Guidelines for teaching sign language to the parents, carers and families of deaf children

worldwide

These guidelines offer general advice and information on planning, running and monitoring the teaching of sign language to the parents, carers and families of deaf children. We have written them for Deaf Child Worldwide’s partner organisations but they should also be helpful for Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) workers, sign language trainers, or any other professionals responsible for organising sign language classes.

Sign language teachers and trainers Try to identify sign language teachers and trainers with the highest possible standard of sign language training qualifications. These qualifications may vary in different countries and different regions. For example, in some countries formal accredited sign language training courses will be available; in other countries, no formal courses will be available.

As sign languages can differ from region to region within countries, it is also important to recruit trainers who use local and regional versions of sign language. • Make sure the trainers are aware of regional variations such as different hand alphabets and fingerspelling.

• If there is a recognised sign language training centre in your local area, liaise with them to make sure the trainers you use have the right skills and expertise. If no formal qualifications for trainers are available where you work, you should try to identify trainers with the strongest credentials. You could recruit deaf role models to provide support and guidance to the sign language trainers. • Often the siblings, children or friends of deaf people can be good sign language trainers. It is important to test the trainers before they begin teaching. A fluent sign language user could assess the trainers’ skill levels and advise you on their suitability to teach other people.

Deaf Child Worldwide believes that parents should be made aware that sign language is one of a variety of communication options available to deaf children and their families, that there are different types of hearing aids and other hearing technologies, and that there are a range of possible approaches to education.

What topics should be covered in the training? It is important to remember that the parents of deaf children are no different from the parents of any children – they want and need to communicate with their children on a wide range of topics. Talk to the parents and ask them what particular communication challenges they face and what topics they want to cover in the training. This allows you to tailor the training to the parents’ specific needs. • If the topics the parents are learning are of immediate use in their everyday communication with their children, they will quickly see the benefits and this can be very motivating.

Topics specific to certain age groups may include: Pre-school • Alphabet • Introductions • Daily routines (dressing yourself ) • Behaviour management vocabulary • Descriptions • Days of the week • Numbers (one to ten) • Colours • Shapes • Basic safety (hot and cold, do not touch)

Primary school • Time (weeks and months) • Daily routines (wash your face, brush your teeth) Two ways to come up with the topics to be covered • Local neighbourhood • How to take the bus in the training are to focus on topics that cover • Helping around the home (keep your room tidy) everyday family life, or to focus on topics that are • Animals specific to certain age groups of deaf children and • Road safety (look both ways) young people. • Health and illness For example, topics that cover everyday family life Young people may include: • Sexual health vocabulary • Life skills (relationships, making decisions, being • Greetings, etiquette, friends and family relations independent) • Common household items and chores • Behaviour management vocabulary • Going shopping • Economic empowerment • Local neighbourhood, national geography and • Health and illness directions • Employment and careers • Health and personal hygiene • Explaining and expressing emotions and feelings • Rights and responsibilities • Leisure activities Try getting all the parents together at the start of • Clothing and dressing for different occasions each session to share their experiences before they • Telling the time separate into different groups for learning specific • Child protection issues to certain age groups. • Future plans and careers • Social responsibility

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Deaf role models and peer support

Planning the training sessions

Involving deaf young people and adult deaf role models as trainers or training assistants can be a helpful way to show parents the benefits of communicating effectively with their children and to raise the parents’ expectations of what their children can achieve when they grow up.

It is important to make the parents aware that learning a language takes time and commitment. Meet with the parents before the training begins to discuss ways to help with their attendance and participation. Discuss the things that could make it difficult for them to attend. Make sure you consider the best location for the sessions, the most convenient time, how long each session will be and how often you will meet.

Deaf young people and deaf role models are often proficient and fluent sign language users and will position signs, use facial expressions and formulate sentences clearly and to high standards.

Some of the key things to consider are:

• Sessions with deaf young people and deaf role models answering questions (through an interpreter) can give parents the opportunity to understand how their children might be feeling.

