Responding to a new blood test that can predict with 99% accuracy if a pregnant woman is carrying a baby with Downs syndrome as early as 10 weeks into gestation, Dr. Brian Skotko, a specialist in the Down Syndrome Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, has written a thought-provoking op-ed article in the 11/15 edition of USA Today.

The new test is safer than amniocentesis, so it is expected that the number of women who receive testing will rise significantly. So, too, will the number of couples who will grapple with the question, “What does it mean to have a child with Down syndrome?”  In this article, Dr. Skotko talks about the dichotomy between how people with Down Syndrome and their families feel about the quality of their lives and how others view the condition. He puts the current struggle for people with Down syndrome to define their own identities into a historical context and shares some outstanding resources for parents who have received a Down syndrome diagnosis. Read the article.

Both Children’s Hospital Boston and Dr. Skotko are supporters of Signing Time and have allowed us to share this information with our fans.

THE DOWN SYNDROME PROGRAM in the Developmental Medicine Center at Children’s Hospital Boston offers multidisciplinary clinical evaluations for people with Down syndrome from birth until the age of 18. They strive to provide resources, advocacy, and supports to all families, depending on their individual needs. Check out their Comprehensive Conditions & Treatments page for me resources.

Down Syndrome Buddy Walks take place around the country to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October and to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. Last year, 285,000 people participated, raising more than $11.2 million to benefit local programs and services as well as the national advocacy initiatives that benefit all individuals with Down syndrome. This year, we invite you to be a part of “Team Signing Time” for this fun, 1-mile walk to celebrate the many abilities and accomplishments of people with Down syndrome. Rachel Coleman will be participating in – and performing at – the following Buddy Walks:

Utah Down Syndrome Foundation Buddy Walk

Saturday, Sept. 10, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
West Riverfront Park, South Jordan, Utah
Registration starts at 8:30 a.m.
Rachel’s performance starts at 10:30 a.m. followed by the walk.
Go to event page

National Down Syndrome Society Buddy Walk

Sat, Sept. 24, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Great Hill in Central Park, NYC
Registration and activities begin at 11:00 a.m.
Walk begins at 12:20 p.m.
Join Team Signing Time for this event
Go to event page

Fox Cities Wisconsin Down Syndrome Awareness Walk

Pre-walk Event – with Rachel Coleman
Friday, Sept. 30, 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Perry Hall, UW Fox Valley, Menasha
Event starts at 7:00 p.m.
Go to pre-walk event page

Buddy Walk
Sat, Oct. 1, 10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Riverside Park, Neenah
Registration and check-in starts at 10:30 a.m.
Walk begins at 1:00 p.m. with Signing Time Performance to follow Walk
Join Team Signing Time for this event
Go to event page

Greater Toledo Down Syndrome Association Buddy Walk
Sunday, Oct. 2, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Rocket Hall, University of Toledo

Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia Buddy Walk
Sat., Oct. 15th 8:00am – 2:00pm
8:00am On-site registration
Bull Run Regional Park in Centerville, VA
Go to event page

• Find a Buddy Walk near you
• See Rachel’s live concert schedule
  
• Host a Rachel Live! Concert
  

This “Making a Difference with Signing Time” blog post is an interview with Dr. Emily Jean Davidson, director of the Down Syndrome Program at Children’s Hospital Boston

What types of services does your program provide for children with Down syndrome?

The Down Syndrome Program at Children’s Hospital was started in 1967 with a particular focus on children with Down syndrome from birth to age 3.  The clinic has an interdisciplinary model with each child seen every six months by a team of specialists in speech-language pathology, physical therapy, nutrition, dentistry, audiology, and developmental pediatrics.  In 2009, our program has expanded to follow children with Down syndrome up to age 18.

How did you get connected with Signing Time?

Back row is Dr. Brian Skotko, Clinical Genetics Fellow, left is Dr. Emily Davidson, Director, right is Angela Lombardo, Program Coordinator, Bottom is Ben Majewski, Resource Specialist.

For many years we have encouraged families to begin using sign language as part of a total communication approach. In 2007, we purchased several Signing Time videos for parents to borrow and found that both kids and parents were delighted with them. We noticed that once families actually saw and used a Signing Time video they became more confident to use signs with their children. I can remember one little boy who only had a handful of spoken words telling me a whole story in sign language about being on a boat and being scared.  I asked his mother how she and her son had learned so many signs (over 300) and she told me it was all from the Signing Time videos. We felt that if we could provide one introductory video for each family during infancy, more families would start using signs and more children would benefit.

