperature – hot, cold
• Food – pizza, milk, hamburger, hot dog, egg, apple, cheese, drink, spoon, fork, cup, cereal, water, candy, cookie, hungry
• Clothes – shirt, pants, socks, shoes, coat, underwear
• Health – wash, hurt, bathroom, brush teeth, sleep, nice/clean
• Feelings – happy, angry, sad, sorry, cry, like, good-bad, love
• Requests – please, excuse, thank you, help, who, what, when, where, why, how, stop
• Amounts – big, tall, full, more
• Colors – blue, green, yellow, red, brown, orange, gold & silver
• Money – dollars, cents, cost
• Animals – cat, dog, bird, horse, cow, sheep, pig, bug

If you feel you have enough ASL knowledge take their one hundred signs practice activity/test.

To start learning basic ASL signs click start!

For more signs, see the ASL Dictionary.

UPDATE: Checkout this cool post Color by Hand: The American Sign Language Spectrumfrom the Colour lovers blog.