I went back to the sight, and reviewed it again. I suppose it could be useful in some given situations, especially for the child who has been language deprived, and has not internalized the concept of a symbol representing an actual concept. Like the sign (symbol) for chair represents a chair, and the printed word "chair" is a different symbol, but represents the same thing.
When my son wa a toddler, I ordered a bunch of story books from Gallaudet that were traditional children's books that had the signs below the printed text. As a result of these books, my son learned that the sign and the printed word were both symbols representing the same concept. It wasn't something that had to be explained in detail, he was able to intuit it from the use of the two langauges together that way. When he was very small, I also used flashcards with a picture and a printed word, and then I would show him the flashcard, and make the sign. I'm sure you remember the story I told of the first time he made the connection of language being a series of symbols.
If children ar exposed to a rich linguistic environment, they will intuit this connection between symbol and object. Once they understand that a sign is a symbol for something else, they can easily apply the concept to a printed word being a different symbol for the same concept. You see the same concept in hearing children who are read to from the time they are small. Very early on, they get the idea that the printed word onthe page of a book, and the word that they hear are both symbols for the concept represented.
This is what we are talking about when we speak of the internalization of language. And when deaf children are exposed to an oral only environment, this natural, effortless acquisition is interrupted and they have difficulty making that transition in their understanding of the foundations of language. Kids are really capable of grasping very complicated concepts, provided they are given the environment in which to do so. They understand much more than they are able to articulate. Whether or not they have accomplished this at the proper developmental stage does not bbecome evident until they are older, however, and are unable to apply this incidental learning.
That is why it is so dangerous to assume that a young child is doing well in an oral situation simply because they are able to speak well, or carry on conversation with the family through speach and lipreading. If they have not been able to make the connections of symbol to concept=language, they will have problems in reading comprehension. Those problems don't become evident until they are in perhaps 4th or 5th grade, or even later. Then we are playing the game of catch up, and it is nearly impossible at this point.
Children need to be given the tools from the beginning.
I did not investigate the site to see if there was any information or discussion from users. I am sure there are many variables. Also, depending on what kind of learning you are; just like some people expedite/enhance their learning of Cued Speech via cue script.
