Deafness : Inclusion and Deafness Report Contents

Inclusion and Deafness Seminar

University of Manchester, June 14th 1999

Teaching Sign Language to Parents of Deaf Children

Judith Collins: Centre for Deaf Studies, University of Durham
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3.1 In the mid-1980s Judith taught BSL to the mainstream nursery staff, parents, neighbours and friends of a Deaf boy who lived in a small village in the UK. The work included story-telling, encouraging the children to learn through play and supporting the teacher. This was unusual at that time in England when most Deaf children did not have any access to formal Sign Language teaching and Deaf adults, such as Judith, were not involved in the education process. This demonstrated the following to other parents and schools:

(a) It is possible for a Deaf person to work and to teach Sign Language;

(b) Deaf children can learn on equal terms with hearing children when they have access to Sign Language;

(c) Parents can learn Sign Language in order to communicate with their children;

(d) There was a need for training and support for Deaf adults in how to work with children in an educational setting.

3.2 Bilingual education for Deaf children has only developed where the local authority supports a change in policy. Leeds has adopted a bilingual policy, but those Deaf children who belong to ethnic minorities, are exposed to three languages: Punjabi at home, and English and British Sign Language at school. The outcomes were as follows:

(a) Home-school links were developed through home visits and the establishment of an Asian mothers’ group.

(b) A fathers’ and older brothers’ group was also established at a later stage.

(c) When the family members’ signing fluency improved, they were able to communicate directly with their children and with the Deaf adults, without needing a Sign Language or a Punjabi interpreter.

(d) It is essential to make the link between parents, Deaf adults and educators at the earliest possible stage in a Deaf child’s life. Native users of BSL can teach parents how to respond to their baby in basic signs. Teaching parents in the home environment how to respond to their baby’s developing communication needs from a very early age was perhaps the most valuable aspect of the work.

3.3 Judith has recently been involved in teaching a course about Sign Language and Deaf issues for members of the Black Deaf community and their parents in South Africa. The home language of Black Deaf children is also different from the language of education and so they face similar difficulties to those of the Asian community in the UK. For many of them the idea that Sign Language was an authentic language of its own was a new concept. This knowledge has given them greater confidence in their communication skills.

Deafness : Inclusion and Deafness Report Contents

22/10/1999