Interview with Rachel Coleman of Signing Time ASL video series -- Part 1

http://www.signingtime.com/

It's not that we were always unrealistic; we just felt that keeping things appropriate to our child's developmental level wasn't a reason to never leave doors open to the next level.  We were those parents who talked to their baby while he was still inside mommy.  We were those parents who talked to their infant as if his thoughts were leaps and bounds more complex than, "This feels good" and "This does not feed good."  We were those parents who talked to their baby as if engaging in true dialogue.  Thanks to the use of sign language, our neurologically disabled son (long before he was verbal) was one of those kids who talked back.

We'd heard about the many benefits of using sign language with the pre/nonverbal -- I admit, relieving frustration on both our son's part and ours, was a biggie for us -- and we'd begun exploring and testing what the possibilities might be for our family.  We had a problem, though....as a result of our son's Sensory Processing Disorder, he actually learned best from watching videos, because there were fewer inherent sensory distractions than there were with learning directly from people.  No problem!  There are oodles of 'Baby Sign' videos out there.  A friend bought us one as soon as I'd mentioned us thinking about it, and I never even got as far as researching which company's product might be best to try first.  Unfortunately, all the videos which our son learned from after that first one, were simply whatever we could borrow from the local library systems.  As it turned out, as a result, it wasn't until I wrote out the striking story of Lil'O for Prematurity Awareness Month, that I encountered and began to covet the Signing Time! ASL video series and related products.  It doesn't take long after looking into the company -- whether or not in contrast to the competition -- that you realize it's worth looking deeper.  Fellow Special Needs Kids Examiner Heather Sedlock had the same idea after reading this.  She interviewed Rachel Coleman, co-founder of Signing Time!, about the inspiration behind, the past, and the future of the company and its offerings. I decided to tackle a different angle, and asked Rachel for her input on why a parent might choose to teach their child -- any child -- American Sign Language (ASL) in the first place.  (Although really, the same insight applies to any sign language, of which ASL is only one.)  Below you will find my questions, and her answers.

When we first began talking about doing this kind of interview, you mentioned, "The nuts and bolts of incorporating signs into the raising and education of children with special needs."  What are, you would say, those "nuts and bolts"?  Personally, I would think they would relate to, in a way, assembling sign use -- or at least the teaching of it -- in different ways, with children who have different (dis)abilities.  A child who has a purely physical disability impeding their verbal speech and inspiring sign use....or impeding the formation of the signs themselves....is going to have different challenges than a child whose reason for learning sign comes down to a language processing disorder (which is not the same thing as an auditory processing disorder), such as often is an element of Autism.  What kinds of things should parents of children with varying (dis)abilities keep in mind about how to adapt the learning of sign to their particular situation?  In a sense, what is the potential within ASL, for matching teaching style to learning style/needs/limitations?

I think there can be a lot of incorrect assumptions made by parents who have children with special needs when it comes to signing with their kids.  You may think your child doesn’t have the ability to execute the hand shapes and finger placement.  You may assume your child, if non-verbal, doesn’t even understand what you are trying to communicate.  You may assume that signing will delay their development of speech.  You may assume that a child who has issues with vision could not possibly sign. You may assume that a child who is not signing back to you doesn’t understand what you sign to him.

It may seem like your child is not interested, especially if they are dealing with something like Autism.  Just because they are not looking at you or interacting with you in a way that is typically considered “rapt attention” does not mean they are not taking it in.  I can’t tell you how many parents have shared that they were pretty sure their child was just uninterested in signing, until suddenly their child began signing everything!  They had been taking it in receptively and were finally ready to use it expressively.

We did not realize that Leah was deaf until she was fourteen months old.  We began signing with her immediately, and her signing ability skyrocketed!  She was eager to communicate and was hungry to be understood.  Her frustration had been mounting and now that we had the answer, we felt like we couldn’t teach her the signs fast enough and very soon, we were trying to keep up with her signing vocabulary.  When Lucy came along, she was diagnosed with Spina Bifida at our 18-week ultrasound.  I didn’t assume that communication would be difficult for Lucy.  When she was nine months old, she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and with that diagnosis, much of Lucy’s behavior finally made sense.  She spent the better part of those first nine months screaming, her hands in fists, arms bent tight, back arched and head thrown back.  Lucy had no fine motor skills and we had been told that CP doesn’t change or at least it doesn’t improve.  Since we were signing with Leah, Lucy was born into a signing environment. I was just as shocked as anyone when we realized that Lucy was signing back to us!  Lucy is now nine years old and she still enjoys signing. (She also speaks quite well, which was initially not expected!) Many of her signs are modified because she still has difficulty get the finger placements just right, but it’s great because she really works at it.  I think that having a deaf sister has helped Lucy develop fine motor skills that she would not likely have developed otherwise.  I can’t think of a better way to develop the use, placement and control of fingers and hands.

Please see Part 2 for the continuation of this interview, and more additional resources!

Just a few links offering information relating to the benefits of teaching sign language to children:

• The benefits of using ASL with preverbal babies
  
• The benefits of sign language for ALL children
• Benefits of learning ASL
• The Sign Language Academy
• Baby Sign Language Research
• Baby sign language is for everyone!
• SPD Connection -- Teaching hearing babies sign language

  Resources relating to learning ASL:

• www.handspeak.com/
  
• www.aslpro.com/
• www.lifeprint.com/
• www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDICT.html
• aslbrowser.commtechlab.msu.edu/browser.htm
• www.lessontutor.com/eesASLdictionarylinks.html

• If you find that video, book, or internet-based modes of learning sign language are not for you, consider taking classes!  Your area might offer anything from programs through a school for the deaf, to individual classes through a community center.  Just Google or check the yellow pages.

  One place I've heard good things about is the Sign Language Center, which offers year-round day, evening and weekend classes, offer adults, toddlers, and Mommy & Me baby sign focused curriculums of various levels, and serves at several different locations.  Check out their schedule!

  The main center is located at:
  Sign Language Center
  39 East 30th Street #2R
  New York, NY 10016
  (212)-570-0075
   

This page breaks down the distinctions between different kinds of auditory/speech/language/processing disorders

This page has collected resources for Autism Language Therapies