Hi Valerie:
I have a question for you. I'm trying to help a therapist help a 30 year
old woman who is almost deaf (don't know the exact details yet) Seems she
never learned to speak and I don't think she reads or writes--at least not
with understanding. She can copy letters and words but doesn't associate
them with the things they represent.
She has had several years of signing and is now working with a speech
therapist to learn to speak, but it is slow going.
I'm thinking she has some learning disability or other hangup that stops
her from grasping the concepts of speech, and reading and writing.
I remember a couple of years ago on the SW list, we were discussing how
deaf children went ahead faster when they could put their first language to
paper--and how they then became better at English.
Since I have been out of the loop for the past year and a half, I don't
know what further research/results have been found.
I'm wondering if in this particular case, this lady would benefit from
being taught SW now--before worrying about trying to get her to speak and
understand English--then when she can associate the SW "words" with the
objects they represent, she might be better able to transfer those concepts
into learning English words. (Apparently she has been in an institution all
her life.)
Any thoughts?
Neil
Neil Bauman
49 Piston Court
Stewartstown, PA 17363
Phone: (717) 993-8555
Email:
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