Sign language for autism.

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Frazz

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Hello,
I have an 8 year old son with autism. Communication for him is not easy. Reading online, I have seen posts from people that sign language might be a good alternative to speach. I have purchased a couple of ASL DVDs geared toward kids on learning sign language. However, his favorite snack food and something he enjoys eating is frozen pops, and I am sure none of the DVDs will cover that subject. I am hoping some kind person might help me figure out how to say " I want a pop " in sign language so I can teach that to him.

Thanks for any help you can offer.
Frazz.
 
Let me know how it goes, Your son picking up the ASL . My girls are Autistic one has PDD and youngest has Aspergers. I'm teaching them ASL this weekend ( we're learning together ) my youngest is very worried she won't pick it up,I think she'll be ok. Me needing it to communicate is her inspiration to learning it. Ahh my amazing girls !:lol:
 
before i went deaf my daughter needed back up for her autisic ways and we were shown something called makoton which we used with her and it helped then i went deaf and learned bsl knowing makoton helped me when i went onto bsl...makoton used in states aswel.it well known in uk
 
Hello all,

I can honestly say that it was a huge breakthrough when my non-verbal, autistic brother stated learning sign when he was about 8 years old. He'd gone to years of speech therapy, and would learn about 5 vocalizations to represent different concepts (gu = go, bu = bye, etc.) but if the therapist tried to teach him a six he would lose one of the original 5. Luckily for us though my parents hired a nanny who had previously worked with a Deaf little girl so she was very good at ASL and began to use it with my brother. His vocabulary seemed to explode overnight and continues to grow to this day (he's 14 now and much better at communicating his wants using signs).

A few caveats: Part of his autisms is that he makes a lot of stereotypical movements including hand-wringing. This often means that his signs are quite imprecise and you have to be used to the way he signs to understand him. Another this is that by FAR his favorite person so sign with is still the nanny who introduced him to sign. In large part this is because the rest of the family has not really put in the leg-work to learn to sign very well. I have tried to stay ahead of the ball and enrolled in ASL classes in college, but since I'm no longer at home I rarely have the chance to sign with my brother. It is something to keep in mind that although signing could be hugely beneficial to children with these communication issues, that it is also often a non-native language to their families who will have to put in a lot of work as well.

Wish you all the best of luck. I'm now living in Japan and miss my family more than ever, so I sometimes look for forums like this to feel more connected. I was so glad to see this topic and it's something that made a big difference for my family and hope that other families will also be open to trying. Actually, here in Japan I've gotten involved with the Deaf community (ASL doesn't get me very far :P But interpreters have been very kind to me) and this was the first place I ever heard of Makaton. I wonder how popular it is? It was never something we tried with my brother, but I wonder what the pros and cons of teaching an autistic child ASL vs. Makaton would be?
 
Thanks for sharing Tsujiru! My son has Autism, is 8 years old and we're starting to use sign language with him. It's wonderful to hear success stories! I'm extra motivated to really get things rolling!! :D
 
lmkmiec03 said:
Thanks for sharing Tsujiru! My son has Autism, is 8 years old and we're starting to use sign language with him. It's wonderful to hear success stories! I'm extra motivated to really get things rolling!! :D
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This is really great! I have a 12 years old son who's Deaf and autistic. Obviously, sign language has naturally been exposed since his birth. I've also worked closely with some children that are hearing and autistic - sign language definitely helps put things in 'picture'.

If you are consistent with it, your son should be able to flourish and hopefully, he will be able to absorb everything he can learn. It's hard, but, it also takes a lot of patience.
 
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