When my youngest son came home from school and told me that he (along with the rest of this class) were learning some basic sign language using makaton a child’s version of British sign language (B.S.L.) I was inspired to also learn some because I was working as a child minder at the time so I enrolled on a B.S.L.evening class at the local college.
In hindsight I would have been better learning Makaton instead as I was confused when the teacher tried to explain that just as we speak in different dialects around the country, deaf people also sign in the same dialects. Am I totally stupid in not understanding how this can happen when deaf people can’t hear dialects?
I now understand that is isn’t the same as a Geordie accent but it is the words that they use, for example, my husband who is a Geordie, often says “canny” which to non-geordie’s like myself, means nice or good and as a Devon native I call tourists and holiday makers” grockles”.
A year or so later I attended a short workshop which introduced makaton.
This proved very useful as I was then asked to child mind a girl who had down syndrome ( she was the reason that my son had been learning it as she was in his class)
Lily was amazing she did have limited speech and used makaton to back it up. I understood the basic signs that she used, such as doll ( rock an imaginary doll in arms) and sister ( she had an older one), what I didn’t understand was when we sat down together to eat lunch, she signed joining her thumb and index finger together making a circle and then put her other index finger in and out of this circle. I had no idea what she was saying and bless her, she knew that I didn’t understand because she then signed thank you ( by stroking her chin).
Later when her mum collected her and I asked about the sign, she explained that that was Lily’s sign for ketchup , she called it “dip,dip” because she liked to dip her crisps into the sauce. Just as a speaking child will sometimes make up words for special things in their lives, Lily had cleverly made up the dip dip sign. Lily is a young woman now and I am proud to say that I looked after her when she was growing up.
More recently Mr. Tumble uses makaton sign language on the CBBC programme called something special
and a few years ago T.L.C. signed to their song unpretty.
Don’t let my experience of sign language put you off learning it, hopefully it will inspire you to have a go . Early years practitioners can really be a benefit to children with special educational needs if they learn this skill.
As always questions/comments are welcome and please share on social media.
Until next time
Karen
x
What an asset it would be if more people could learn how to communicate with deaf people. Well done for doing the course .
This is so interesting. It’s something I would love to learn, you’ve inspired me! Thanks so much for sharing with #Blogstravaganza xx
Makaton is such an effective way to help special needs children communicate. Thank you for sharing 🌟 #PointShoot 📸
I hate Mr T, he irritates me BUT I adore Makaton, use it a lot and love it. My son has a Teacher who is deaf and so he can use Makaton for a wider vocab than me. Great idea for a post. #thesatsesh
Aw this brought a tear to my eye because our 8yo learnt makaton in year 1 and I started to learn it too. It’s incredible to be able to teach our children to communicate, and us too. Thanks so much for supporting and linking up to #HighlightsofHappy
We’ve taught my 18 month old basic signs. Milk, food, sleep, please etc. I wasn’t sure she’d pick it up but I think she’s better than me. Whilst she can’t communicate with words it’s great that she can still tell us what she needs. #fortheloveofblog
The, I actually forgot to mention baby signing
Yesa this is really helpful and we have learnt a lot of sign language through Mr Tumble X #pointshoot #twinklytuesday
I tried (very briefly) to learn and teach sign language to my first baby before she was verbal. Because I didn’t know any, it didn’t work out very well for us. But I think knowing some basic signing would be so great – too bad they don’t teach it in school!
~Jess
#ALittleBitOfEverything
Well done for giving it a go. I learnt to sign the alphabet years ago but never got any further. #ThatFridayLinky
Well I have learned something! I never knew makaton was a kids’ version of sign language. Both my daughters have learned some at school and I was delighted when they came home and demonstrated some to me.
Knowing a few basic signs and the alphabet has saved me more than a time or two. I have been able to communicate with deaf and children with special education needs in moments of need. I have been using baby sign language with my daughter and they are able to communicate their wants and needs months before their speech develops. It is a wonderful skill to have and I really with they would offer it in schools as they do foreign languages. There are differences around the world just like there are different dialects, but you can usually get the general idea of what you’re trying to say back and forth. Wonderful post!
#Blogstravaganza
Thanks for your thoughts, I agree that sign language should be taught in school
We grew up using makaton in my house as my brother used a mix of that and some words. I am all for any way that helps children communicate and it amazes how well they can learn signs. Thanks for joining us at #familyfun
Just popping back. Thanks for sharing with #TriumphantTales, we’d love to see you back again on Tuesday!
I’ve always been aware of Mr Tumble using sign language but didn’t know what it was called. I too gas no idea there were different ‘dialects’ but it makes total sense #familyfunlinky
That is a great skill to learn on every level.
#TriumphantTales
When my eldest was a year old I trained to be a Sing and Sign teacher. We used mostly Makaton with just a few additions from BSL. I loved it and still use it now with my boys, especially when we’re out and about so I don’t have to shout across the park/ shop/ swimming pool! Thank you for sharing your experiences with #Blogstravaganza 🙂
I’m not a fan of Mr Tuuuuuuuuuuumble but I’ve always put it on for them, for the sign language. Its something I would really like to learn one day myself. Thanks for linking up #twinklytuesday
One thing I always liked about Mr Tumble was that he used sign languages and many different children in the shows without making a big thing of it. It was one of the things I liked about Vision On and Take Hart etc as well
I really enjoyed reading this Karen. I also hadn’t considered the dialect issues around signing so that was a lesson for me too. Such a valuable skill to learn and you were clearly a great support and inspiration to Lily. Lovely post and thanks for sharing with #tweensteensbeyond
Karen this is a great post full of learning tips for those of us who haven’t considered learning sign language and a useful reminder as to why a few basic skills go a long way. Thanks for joining us again. #TweensTeensBeyond
The children at our primary school learn this and they amazed me at the Christmas concert signing along to all the carols . It was so lovely to see. We should probably all make the effort to learn #tweensteensbeyond
What an interesting read Karen. And this is a very useful skill. Thank you so much for sharing with us at #TweensTeensBeyond