How to get started with sign language at home.

So you've decided to raise your deaf or hard of hearing (or hearing!) child bilingually, but you're not sure where to start?!

Take a breath. I've got you.

Look - I completely get it. In theory, the idea of creating this rich bilingual home where our kids are exposed to both sign language and the home spoken language on an equal basis is great. The dream right?!

But in reality?

That whole scenario just screams overwhelm and anxiety - particularly when most of us are already running a household or, if you're like me, just trying to keep the head above the water line!

So, the first thing I'm going to say to you is...

Stop. Take a step back. Let's re-asses.

We want this journey to be a sustainable one - and better yet, actually enjoyable! Seeing this process as yet another thing you need to "squeeze in" to your hectic schedule is going to leave you less and less likely to actually do it.

So where DO you start?

Below are 5 steps to get you on the right path...

1. Get the whole family involved.

Yes I know. This is the first and - for some - the most daunting step when starting the bilingual journey. A lot of the time, the responsibility for developing language in a child with hearing loss lands on one person (usually Mum!). This is not only totally overwhelming, but research shows, it's actually way less beneficial for the child if only one person is signing in the home. So how do we approach this topic with our family in the right way?

First and foremost. Baby steps.

We keep it positive, we don't overwhelm them with loads of signs at once, we incorporate fun, casual 'voice off' time into our days (dinner time is best for this, as all family members are usually present!) and we keep coming back to the core goal of "why" we're doing it - to prevent language deprivation and support our child's future outcomes and mental health. 

Oh, and a little BONUS? We get to create a beautiful relationship with our deaf/hard of hearing child using a language they can fully access!

2. Start small

As mentioned above - Baby. Steps.

Learning any new language can be really overwhelming and we tend to get ahead of ourselves falling down the rabbit hole of comparison and worrying that our skills will never be "good enough" for our child. This is such a common cycle for new families learning sign language - but I'm here to ease your worry.

Firstly - no-one expects you to be a pro at this and no-one is out there judging your skills. If anything, people (like me!) are standing back in complete awe of what you have chosen to do for your child. So take the pressure off! And let's start small.

But how exactly do we do that?!

• Consider focusing on just 2 - 3 signs a week or even one sign a day (which means in a year, you'll have learnt 365 signs!)
• Work around already established routines as a reminder to sign: Bath time, nappy change time, mealtimes and reading times are great opportunities to practise your new signs.
• Display sign language flashcards related to the areas you frequent most in the home. I.e. in the kitchen you could have your food / utensil related flashcards and shower / bath flashcards could be placed in the bathroom.

Taking small steps instead of trying to learn an entire language in a couple of weeks, is going to allow you to build more rich and embedded connections to the language and actually retain the signs that you and your family are learning! A win win, right?!

3. Access authentic sign language resources

The internet is saturated with people out there teaching and selling sign language resources and making a lot of money doing it. The problem with this is, not all resources are created equal...

Sadly, as you scroll through YouTube, you're going to come across A LOT of people teaching signs and selling resources while claiming to be "experts" of the language.

The huge issue with this?

Most of these people have barely completed a certificate course, are not active in the Deaf Community and are, more often than not, teaching inaccurate signs and knowledge that degrades the language and the culture Deaf people have worked very hard to protect. This my friends, is what we call cultural appropriation. And I don't know about you - but I would be steering very clear of that scenario!

The truth? You simply can't learn a signed language without engaging in the culture, history and people it belongs to. So when seeking out resources and courses to engage in with your family, look for Deaf-led and owned organisations. In Australia, we have businesses such as Deaf Connect, Auslan Hub or Just Auslan to get you started! My instagram also regularly shares other businesses you can connect with - so make sure to check it out.

4. Seek out a Deaf mentor

Just like any language, the best and most effective way to learn is to immerse and surround yourself with native users. Signed languages have a rich grammar and syntactical structure that requires time to understand and grasp. There are also a lot of signs where there is no English translation, just as there is a lot of spoken English words that cannot be translated into a signed language.

Deaf/hard of hearing children really need to experience these languages separately to understand the individual manner in which they're used - and that can only be achieved by engaging in the experts of that language!

5. Use visual and concrete examples

This one is the most simple step and the best part? You can start right now!

To truly embed a new language into the long-term memory space of our child's brain, repeated exposure of key vocabulary and the opportunity to connect this vocabulary to different representations is a must! Those representations could be visual, tactile, real-life, written, signed - the list goes on. In the field of Deaf Education there are different ways we can do this, such as through the sandwich or chaining strategy!

Here I show an example of how I practice the chaining strategy with my Deaf son, Frank.

Finding opportunities to connect new vocab to a range of examples supports conceptual and contextual understanding for your child and gives them a better chance of retaining all that beautiful language long-term!

So what are you waiting for? Get cracking and be sure to follow me on socials for added inspo and education!

Clare x