Looking for info for my son

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GoBears

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Hi out there. I am looking to find info on how to start teaching my 2 1/2 year old son sign. He has limited speech skills and he is becoming increasingly frustrated with the world.

I have limited skills (4 college semesters) in ASL and my wife has none.

I am looking for any kind of resources to get started.

Any info would be useful thanks

Go Bears!

Sonoma County, CA
 
I agree with Bott. Signing Time vids are great resources for kids. Also, if possible, form some connections with the deaf community in your area, and that will allow him to learn in a natural, social environment.
 
Yea, Go with what Bottesini had suggested. And by the way have your son had any speech therapies? Welcome to AD too. ;)
 
Cheri said:
Yea, Go with what Bottesini had suggested. And by the way have your son had any speech therapies? Welcome to AD too. ;)
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No, I think speech therapy would not help if he had trouble with his speech. Sign language for children would be a good access to helping them understand visual language better than trying to speak or lipread. I think speech therapy will come later in the kindergarden grade unless he does not want to speak himself. Remember don't force him do what he does not want to do. Just pay attention to what he can communicate the best. I am just going with a hunch. :hmm:

:welcome: to AllDeaf forum, GoBears. I hope you both enjoy reading and posting all the threads here. Please stay around and learn a lot from us, Deafies and HOH (Hard Of Hearing). See you around. :thumb: :wave:
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the help!!! :ty: I will try all and see what happens. And I totally agree with not forcing him to "use his words"

For those who wanted to know . . .

my son has an ocupational thearapist who comes to the house to work with him and he seems to like it. But communication is key.

Sorry I can't more but it is time for work. Thanks again for all the help. Look forward to learning more and making some friends.

-Not sunny today in California. Go Bears!
 
:confused:

Bebonang--I was asking a simple, innocent question if he had any speech therapies, and you took it all the wrong way. I wasn't trying to force him to reply on speech only. I always believe in full tool box (signing and speech), while you only support ASL. There are many form of communications for deaf people to choose from. His family are free to choose any form of communication that allows her son to interact effectively with his family, his peers and the hearing society.
 
Bebonang said:
No, I think speech therapy would not help if he had trouble with his speech. Sign language for children would be a good access to helping them understand visual language better than trying to speak or lipread. I think speech therapy will come later in the kindergarden grade unless he does not want to speak himself. Remember don't force him do what he does not want to do. Just pay attention to what he can communicate the best. I am just going with a hunch. :hmm:

:welcome: to AllDeaf forum, GoBears. I hope you both enjoy reading and posting all the threads here. Please stay around and learn a lot from us, Deafies and HOH (Hard Of Hearing). See you around. :thumb: :wave:
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The OP never said that the child is deaf, just that he has a speech delay.
 
faire_jour said:
The OP never said that the child is deaf, just that he has a speech delay.
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Cheri, I am sorry that I misread what you are asking. I did not mean to put you down. :eek3:

As for faire_jour, I assumed that he is deaf for the simple reason why GoBears came to the AllDeaf about their child (thinking that he is deaf without thinking if he is deaf or not). Sorry for jumping into conclusions. But I am staying with my opinion on this. :cool2:
 
I am glad that you are teaching your son sign language. Keep up the good work!

What about looking into deaf events so your son can interact with other deaf children?
 
you can try having a sign tutor through childfind.
Are you near Riverside or Fremont? They have staff who can come to your house to teach signs. well, not sure if they are still running this type of program.
 
JMHO, deaf or hearing, ASL can improve the concept of communication. I work with my grandchildren (who are hearing) using ASL. They love it, and the concepts of language and communication is growing. Any sign language is ok, but ASL is my fave. It seems easy for the little ones to grasp. I know that my friends son who has autism does very well with ASL, as does my dyslexic niece. My niece learned using Sesame street books. It is interesting that she is dyslexic and mirrors her signs. Its ok, we understand each other. She is studying to be a (primarily) medical terp. She hopes to work in mds offices and hospitals. We will see... she is learning not to mirror.
Bebonang has a very good point and Botts suggestion of the Signing Time vids is excellent.
Good luck with the little one. I am no expert, and late deaf to boot, but I must say that whatever works is great when we are talking about language and communication concepts in kids. Just open some door so that they can convey their wants and need without frustration. Keep us posted please?
Oh, and if you are interested, please see mysmarthands.com, there are lots on you tube. Mysmarthands has lots of teaching tips too. There is a baby who is hearing who has grown with signing. It is amazing. Really cute.
 
Deaf Children's Society?

Over here in the UK we have the National Deaf Children's Society, which runs events for families and also provides sign language tuition specifically tailored to families. Do you have anything like that in the US?

Also, you could try Cued Speech as an emergency measure while you improve your and his ASL. It's very quick to learn and will give him instant visual access to spoken English. Don't get me wrong, I'd absolutely go down the ASL route, but Cueing can work well alongside signing, and it means you're able to virtually instantly use your own first language with him. It'll help his literacy development too (when he's older).

If you're interested, have a look at National Cued Speech Association. You could use their American English cueing chart together with the Cued Speech Association UK's website Cued Speech Start Page.

Good luck!
 
Glad to hear your searching for help with an open mind to help your son. Here in Fla we have programs called "Parent Academy" which works with child and parent to improve signing skills. A few others mentions videos which are awesome but you might also want to look into some books as well. There are several children books with signs in them, My first sign book, etc -check out the local library. :) I think DawnSignPress makes a few kid stories that have signs to match the words but they might be for a bit older child.

P.S. Welcome to AD. :wave:
 
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