On the occasion of International Day of Sign Languages being observed on Wednesday, CADRRE The Autism School, Thiruvananthapuram, is launching a video tutorial series on Indian Sign Language (ISL).
The videos will be available the YouTube channel named CADRRE. “Though these tutorials are being developed for parents to teach Indian Sign Language to children with Autism, these easy ten-minute videos that come with audio, subtitles and demonstration of words will be a great resource to anyone who wishes to learn the basics of Indian Sign Language,”CADRRE said in a press release.
Research suggests that animated graphic symbols better engage the attention of children with Autism than the static graphic symbols that are normally used as teaching aids. These videos go one step further by using videos, wherever possible, of children demonstrating the words whose signs are being taught.
The videos are curated under the guidance of Renuka V N, a sign language professional and freelance interpreter who has been involved in the Deaf Community in India for the last 20 years.
In a country with 28 national languages and thousands of regional dialects, recognizing the importance of a national sign language is pivotal to our society to ensure the growth and progress of not just the deaf, but also people with Autism and other developmental disabilities for whom the spoken language is difficult to master.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is an umbrella term for a broad group of developmental disorders that affect sensory input, behaviour and communication. Individuals with Autism are often referred to as “being on the spectrum” because ASD covers a wide range – or “spectrum” – of symptoms, skill sets, and levels of disability. Like deafness, Autism is many a time an invisible disability, though children and adults with Autism often have a hard time communicating and face difficulty with social interactions, and many children with autism may never fully develop the ability to communicate effectively through words.
Signing can be effective for individuals with Autism because of the repetition of the sign in the same visual place, allowing them to process and commit the sign and its meaning along with the spoken word to long-term memory. In fact, teaching sign language and spoken language simultaneously has been demonstrated to help children with Autism become better at spoken language, and develop greater competency in communication overall due to the carry-over effect of learning a visual language .Using sign language with your child may help develop open communication channels. It can provide a way for them to communicate their needs that does not involve stressful reactions such as crying or throwing tantrums, thus little by little eliminating stressful behaviours and promoting more effective communication.