• Class size Try to avoid large classes – no more than 25 people in a class if possible. (It may be better to split a large class into two groups.)

As the training sessions progress, some parents will learn more quickly than others. You can encourage the fastest learners to support their peers and to help them learn. This peer support can motivate the whole group. It can also be helpful when new parents join the sessions.

• Time / schedule Try to arrange sessions when the majority of parents are available to attend. Be aware of events that can affect people’s availability like the local market day or the agricultural season in rural areas. In urban areas with people working weekday business hours, it may be easier for parents to attend weekend or evening sessions. If children are at boarding school, you could arrange sessions on the parents’ visiting days. • Location The training venue should be easy to get to. Try to avoid people having to travel long distances to get to the sessions. Travel costs can prevent parents from attending sessions. Consider creating small cluster groups in surrounding local areas (subcounty or district level) rather than having one training session in a main town centre. • Gender balance Training sessions should be open to women and men. We recognise that, in some communities, women will not be able to attend unless they are accompanied by a male family member. Make sure you are sensitive to the accepted social and cultural practices in the communities where you are working. Women are often responsible for childcare in their families. Try to have staff members or volunteers available to look after young children while their mothers are learning. If the children are old enough, they can join in the class! 3

• Classroom If you have space, use a horseshoe seating arrangement so the parents can easily see the trainer and each other. Rooms should be well lit with the trainer at the front of the class. Do not let the trainers stand in front of windows as this can make it difficult for people to see clearly the signs being demonstrated. • Child protection It is important that everyone involved in the training has read and understood your child protection policy. No adults should ever be on their own with a child or children, young person or young people. We strongly recommend making sure that parents or family members are always around to supervise children and young people. If another adult does need to supervise children on their own, you should explain the situation to the parents and ask them to agree to it.

Practice To learn a language it is essential that people practise as often as possible. This can be a challenge, especially for parents who might be learning sign language as a third or fourth language. During training sessions, parents could work in groups to practise expressive and receptive signing skills. Trainers can guide the parents during group practice by correcting their hand shapes, movements and appropriate facial expressions. • Make sure you are consistent and friendly when guiding and correcting parents as they practise signing in groups. Encourage parents and family members to practise their signing skills with each other and their children when they are back at home. People can be less reserved at home where they feel safe and comfortable.

Training materials Developing materials for teaching sign language can be expensive and time consuming. In many countries the development of sign language materials has not been a coordinated effort and, as a result, it is common for there to be several different versions of introductory and basic level resources but very limited intermediate or advanced level resources. • To avoid duplicating existing resources, liaise with other organisations and groups working locally or nationally to find out what training materials already exist. You can use real objects, pictures, picture stories, flash cards, illustrated scenes and comic strips to enhance the training sessions. Some parents may not have experienced formal literacy and numeracy education so visual aids can be very effective, especially if they are combined with explanations in local languages. Try to vary the teaching materials and resources you use. Make sure the trainers plan what training materials they will use in each session. If available, DVDs showing conversations and stories in sign language can help parents develop their receptive skills (the skills to take in and understand information). • Make sure the trainers emphasise the importance of facial expressions when signing. Facial expressions can be missed even with professionally drawn pictures and illustrations of signs that focus on hand shapes and movements. • Sharing materials and ideas with other trainers and other local and national organisations is a great way to contribute to the development of sign language training materials in your country.

• You could arrange for parents to visit or volunteer at local deaf schools or units to practise sign language. Teaching and learning any language successfully involves role play and imitation. Try to build this into the training sessions.

