Special Needs/Toddlers
What We Saw: The teachers began
to pass out large leaves for an art project. They asked
the children, "Who wants to paint a leaf?" Some of the
children shouted, "Me!" while others made the sign for
"Me." Both were accepted as forms of communication, and
the children received their leaves as a result. One nonverbal
child did not use the sign. The teacher encourags her
to use the sign by modeling it. The child still does not
imitate, so the teacher takes her hand and helps her make
the sign for "Me." The teacher gives her the leaf right
after.
What It Means: By signing, the children
were communicating and using language without speaking.
The teachers made a correlation between the sign
and an immediate action (receiving the leaf they
wanted). This is great teaching: connecting language to
the child's experience. These teachers also spoke the
word when the child made the sign. Children begin to absorb
from the teachers the language that they hear or the lip
movements that they see. It helps them to make mental
connections between the signs, the spoken words, and the
actions. Sometimes a teacher has to use physical
enactment, which means gently moving the child
to do the needed behavior. This is seldom our first approach,
but with children who are confused or noncompliant, it
can show them exactly what our words mean. In this case,
the teacher moved the child's fingers to make the sign
for "Me" and then quickly rewarded her with the leaf.
