Are the communication strategies we're using getting in the way of children’s friendships?

There is a trap we sometimes fall into when enabling children with SEN to communicate – we introduce tools that they can use with an assigned adult or a small selection of adults. This is very helpful for getting children’s basic needs met. However, it does not give them access to a wider community or to a peer group. The tools themselves are great; it is the implementation that’s flawed.

Why use signing with children in the early years?

To some degree we all use natural gesture to support our spoken communication. Signing builds on this by providing a tool which supports communication and interaction.

EducationSarah BillinghamMay 18, 2019special needs, early years, communication, interaction, speech and language, signing, MakatonComment