How many families get these videos each year?

Over one hundred families join our program each year. Our families with young children who receive the videos report back that older siblings pick up the signs quickly and love the DVDs as much as their children with Down syndrome – so this gift is for the whole family!

In what other ways are the videos used?

We include Signing Time DVDs in our lending library and they are EXTREMELY popular also with families whose children are admitted in the hospital.  We have families who are in for longer stays and the children love having the DVDs to watch in their hospital rooms.  We have one family who has been here for a very long extended time period and they have been borrowing 2 or 3 at a time and switching them every so often to keep their son happy and learning more and more during his stay!

How do you raise money for the videos?

In June 2009, our program coordinator, Angela Lombardo, organized “Team Down Syndrome” to walk in the NSTAR Walk for Children’s Hospital Boston.  We use some of the funds to purchase Signing Time videos.

In what other ways has Signing Time supported your program?

Kei Malone, a Signing Time fan and volunteer, donated two Signing Time DVD Collections to our lending library,  so we have videos for the beginner as well as for the more experienced signer.

Thank you, Signing Time, for helping us reach hundreds of families and improve the lives of children with Down syndrome!

Thank YOU for helping us fulfill our mission of helping children of all ages and abilities communicate and connect with the people they love.

 

FUN FACT:

In 2010, Signing Time partnered with the National Down Syndrome Society and offered a free Signing Time Gift Set to Buddy Walk registrants.  117 registrants took us up on the offer! They each received a Signing Time Gift Set with 3 DVDs and a music CD. The total retail value of the donated products was over $9,000!

Well it’s fall here in New England and along with the brisk morning air and colorful foliage it is once again time for our local Buddy Walk.

We usually attend the Western Massachusetts Down Syndrome Resource Group’s annual Buddy Walk in Westfield, Mass at Stanley Park near the end of each October. It is always great to reconnect with friends and families we have not seen since last year and marvel in all the changes a year brings.

This year we were delighted to learn that the Massachusetts State Buddy Walk would be held in Wakefield, Mass and that Rachel Coleman (Co-creator of Signing Time!) would be performing. We would not miss the chance to see her in person and enjoy a live performance.

Continue Reading »

Earlier this month, we introduced the new Down Syndrome Daily Support Bundle and shared our new 10-page guide “Using Signing Time with Children who have Down Syndrome” (click on Details tab to download).  Since that time, we’ve been receiving emails from parents of children with Down syndrome who have told us about the impact Signing Time has had on their child’s life. We felt so inspired by these moms’ stories that we just had to share them with you, with their permission, of course! We hope these heartwarming stories bring a smile to your faces, just as it did to ours.

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Dear Signing Time,
I have a 4.9 year old son named Nathan who was born with Down syndrome. Since Nathan was 4 months old, he has been around the “average” child at my preschool, where I worked as a teacher. He has learned all of the typical preschooler things and I was indeed a very proud mother. However, I did notice one flaw: Nathan couldn’t verbally express himself and this caused him to show little interest in playing games and such with the other children. As time went on, Nathan had begun lessons with his speech therapist twice a week, but he would get so frustrated when she tried to get him to enunciate words when role playing, Nathan didn’t want to take part. In fact, Nathan showed no interest at all, and his tantrums worsened over time.

Months slowly passed by, and I realized that after 14 years of teaching preschoolers, that my time was over, and starting a new path would really be best for my son. It became very important for me to help my son overcome his stress of not being able to fully communicate his wants and needs. So after a long journey of teaching, I decided to resign as a preschool teacher, and home-school my only child. (My heart skipped a beat, just going back to that time. But thankfully I made the right decision).

When our official school days began in August of 2009, I tried teaching him the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes and manners, but he would only be interested if I sang educational songs. Nathan did not care to do learning sheets, or hold a crayon, or paintbrush; these things didn’t interest him any. He enjoyed finger-play, music, loud and fun games. I became frustrated because teaching with songs, worksheets, crayons, paints, etc., was all I ever knew how to do. So I did what any woman of faith would, I prayed and with tears, I closed my eyes and asked God how can I help my son speak. And miraculously I heard God clearly say “Teach him sign language”. Then a huge feeling of peace came over me. I knew, in my heart that ASL would be a great way to help my son.

