11th July 2018 Signing

The Communication Team…. We are a multi-disciplinary team Work in collaboration with every class to ensure every pupil has a communication programme Provide a range of additional support Work on development projects

This morning we’ll talk about... Why we use signs What sign systems we use How you could use signs to support your child’s receptive and expressive skills Practise, Practise, Practise!! It will be very informal Feel free to ask questions

A Little Ice Breaker! Get into pairs or small groups Both of you imagine you don’t understand or use speech, reading or writing. Each of you will be given a sentence – don’t let your partner/group see it! You need to communicate the sentence and see if you can be understood!

How did that feel? How did you communicate? This is what pupils experience on a daily basis We all use gesture and mime – signing is an extension of this!

It slows our communication down It simplifies our communication Why do we sign? Signs give clues to the meanings of words If key information is given in a visual way, it gives the child another opportunity to understand what is being said. This is because: It slows our communication down and It simplifies our communication Clues to the meanings of words e.g. they often look like the object – house looks like the roof shape e.g. ‘look’ shows the direction to look in whereas the spoken word doesn’t Slows us down – we have to think about signing at the same time as talking Simplifies our communication – it helps us to think about what we’re saying and the key words within it.

Understanding Total Communication Expression Signing is a key part of our Total Communication Approach It supports pupils attention, listening, understanding and expressive skills

The Communication Ladder 6) Words; Written or spoken 5) Black & white symbol 4) Colour picture 3) Colour Photo’s Pretend object, e.g. a toy 1) The real object Signing Signing can support pupils who are using any form of representation

‘visuals are useful in helping a child to make sense of routines, to understand what is going to happen next….. If you use visuals to back up your language, you are giving pupils two chances to understand – they can hear your words and see the visuals. The visuals stay there, spoken words disappear!!!’ This is why we sign to support UNDERSTANDING and GIVING INFORMATION plus it can SUPPORT PUPILS EXPRESSION

What sign systems do we use? Primary system is Makaton Refer to Communication Link & BSL At times we mime or agree a Glyne Gap Sign (topic vocabulary) We use ‘on body signing’ for pupils with sensory impairments We are currently well on the way to completing a Glyne Gap Core Vocabulary for the most important words. We only sign the key words in a sentence… For example, if you were to ‘the man is eating an orange’ We’d sign ‘man eat orange’

What signs will we learn today? Common objects Food related signs Feelings/opinions Words that can empower your child and support your directions Greetings People/pronouns Activities and doing words Places Time related words Question words You’ll have the opportunity to learn 100 signs that we think will help you in your daily lives. Bare in mind there are thousands of signs and we have 2 hours! If there are specific signs you would like please see us in the break or at the end. We will be giving you a set of line drawings of all the signs you learn today

Let’s go! Angry Car Dad Apple Calm Dinner Bag Chair Dirty Biscuit Choose Don’t like Book Clean Brother Coat Brush teeth Cold Bus College Banana Chocolate Bowl Cereal Bath (to have) Go through signs together Ask participants to see if they know a symbol and then ask them to sign it I sign with no speech and they guess what I’m signing Your child will begin to associate the sign with the item/person…. You are talking about. Don’t expect your child to start signing back straight away, it can take a long time but they may well be developing their language and gaining information from you signing in the mean time.

Play from 39 seconds (Mr Tumble Farm Something Special Out and About) Take a couple of minutes to chat with the person next to you….. What did Justin do to make his communication so clear? Clear speech Facial Expression Gesture Didn’t use that many signs!

Tips for Effective Signing Use clear speech and signs Use facial expression and body language to enhance meaning You can use mime or gesture Remember you don’t need lots of words or signs to express what you mean! Always speak when you sign! Get your child’s attention before you speak/sign Always position yourself where your child can see you- ideally get on the same level as them, with no distractions behind you (like the TV!) Encourage and praise your child for their attempts at signing and model the correct sign back to them.

Second Chunk! Drink Go I Do Good Ill Finish Goodbye Knife Friend Happy Learn Fruit Hello Like Fork Help Listen Food/eat Home Look Get Up How are you? Give Hungry Go through signs together Ask participants to see if they know a symbol and then ask them to sign it I sign with no speech and they guess what I’m signing

Time for a break!

Third Chunk! More Now Packed Lunch Mum Outside Quiet Music Orange Respite Meat Pad/Nappy Sad Milk Pain School Money Play Share Next Private Shop No Pudding Noisy Plate Go through signs together Ask participants to see if they know a symbol and then ask them to sign it I sign with no speech and they guess what I’m signing

Signing Techniques Directionality – direction in which the signs move Placement – where the signs are made Movement – the use of body language to add meaning Let’s watch good old Dave….!

Nearly There! Sister Thirsty What? Shower Today Where? Spoon Toilet Work Sitting Toy Yes Sleep Talk You Sorry Toast Stop Vegetable Table Wait Taxi Want Think Wash Go through signs together Ask participants to see if they know a symbol and then ask them to sign it I sign with no speech and they guess what I’m signing

Let’s Practice… In pairs or small groups, have a go at signing the sentences given out.

Where do we start?! Don’t feel you have to use all the signs at once, think about the ones that will be useful to help your child understand or learn to use. Keep it simple! Remember your child will understand more signs/words than they can express. Show the sheet in the handout – Important signs for my child. Ask your child’s class team for help.

Where do we start?! When do I sign?...To start with make it easy for yourself – mealtimes, bath time, bedtime Where do I sign?....Anywhere! If I don’t know a sign?....Mime, point, gesture and then ask class or us

You did it! Thank you for coming If you have any questions please see us now, we’re here for 10 minutes. You did it!