|
This thread is right up my alley. When I first started my ASL education business, this was all I did. I focused on parents with babies and toddler age kids and taught them signs that were REAL ASL. I saw many cases where people used English in conjunction with signs and had incredible results.
Shel, I was the same way when I was a kid. From what I am told, I did not start REALLY speaking until age 3 but that's because of what I was exposed to. If children are exposed many languages at a young age, they will have better language skills.
Also, I have worked with parents of DS children. This was so interesting because these parents were told by doctors that their children would be very limited with communication. After working with them, we proved the doctors wrong and the kids were able to communicate better with their parents and with teachers. I think children are visual learners which makes ASL such a great solution for communication.
I always tell people that teaching your child to sign should not be to replace their first language. It should be used as an ALTERNATIVE option for communication. I have seen many kids go back and forth with their speech and signing OR do both at the same time. My little sister is 2 and I see her do the same thing. My mom can't hear her but I can and it's so neat to watch.
__________________
~Tracie Dowell
LifeMark Career Development
http://www.deafcareer.com
"For a few years I will set aside the time that most people won't so that I can live the rest of my life the way most people can't."
|