Family pulls together to help daughter

Miss-Delectable

Miss-Delectable

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http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/11931824.htm

Gundersons learned sign language for 3-year-old Carla, who cannot speak

Leaning back on the sofa in the living room, 3-year-old Carla waits for her father who is popping in “Signing Time.”

The music begins, and Carla is mesmerized as she learns American Sign Language.

Carla was diagnosed with apraxia, which does not allow her to speak. She communicates through sign language and noises.

She can hear and understand what is being said, said her father, Gill Gunderson. But she needs help expressing herself.

As a part of teaching Carla words and language, the entire Gunderson family began learning sign language almost two years ago.

They first introduced the signs for “yes” and “no,” adding other words slowly.

“Learning as a family allows the child with a hearing impairment to be integrated into the family,” said Dr. Chuck White, director of residential life of the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind.

“We find that when families have no help to develop the ability to communicate effectively, the child falls behind.”

The Gundersons — parents Gill and Nancy, and big brother Cordell — wanted to make sure Carla could communicate.

“If we are not all in this together, she can’t make it,” Gill Gunderson said.

Once a week, someone from the S.C. School for the Deaf and Blind outreach program comes to dinner and signs with the family.

“We would not be this far without this help,” Gunderson said. “Our comfort level would not be as good, either.”
 
Cool article!!!!! I actually think that the key to making sure that ASL and Deaf culture remains a living languange is a) acceptance of hoh kids in Deaf culture and b) encouraging kids with apraxia and other disabilties (such as tracheostomies and CP that affects the speech center of the brain) to become fluent in ASL.
 
I am glad you liked the article. FYI "Signing Time" is a video that I put into the DVD player. It is a video series for teaching children (and adults) how to sign. Signing time is based on common ASL signs.

Our family is not using ASL. We are using Signed English. With my daughter having vocalized apraxia, her hearing is fine. There is a significant difference in word choice and order between signed english and ASL. It would not make for good language development if we spoke words and simultaneously tried to sign the same idea a different way.

Since my daughter hears fine, she is not growing up in the deaf community. She is now learning how to use an augmentative communication device (a touch screen computer) to speak for her. We will continue therapy to improve her speech potential. We are also continueing our families sign language lessons. In future years we may learn ASL, but for now we need to teach my daughter the word order of spoken english. Signing will always be one of our communication choices.

Best Wishes,
Gill Gunderson
 
Since my daughter hears fine, she is not growing up in the deaf community. She is now learning how to use an augmentative communication device (a touch screen computer) to speak for her. We will continue therapy to improve her speech potential. We are also continueing our families sign language lessons. In future years we may learn ASL, but for now we need to teach my daughter the word order of spoken english. Signing will always be one of our communication choices.
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Actually hearing acuity really shouldn't have anything to do with IDing as Deaf....being Deaf is about being Visual in a way that hearing and speaking people can't really experiance.
Being Deaf is more cultural then medical....but it's good that you're so openminded towards sign....it's a lot of fun......
 
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