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2015 Hearing Service trip to Camoapa, Nicaragua
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Using ASL Tales books/dvds to learn ASL
Are you looking to learn ASL, enhance learning and brain function, or enable your child to be more literate? Perhaps you work with second language learners and want to see then have access to written and spoken english?
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/asl-tales-curriculum-development-phase-1/x/4262101
Click on the above link to get discounts on ASL Tales DVDs and books until tomorrow, March 20!
Questions? You will have full access to me as your teacher for the next year as I guide you in the use of ASL Tales materials to enhance learning. Send me a note and I’ll include a FREE Signing Says DVD!
Happy Signing!
ASL Tales books Project
ASL Tales books builds better brains
After 5 years, hundreds of volunteers, and $60,000 there are 5 books published and being used to change lives with literacy, a multi-language approach and sign language. This project’s goal is to raise $5K to get much needed teacher/parent guides written to support the use of ASL Tales books in homes, homeschools, classrooms and libraries around the country. Your financial support will get people using ASL Tales books and allow my team to write and publish teacher guides with activities for children to use by this summer. Your support matters!
Baby Sign Research! Wow!
Original Baby Signs Study 
Drs. Acredolo and Goodwyn have conducted over two decades of scientific research on the use of sign language with hearing babies, including a longitudinal study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Below are the highlights from that study.
More than 140 families joined the study beginning when their babies were 11 months old. Each family was randomly assigned to a signing or a non-signing group. The groups were equivalent at the beginning of the study in terms of the following characteristics: sex and birth order of the children, their tendency to vocalize or verbalize words, and the parents’ education and income levels.
The children were assessed using standardized language measures at 11, 15, 19, 24, 30, and 36 months old. In addition, as many children as could be relocated at age 8 were assessed using the WISC-III IQ test, the most commonly used measure of children’s intelligence.
Results of the study revealed that 24-month-old babies using baby sign language were on average talking more like 27- or 28-month-olds, representing more than a three-month advantage over the non-signers. The babies using baby sign language were also putting together significantly longer sentences. In addition, 36-month-old signers on average were talking like 47-month-olds, putting them almost a full year ahead of their average age mates. At 8 years, those who had used sign language as babies scored an average of 12 points higher in IQ on the WISC-III than their non-signing peers.
In addition to helping babies learn to talk and jumpstarting their intellectual development, a number of very important social-emotional benefits were also revealed. Acredolo and Goodwyn found that signing with hearing babies:
ﾷ reduces frustration, biting and other aggressive behaviors.
ﾷ helps parents and teachers be more observant and responsive.
ﾷ builds trust between babies and their parents and caregivers.
ﾷ allows babies to share their worlds revealing just how smart babies really are.
ﾷ promotes positive emotional development.
ﾷ boosts babies’ self-confidence and builds self-esteem.
2. Center-Based Research
Since 1990, the Baby Signs Program has been an integral part of the curriculum at the University of California at Davis Center for Child & Family Studies where Drs. Acredolo and Goodwyn have overseen numerous assessments over the past 17 years. In addition, Dr. Claire Vallotton, at Michigan State University, conducted studies of interactions between infants and teachers at the Center for Child & Family Studies. The results of these center-based studies have shown that baby sign language in the classroom:
ﾷ reduces frustration and aggression in the classroom.
ﾷ allows infants and toddlers to express both emotions (e.g., happy, sad, afraid,mad) and feelings (e.g., sleepy, cold, hurt)both to label their own states and to comment on the states of other children, showing early evidence of empathy.
ﾷ helps teachers be more observant and responsive to children.
ﾷ helps daily routines proceed more smoothly.
ﾷ increases “active” learning.
ﾷ encourages babies as early as 9 months to engage in multi-utterance conversations with teachers.
ﾷ provides a “universal language” that facilitates interactions in multi-lingual classrooms.
3. Early Head Start Research
The remarkable findings of Acredolo and Goodwyn’s original research, coupled with the results of their work at the University of California at Davis Center for Child & Family Studies studies, prompted researcher, Dr. Clare Vallotton, to conduct an Early Head Start (EHS) Intervention Study. EHS families who were encouraged to use baby sign language with their children were compared to EHS families who were not. Results indicated that mothers in the signing families perceived their children as more “reinforcing” and “acceptable,” two important components of a Parenting Stress Index. Specifically, using signs:
ﾷ helps mothers become more “tuned in” to their children’s emotions.
ﾷ increases the children’s attempts to communicate with their mothers.
ﾷ decreases the number of expressions of distress from the children.
These results suggest that the addition of the Baby Signs Program to EHS curricula for parents is an easy and effective way to improve family interactions in low income families.
4. International Research
Funded by the Chilean government, Dr. Chamarrita Farkas of the Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile also studied the effects of the Baby Signs Program with low income families, adding to the growing research that baby sign language is beneficial for all children, their families and their educators. Dr. Farkas’ longitudinal study of 20 Chilean child care centers serving poverty-stricken families showed that using signs:
ﾷ results in better language development.
ﾷ results in better motor skills.
