Fingerspelling Strategies

Fingerspelling Do: – Face your palm outward toward the person you are spelling to – Hold your hand slightly to the side of your chest and just below your chin – Keep hands, fingers and arm in a relaxed position, not resting on your desk – Keep your arm still while fingerspelling

Fingerspelling Don’t: – Spell or mouth letter by letter – Bounce, jerk or move your hand – Move back and forth or into your body – Fingerspell far away from your body

Fingerspelling Hints: – Work on spelling smoothly, clearly and without mistakes – Work on increasing speed only after you can spell clearly and neatly – Spell words in phonetic groups (i.e. CHEM-I-CAL, BE-HAV-IOR, KITT-EN) – Avoid reading letter for letter instead focus on the whole word

Fingerspelling Hints: – Look for the shape and movement pattern of the word – Keep your eyes on the signer – Practice fingerspelling every where you go (sports signs, posters, street names, billboards, school signs, your name, friend’s names, etc.)

Practice, Practice, practice!