Re:sign language re:danischrimpe's reply, Digest Number 530

[Guest guest]

Dear , Lori, Chasley and All,

I guess I picked a really bad time to get behind in reading my e-mail. I

had no idea my reply to Chasley had gotten so many people's knickers in

a twist! Surely that was not my intent. Maybe in my attempt to keep my

post brief and to the point I left out some information or didn't word

things as well as I should of, and for that I am sorry.

I was aware that Cole has some speech and Chasley was looking to

complement it with sign to reduce frustration (or that was how I

understood it from her posts, anyway). In the case of Cole and my son

, sign was to be taught for short term use so it didn't need to

be " pretty " , just understandable to the people around him on a daily

basis. I always felt that there were more important issues to stress

with my son than critiqueing his signs. Before we even introduced sign

to he had begun to make up his own just like explained

Tanner had done. It can be difficult for those tiny fingers and hands to

sign accurately. As Dana in Michigan wrote in digest #531:

" Personally...I think signing approximations are fine if that's the

level of the child at the time....You wouldn't demand a child SPEAK

perfectly at age 12 months developmentally. Such things take time

regardless of the modality of communication -- speech, sign, etc. You

start with baby-talk....you start with baby-sign as well " I guess the

original point I was trying to make to Chasley was not to obsess over

whether or not her son was getting the signs exactly right at first. I

was not implying that she teach him incorrectly for difficulty reasons

or for any other reason. I found in my case, I would just keep doing the

signs appropriately myself and when ready, he would emulate me.

The statement that I made regarding " the child will replace the word

with the sign " was based on information given to me by 2 SLPs and 3

special ed. teachers who have worked with my son for the last 1.5 years.

I had no reason to think that this was not accurate information

especially because it seemed like common sense to me. What do I know,

I'm " just " a mom! Even if the information given to me by the supposed

" professionals " was inaccurate, what harm would there be in having a

child hear the proper pronunciation of words a few more times a day?

Again, my apologies for any misleading (or misunderstood) information

that I may have spread across the World Wide Web.:-)

Sincerely,

Dani, mom to

6.11 (just fine!)

2.5 (speech delay, dev. delay, hypotonia, SID)

1.6 (31 weeker, speech delay, dev. delay, gross motor delay)

P.S. Chasley, The name " Cole " was at the top of my list of baby names

for the last two boys, unfortunately my husband ALWAYS gets his way!

Hence, and !

[Guest guest]

Dani,

As the parent of a child with a severe bilaterial hearing loss as well as

severe apraxia (she's 6, non-verbal), I just wanted to add more comment.

I think a child is going to pick the method of communication that is easiest

for them -- that's why so many of our deaf kids are educated (and raised in

the home) using " total communication " . Speaking verbally is MUCH easier

than signing! If a child is going to speak, signing is simply a path that

leads them in that direction. I can assure you from personal experience

with deaf and hoh kids that no child that is capable of verbally speaking

and assured of being understood would choose to sign over using the voice!

Please do not let the school district convince you that your child will not

speak if you use sign language! This is nothing more than their way of

meeting their own administrative agenda as signing is a very expensive way

to educate a child!

Best,

Dana in Michigan

rodgers@...

>

> The statement that I made regarding " the child will replace the word

> with the sign " was based on information given to me by 2 SLPs and 3

> special ed. teachers who have worked with my son for the last 1.5 years.

> I had no reason to think that this was not accurate information

> especially because it seemed like common sense to me. What do I know,

> I'm " just " a mom! Even if the information given to me by the supposed

> " professionals " was inaccurate, what harm would there be in having a

> child hear the proper pronunciation of words a few more times a day?