I went online and found some sign language videos. One of them showed a woman with a bright yellow shirt who was singing either the “Pizza Song” or “Colors of the Rainbow”, and my son ran to the kitchen to see what the loud noise was. My son stared closely at Rachel and loved her. He sat through the whole video and after he looked at me and signed “more” (his DT showed him more in ASL when he was a year old). So I found more videos of Signing Time and he stared at the computer longer than before. My son was happy and loved Rachel. This was a progress!

After doing some background research on Rachel and read how the family learned of Leah’s deafness at around 18 months, I felt a connection with Rachel. My son could not hear at birth and even failed his first hearing test at a few months old. The doctors had to surgically install tubes in his ears to reduce leakage backup. This was quite a scary time for us…he was under anesthesia and also had a 0.5 cyst removed from his uvula at only 8 months old. So, I felt like I could relate to Rachel and trust that she has the best interest for kids in mind.

We bought our first video “Sing and Sign”, and it was a family hit. Nathan just kept on smiling and dancing. He was a happy little boy, one who was more focused, sitting longer and ready for more songs and signs using his hands. I had the best feeling in the world of success. And, of course, I began purchasing Signing Time books, flashcards, posters and more videos. My son can sign about every word he has sees on them!  I am so excited and look forward to hearing my son speak and as well sign his feelings in complete sentences.

Here are some video clips of Nathan to show you how signing is working for him:

http://www.youtube.com/user/cindyann118#p/u/2/5YreGsJLvgo (my favorite!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuVvHWIxl9c
http://www.youtube.com/user/cindyann118#p/u/1/DYPQR-B5kkg

How awesome, awesome and, (did I say awesome?) this line of products was for my son. Thank you Rachel, Leah, Alex and Team for taking the time out to care for not only your family, but ours. God bless you all!

Cindy Koll-Martinez
Jersey City, NJ

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Dear Signing Time,

My son, Sam, is currently 5. We started using Signing Time when he was a baby. He did not show interest until he was around a year old. One day we were sitting at his sisters Gymnastics class, waiting and he became restless. I asked him what he wanted and he babbled to me. I asked again, he signed and said “cracker”. This was the first time he put together the concept of signing to communicate!

He took off learning signs, could not get enough. He is now very verbal and remembers most of his signs.

I also credit Signing Time with helping Sam learn to read. I think that connecting the concept of knowing that signs mean words, helped him connect the concept of letters and written words, too. I hope that made sense. Sam still asks to watch Signing Time on a regular basis. His favorites are ABC Signs and all episodes talking about animals.

Barbara Rizk
Tigard, Oregon

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Dear Signing Time,

Our son, Ian, has Down syndrome and is 33 months old. Ian has been watching Signing Time since 6 months old. He signs everything and absolutely loves every video, every song, Rachel, Leah, Alex, Hopkins, everything about Signing Time. He asks for ‘Signing Time’, sings the songs, and smiles the most beautiful smile every time.

He learned all zoo animals, farm animals, family members, foods, ABCs, bugs, colors, manners, SO, SO MUCH from watching Signing Time. As a family we had Signing Time songs and videos as one of our main ‘healing tools’ in the beginning. The inspiring example of Rachel and her family of how to face and serve through the experience of leaving with disabilities was just a blessing for our lives as parents.

Today Ian is starting to speak, and he is doing wonderful. Slowly he is fading the use of signs to communicate but the Signing Time videos are still very important for firming up and teaching new vocabulary. Instead of watching TV he watches Signing Time (and other communication oriented videos such as reading, etc). We just bought ‘Welcome to School’ and ‘Nice to Meet You’ videos and we plan to buy more Signing Time videos now that he is starting preschool.

It feels like Rachel and her family are part of our family. We love the whole Signing Time family…and we feel loved by them. Yesterday we went to the MDSC Buddy Walk in Wakefield, MA, and met Rachel in person for the first time. We chatted for a couple of minutes, gave a big hug, and took a picture. We were so thrilled, and she was exactly like we thought she would be: natural, simple, great.

Thank you so very much for this beautiful work.

Warmly,
Maria Thompson, Ph.D.
Beverly, MA