BACK TO SCHOOL STRATEGY

BACK TO SCHOOL STRATEGY

by Laura O'Grady

We are all back to school and with that comes the chaos of scheduling, paperwork, and after-school activities. Children with special needs are often in new classes with new teachers and new aides, who have not yet learned each child’s unique communication needs.  What is the best way for children to convey a brief 1-2 word message when their articulation isn’t clear? Fingerspelling!! Fingerspelling is signing the spelling of a word rather than using the sign for the word.  Most Special Educators have learned how to fingerspell, and it can be used in any environment.  When your child isn’t understood, have them fingerspell it! When teachers ask who will be picking them up, have them fingerspell it! When teachers ask if they have siblings, have them fingerspell it! Fingerspelling is useful anywhere, anytime, so it is an essential skill to learn.  Be on the lookout for GraceSign's fun, new signing app that teaches all the letters in the alphabet! 

Guest Blog post by Laura O’Grady, Speech Pathologist and GraceSign's Board Member

Alligator in Sign Language

Who would think that an alligator could be fun?  In sign language it is.  Grace teaches us the sign for alligator.  Animal signs are actually fairly simple and easy to remember.  Kids love learning them and then signing them.  To sign Alligator, clamp your hands together, one on top of each other like the jaws of an alligator opening and closing.  Sign language is intuitive, for instance, to sign dog, you snap your fingers and pat your thigh (as if you were calling a dog to you. ) GraceSigns will be releasing a new app: Sign Me A Song in about a month.  It will be an easy way for kids and adults to learn the signs for the alphabet and the animals of the alphabet in an musical interactive format.   GraceSigns wants to make signing fun and memorable, we also like having all kinds of kids as our signing demonstrators.  Hope you enjoy learning with us.

By Valerie Carter