Teaching young CODA's ASL

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Themacmum

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Hi I'm new here. My name is Lauren. My gf is deaf; she uses a CI outside of the house, but a lot of the time we are home she has it off. We have two young sons, almost 2 and almost 4. The almost 4 year old has aspergers. I am learning ASL and we are trying to teach both ds's. I have all of the signing time videos and I'm trying to sign as I speak to them. Mostly I need tips on how to teach young kids ASL as well as help with ideas they can use to get my gf's attention when she isn't wearing her CI. They obviously can't flash lights like I do etc. When they are older I plan on taking them to Silent dinners and other deaf events (I'm probably going to my first silent dinner this week :shock: hope my ASL can keep up!)

Thank you very much for your help.
 
Floor stomping? As for teaching the kids ASL...they're young, so they will likely pick it up far quicker than you will. And while Aspergers can present its own challenges, I've heard that sign is actually easier for Aspies to deal with than spoken word because eye contact isn't so important and it plays to their usual strengths in visual/spatial realms.

While at the silent dinner, I'd ask any parents about arranging play dates with their own signing children, as being around peers will help the boys flesh out their signing with other native users of sign. I presume your gf also signs, but you don't mention that.

As for getting gf's attention... isn't floor stomping a pretty intuitive way for most kids to get attention?
 
eye contact is very important in ASL and part of the grammar.

that said, the Deaf people I've encountered where I am have been very understanding, patient and flexible as long as you are open to learning and understanding the perspective<s> of the community.
 
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