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Supporting parents Most parents of deaf children are not deaf themselves and have no previous experience or knowledge of deafness. Try to include information on deafness and deaf awareness training as part of the sign language training. You may need to start by introducing very basic information and concepts – for example, some parents may not know that sign language is one of the communication methods used by deaf people. Many parents will need time to acknowledge and manage their emotions. Many will not have received any support after their child’s diagnosis. It can be difficult for them to commit to learning sign language if they have not processed feelings such as anger, loss, depression, self-blame, and denial (all of which are common). If parents are finding it difficult to accept their child’s deafness, try to include sessions where they can share their thoughts and feelings. • Parent leaders can share positive experiences with the parents who are finding it difficult to accept their child’s deafness. Some parents may not understand the importance of giving their child the time and freedom to learn and play at home and at school, especially if this was not their experience – for example, if they had to work from a very young age. • Ask the parents what games they enjoyed playing when they were children to help them develop empathy and understanding towards their child. If parents are struggling to understand the importance of sign language classes you could invite parents with strong sign language skills to bring their children to training sessions. It can be very motivating to see another parent communicating effectively with his or her child. Give the parents the opportunity to ask questions and share their thoughts and concerns. You could also invite young deaf role models and adult deaf role models to sessions to share their experience and answer the parents’ questions.

Maintaining interest and enthusiasm Try to make each session dynamic, interesting and enjoyable. Many of the parents will not have had access to a good education. They may have left school a long time ago and have a negative attitude to learning. If parents have worked throughout the day they may find an evening session tiring. Playing games and making the training sessions fun are great ways to keep everyone interested. • If people are having fun while they are learning they will want to come back to future training sessions. Think of ways to encourage parents to practise and continue learning at home. One idea is to produce cards with illustrations of signs for the parents to take home. The parents can then exchange these cards for new ones to expand their sign language vocabulary during the course of the training. 5

Building on skills Learning a new language requires long-term commitment. Sign language is no different. People need to study consistently for years to learn more advanced and sophisticated levels of sign language. Try to encourage parents to develop their skills and learn sign language to higher levels. Arrange intermediate and advanced level classes for the parents interested in developing their skills. As children grow up, the things they want and need to discuss with their parents can become increasingly complex. • If parents develop advanced sign language skills, they are better able to discuss important events, enjoy successes, share thoughts and feelings, and help with problems as their children grow up.

Monitoring and evaluation All sign language training courses should have good monitoring and evaluation systems in place so you can assess the quality of the teaching and measure the progress the parents are making.

Before the training begins, you should make a baseline record of the sign language levels that parents have. You should then regularly evaluate the progress they are making during the training and make a full overall evaluation at the end of the course. As well as monitoring and evaluating the sign language skills the parents have learned during the training sessions, it is important to monitor and evaluate how well the parents are using these new skills to communicate with their deaf children. • Finding out from deaf children and young people the difference their parents’ training has made to their lives can give you a good idea about how well the training is going. You can use peer monitoring and evaluation strategies to improve the quality of the training and to introduce new ideas. Invite other trainers to attend and evaluate the sessions and give comments and feedback on the teaching methods. Remember to speak to Deaf Child Worldwide about the educational and training resources you need.

Hogar Feliz (Happy Homes) – an example of parents supporting parents in Colombia 20 parent leaders were trained on adult education techniques, general knowledge of deafness and how to support sign language learning, so they could teach other parents. The training sessions were recorded for a DVD film that was used for further training. Seven parent leaders in the city of Bogota invited other parents to their homes on a weekly basis to learn and practise sign language, share their experience of being the parent of a deaf child, and discuss ways to improve their parenting skills. One Saturday each month, the seven parent groups met together in the local school. The parents were motivated and committed, enjoyed the shared learning experience, attended sessions in high numbers and participated enthusiastically throughout the training. Through the scheme, 180 parents received sign language training and passed sign language exams. The parents formed a strong, well-organised group who have since lobbied and advocated for additional support for their children such as sign language interpreters in the state education system.

Deaf Child Worldwide, 15 Dufferin Street, London, EC1Y 8UR • Deaf Child Worldwide is the international arm of the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) • NDCS is a registered charity in England and Wales no. 1016532 and in Scotland no. SC040779.