Hesperian Health Guides
Understanding groups of signs
HealthWiki > Helping Children Who Are Deaf > Chapter 8: Learning to use a sign language > Understanding groups of signs
How to help your child understand groups of signs
1. When your child names an object or person, expand on what he says. | Stress the group of signs you want your child to learn and repeat it several times. |
Tree.
|
This is a big tree. It is a very big tree! |
2. Watch for your child's response. Does he respond in any way that shows he understood? If so, praise him. If he does not respond, repeat the sign several times. | That's right, a big tree. |
remember |
big
|
|
tree |
3. Use these signs as much as you can throughout the day. Encourage the whole family to use them too. | Remember the big tree, Manop? Tell Mama about the big tree.
In this example the parents put together the name of an object ('tree') with a word that describes it ('big'). |
Knowing words and using a language helps a child develop his mind. When he knows words like ‘big’ and ‘small’, he can use those words to think and to express difficult ideas — like comparing one thing to another. See Chapter 7 for information about how language helps a child’s mind to develop.
To teach your child other groups of signs, try putting the name of an object or person together with:
Auntie Vijaya |
|
laugh |
Auntie Vijaya laugh.
- a word or sign that shows what a person or thing does.
- a word or sign that shows where an object or person is.
want |
|
more |
- a word or sign that shows wanting more, or for something to happen again.
- a word or sign that shows not wanting something, that something is all gone, or that something cannot be done.