PROJECT: TINY SIGNERS LEEDS, JANUARY 2011 School for the Deaf and hard- of-hearing Ljubljana, Slovenia

Participants from School for the Deaf, Ljubljana, Slovenia Živa Peljhan, teacher in Grade 1-2 (6-7-year-olds), project leader, SSL (Slovene Sign Language) interpreter Katja Krajnc, acting head teacher, SSL interpreter Andreja Trtnik Herlec, English teacher in Grades 6-9 (11-16) Alenka Škofič, teacher of the Deaf in the Pre-school Unit Barbara Pogačar Vratarič, teacher of the Deaf in the Pre-school Unit Alenka Kučič, speech therapist in the Health Unit Vanja Dolenc, Pre-school and Elementary school teacher Peter Potočnik Hönigsman, Deaf teacher of the Deaf in the Secondary school

School for the Deaf Ljubljana by Alenka Kučič Celebration of 110. Anniversary of our School Established in 1900 in Ljubljana, first as a private institution. Since 1905 as the first national institution for the deaf in Slovenia.

It is the central Slovenian national institute for: The School cares for  Deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adolescents  Children and adolescents with speech and/or language disorder and  Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. The founder of the School for the Deaf Ljubljana is the Slovenian government. School for the Deaf Ljubljana 1,572 children per year from 1 to 23 years of age, which includes:  223 children in inclusion,  182 in pre-school, primary and secondary vocational schools, and  948 children in the Health Unit dispensaries. There are 152 professional staff members employed in the School.

School for the Deaf and hard-of- hearing Ljubljana PRE-SCHOOL PRIMARY SCHOOL SECONDARY SCHOOL RESIDENTIAL UNIT HEALTH UNIT INCLUSION OTHER FIELDS OF WORK

Deafness and language by Katja Krajnc When is it deafness? Sign language for the deaf Speech and language Language development in the deaf, education, bilingualism

This is interesting!

Early communication by Barbara Pogačar Vratarič A deaf or a hard-of-hearing child must be exposed to language as early as possible. Language, cognitive development and social communication skills should be developed harmoniously through listening during different stages of child’s development. In our Pre-school unit we also support the use of sign language. Early communication expands the children's vocabulary, and encourages their thinking and cognitive development. In children who do not speak, it is necessary to develop elementary coordination, acoustic and visual attention, understanding of texts and initial articulation.

The following exercises are of great help for achieving this: Exercises for the development of general motor functions of the body; Acoustic exercises; Visual perception exercises. It is important to establish a good contact with the child and obtain his/her cooperation, even if this means only passive attention in the beginning.

Practice for understanding words; Exercises for bodily reactions; Exercises according to given instructions; Exercises for speech organs; Exercises of phonation, speech imitation and initial articulation; Use of Slovenian Sign Language. Early communication

Cochlear implant (CI) is a device that mimics the function of the inner ear and transmits sound information by means of electric current in the auditory nerve. NOTE: Not all deaf people can benefit from a cochlear implant. Worldwide, there are several manufacturers of cochlear implants. Children with Cochlear Implants by Vanja Dolenc

In the past 10 years, the opportunities for the development of deaf children have changed significantly. After 2006, neonatal screening has been carried out in all newborns in Slovenian maternity hospitals. In our in School, the first child with a cochlear implant started (re)habilitation in September In 2011 there are 18 children with cochlear implants in our pre-school unit. The Health Unit supported 61 persons with cochlear implants altogether. Children with Cochlear Implants

Cochlear implant consists of external and internal parts. Cochlear implants are inserted by surgery. Perception of sound by a cochlear implant is different from normal listening. Ambient noise reduces speech intelligibility. The CI appliance requires a power source - batteries. Situations that could cause damage to the outer or inner part of the apparatus should be avoided. Children with Cochlear Implants

Sign Language in the Pre-school by Alenka Škofič "Sign language is a form of communication, where the terms are expressed by gestures, which may reflect the meaning of individual words, clauses or whole sentences, depending on the context " (UNESCO, Paris, 1984). The equivalent of words in the spoken language are the signs in sign language. To express a wide range of content, the sign language uses movements instead of voice and spoken words; namely it uses the movements of hands, body, face, mouth and head.

In the pre-school there are 36 children, of whom: 18 with cochlear implants (CI), 6 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and 12 deaf or hard-of-hearing children using hearing aids (HA). I communicate in Slovenian Sign Language (SSL) in my group of 6 children:  a 3.5-year-old deaf boy with HA, from deaf family;  three 3-year-old boys, who have used CI for one year;  a 2-year-old girl, who in November got CI in both ears, from a family that uses SSL, and  a 5.5-year-old deaf girl with autistic spectrum disorder whose parents want her to acquire communication in SSL. Children in this group daily encounter SSL and Signed Slovene, where we pay more attention to the elements of the Slovene language, while speaking in the spoken Slovene language. Sign Language in the Pre-school

The sign language and the spoken language in the group are used because of: the two children whose mother tongue is SSL the girl who hasn’t developed any communication learning and expanding the vocabulary and syntax of the Slovene language language before the actual development of articulation and speech in children facilitating the children’s expression of their wishes and needs, diminishing their problems of understanding and therefore building more confidence in communication partners the usually faster and easier memorizing of new terms, since the SSL uses the visual-kinetic mode of delivery of (and receiving) information even children who do not come from deaf families can communicate with their friends in the group and understand them and at the same time acquire an additional language the teacher's better understanding of the children's wishes and wants and what they want to communicate, even before their speech is better articulated, and so there is less frustration and stress due to lack of understanding the SSL as an additional mode of establishing communication, for some children with the outside world, for some with the native speakers (or the only language users) of SSL, and these children will give it up easily when the SSL is no longer needed.

Look at me!

My experience of schooling and the importance of Sign Language for the Deaf by Peter Potočnik Hönigsman In teaching different subjects, Sign Language is very important because it is understandable and very close to deaf pupils and students. They obtain optimal information on the teaching content which can then be processed, consolidated and memorized. Information conveyed without Sign Language gets lost quickly, and therefore the deaf cannot process it and incorporate it with their general knowledge. Standard teaching methods for the Deaf should also use visual approaches as much as possible.

Open communication and fluid feedback between teachers and deaf pupils/students; content conveyed in understandable mode of communication; by using Sign Language it is easier to motivate pupils/students to learn and to get their attention; double identity; It is necessary to build the relationship on role-modeling and mutual understanding! Benefits of the use of Sign Language:

Weaknesses: There is no uniform approach to the use of Sign Language; there are difficulties in communication with some parents; Sign Language is not in wide use.

Thank You!