Preschool
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Signs of the Times: sign language for people with Down syndrome By Lauren Porter, Clinical Director at the Champion Centre
“I’m hungry.” “It’s a pig!” “I am going horse riding.” “We are eating chicken.” “I need help.” “I am finished now.”
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If you heard such statements from a group of pre-schoolers, you would probably think this was excellent communication. What would you think if you saw this communication instead? On any given day in a Champion Centre programme, you might see all these things and more, because you would see children from infancy using sign language to express themselves. New Zealand Sign Language is one of Aotearoa’s three official languages. Often we think of sign language as something to help children who have not yet learnt to express themselves with verbal language. Because children with Down syndrome show delays in producing their first words, sign language is a complement to their strengths. Such strengths include non-verbal communication in the realm
of gesture. Whilst supporting children to communicate with sign gives an alternative to reliance on spoken words, research shows sign language communication with infants and young children with Down syndrome actually predicts spoken vocabulary a year later. Sign language is a communication pathway that uses gesture in specific, intentional, a n d s e n s i t i ve ways . S i g n l a n g u a g e differs from other sorts of gesture communication such as pointing, nodding of the head, or facial expression, most of which occur spontaneously and are not taught as language. Delays in vocabulary development, phonological memory, and oral motor planning are commonly-faced hurdles for children with Down syndrome. However, visual short term memory and manual motoric development are often strengths that can be kindled by learning to communicate with sign. In fact, babies with Down syndrome produce signs far more readily than their age-matched, typically-developing peers (but tend to produce fewer gestures). There are signs that communicate actions,
