Supporting Down Syndrome Awareness Month

The Signing Time Foundation is proud to be a long-standing supporter of children with Down syndrome and their families.  Signing Time Co-founder Rachel Coleman can often be found at the National Down Syndrome Society Buddy Walks around the country. We’ve been working hard to build a great database of resources for you to use when signing with children who have Down syndrome. You can also see children with Down syndrome demonstrating signs in our shows.

stfbuddywalk

We have seen the benefits of using American Sign Language to assist with communication for children who have Down syndrome. These children sometimes find it difficult to express themselves verbally. We have had the opportunity to share some incredible moments with several amazing children who welcomed us into their homes and signed with us. We wanted to share a couple of the stories this October, in honor of Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

I teach a special needs classroom. I have Downs syndrome children, autistic children, developmentally delayed children and I even have a deaf/autistic child. We incorporate Signing Time into our daily routine. I have personally bought every video made and absolutely love them. I forgot to mention that I also have a Downs student and an autistic student that speak English as a second language. I love Signing Time because it not only helps with communication, but also introduces vocabulary and sight words. My students absolutely love the videos and do not even realize that they are learning while they watch. Thank you so much for these wonderful videos. I would love to see a series III. ~Lisa H. (Louisville, KY)

In July, on the blog, This Life I Live, Rory Freek wrote: “It was Indiana’s first flight as a toddler and I was worried about how she would handle it.  She did so well.  She watched her “Signing Time” sign-language videos and spent lots of time coloring and reading books with Heidi and me.”.  The blog included a picture of his daughter, Indiana, watching Signing Time.

thislifeilive

This month we were tagged in an Instagram post that linked us to an article titled, Down Syndrome, Sign Language and Adoption on No Hands But Ours, which reads:

“Many resources exist for teaching sign language to children and we chose the Signing Time series for multiple reasons. Kids with Down syndrome are visual learners and this series is very visually appealing. The content is animated and set to music, which makes it quite catchy and fun, and the written word is paired with each sign which also helps with sight word recognition.

When Reese was just a few months old, we started playing the Baby Signing Time DVDs in the background during play time. Although Reese was not at all interested at first, Reagan and I quickly picked up some basic signs and started incorporating them into daily life.

When Reese was nearing a year old, she began showing interest in the content and started attempting simple signs like “more” and “baby”. Over the next few months both her interest and vocabulary increased and we kept introducing new content. She began signing along to books and songs and began expressing her needs in the form of signs. It was opening up a brand new line of communication for us – and it was fun!”

img_2166

Check out some of our great resources on working with children who have Down syndrome!
Signing Time Guide for Children with Down Syndrome
Potty Training a Child With Special Needs (includes a series of articles)

Thank you for Signing with us!

Scroll to Top