Do you know the main forms of signing we use at Linden Lodge School? This page gives a brief introduction to signing at our school so that you can understand better how different sign systems can support students with different sensory impairments.
Add protocols from Sensory classroom on the main page.
To some extent, most people with functional vision use sign language to support their expressive communication. Whether that's waving to someone or pointing towards an object, these gestures can be very natural in their everyday lives.
Some people that have a vision impairment or that are deafblind, including those with profound and severe learning difficulties, never develop the ability to communicate effectively through speech. Sign language, among other methods, can be adapted for them and it has proved to be a great tool to develop language for many.
At Linden Lodge, we use a total communication approach within the pre-formal and semi-formal curriculums. All students need to be exposed to language and this means that those supporting them use a variety of modes as well as speech, for example, strong routines, signing, objects, visuals when appropriate, technologies for communication, etc. The aim is to immerse students in rich language environments.
Students following any of the school's curriculums with whom sign language should be used as a means of communication, ought to be supported to learn and use it with others.
Makaton is not a language but a visual programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to support the development of essential communication skills such as putting words together. Makaton helps understanding by giving an extra visual cue to communication.
With Makaton, signs are used, with speech, in spoken word order. This helps to provide extra clues about what someone is saying.
On the Essential signs page, you can learn some of the most fundamental Makaton signs.
Sign Language is a visual means of communication (a language) that uses gestures, facial expressions, and body language.
Sign Language is used mainly by people who are Deaf or have hearing impairments.
Within Britain, the most common form of Sign Language is called British Sign Language (BSL). It has its own grammar that is different from spoken English.
On the Essential signs page, you can learn some of the most fundamental BSL signs.
Sign Supported English (SSE) is a form of sign language that is used within Britain. It uses the same signs as BSL but unlike BSL, it is not a language as such. Instead, it uses spoken English grammar with the signs from BSL.
Tactile signing is one way of communicating in sign language that also involves touch so that it does not rely on the visual aspect.
This allows people with vision impairments and deafblind individuals to feel the hand shape, palm orientation, location and movement of the other signer’s hands.
Tactile sign language in the UK is based on BSL or, depending on the individuals, on SSE. It can also be used with Makaton signs.
In this method, the hands of the receiver (the V.I., deafblind person) are placed on the hands of the signer to perceive the sign acted out. This way, the receiver is feeling and reading the signs and communicating through the hands of the signer.
Co-active signing can be practised by a sender moving the hands of a receiver to teach them signs. The purpose of co-active signing is to help teach signs that students are already learning.
You can find more information about tactile sign language here.
People are social beings and we need a way to share our stories and offer our experiences to others. We, therefore, need a common language that is created in social circumstances with other people.
By Sharing experiences with our students, we can co-create signs that are important and relevant to the experience: e.g., during cooking, a student always explores the shapes of the pots at the start of the session with their 1:1. Later the student moves their hands in the same circular pattern as they had done with the pots. This movement is then jointly negotiated and confirmed by the student as their sign for ‘cooking’.
Many of the students at Linden Lodge have personal signs that have been co-created based on an experience.
Touch cues or on-body signs are physical cues that are used in a consistent manner on the child or adult’s body to give a specific message about what is about to happen to the person.
In most cases, the touch cue will be at or near the body part that will be affected and, if the touch cue is used to prepare the child for movement, the touch will give the child information about the direction their body will move.
Do you want to know more? Speak with Diego or with one of the Speech and Language Therapists at school. We are always happy to help.