ﾷ reduces stress levels among center staff.
ﾷ increases a mother’s feelings of self-efficacy.
In conclusion, the evidence that the Baby Signs Program is good for children, parents, child care providers, and child development centers and their teachers is tremendously convincing.
Signing Says DVD
Signing Says will bring your child to the next level of language usage…
Do you have a young child who is learning Baby Signs? ASL Tales and Signing Says takes up where Baby Signs ends. Our DVD has real language. Baby Signs are great in that they introduce words and vocabulary. Then what? Show your child SIGNING SAYS! Pinky signs in real-life situations using ASL. Pinky is adorable and makes learning language FUN!!
See for yourself!
Holiday Appeal…please help me to help those in need this year…
Holiday appeal for support in Nicaragua
Posted on December 11, 2013
Through my work in Nicaragua I have become close with many families in need. This year my personal finances cannot support a holiday gift to buy dinner for three families that I have been gifting for the past several years. If you would like to help me gift these families, I will be grateful and happy to share your love with them. Whatever gifts are given to me I will pass on to those in need in Nicaragua.
Deaf/blind project supports Nica families
Family One is composed of a husband and wife in their late 30s who live near a polluted lake. Mom suffers from depression. They have 5 sons ranging in age from 5-12. They are typical young boys who love a good game of soccer, and giggle shyly. The dad works as a gardener for a small college. Their sons are not growing well and are always thin when I see them. For the past few years I’ve sent them enough money to have a nice Christmas meal and maybe enough for a couple of small food treats for their sons. This gesture is usually followed up with generous and kind emails and FB messages that make me cry.
Family two is a woman with whom I have become very close over the past 7 years. Her oldest was blind and I helped him get a braille machine. Three years ago he passed away from a brain tumor. AS a single mom she has tried hard to raise her other sons well but it has not been easy. Her family of origin lives in a crowded market place and runs a stall that sells fried plantain chips. Her sister recently gave birth to her third child. They all live in this crowded stall. There is no room for the kids to run, play or be children safely. They are within feet of a burning fire all day long. It is daunting. This year I would like to gift my friend money to share with her family. This past summer my friend brought me to the new residential “school and training program” called Los Quinchos. It is for street children to get an education and learn skills. It keeps the kids away from the dealers, pushers, and criminals. Although it broke her heart to put them there, and she is lonely, she knew it was best for her sons. Ahh…what a brave and loving mother she is!
Family three has a grandma, mother, daughter and son. Friends of mine are helping to put the 21 year old girl through pharmacy college for about $120 per quarter. She is beginning to imagine a future for herself and her family with the opportunity to get a college education. The younger brother aspires to learn English and go into tourism to support his mother and grandmother. They are beautiful people who are the kindest souls on the planet. A small gift to them at Christmas would touch their hearts and be very special for them!
Any donation will go into their hands directly, minus the Western Union fees. I will post their thank you letters to all supporters to you can feel their love coming back to you.
Feel free to drop me a note with any questions. There is a donate button under the donate page.
Thank you for making a holiday dream come true for me and some beautiful families.
http://deafblindproject.com/donate/
With my love and thanks,
Pam
Best Christmas Video ever!
Holiday appeal for support in Nicaragua
Through my work in Nicaragua I have become close with many families in need. This year my personal finances cannot support a holiday gift to buy dinner for three families that I have been gifting for the past several years. If you would like to help me gift these families, I will be grateful and happy to share your love with them. Whatever gifts are given to me I will pass on to those in need in Nicaragua.
Deaf/blind project supports Nica families
Family One is composed of a husband and wife in their late 30s who live near a polluted lake. Mom suffers from depression. They have 5 sons ranging in age from 5-12. They are typical young boys who love a good game of soccer, and giggle shyly. The dad works as a gardener for a small college. Their sons are not growing well and are always thin when I see them. For the past few years I’ve sent them enough money to have a nice Christmas meal and maybe enough for a couple of small food treats for their sons. This gesture is usually followed up with generous and kind emails and FB messages that make me cry.
Family two is a woman with whom I have become very close over the past 7 years. Her oldest was blind and I helped him get a braille machine. Three years ago he passed away from a brain tumor. AS a single mom she has tried hard to raise her other sons well but it has not been easy. Her family of origin lives in a crowded market place and runs a stall that sells fried plantain chips. Her sister recently gave birth to her third child. They all live in this crowded stall. There is no room for the kids to run, play or be children safely. They are within feet of a burning fire all day long. It is daunting. This year I would like to gift my friend money to share with her family. This past summer my friend brought me to the new residential “school and training program” called Los Quinchos. It is for street children to get an education and learn skills. It keeps the kids away from the dealers, pushers, and criminals. Although it broke her heart to put them there, and she is lonely, she knew it was best for her sons. Ahh…what a brave and loving mother she is!
Family three has a grandma, mother, daughter and son. Friends of mine are helping to put the 21 year old girl through pharmacy college for about $120 per quarter. She is beginning to imagine a future for herself and her family with the opportunity to get a college education. The younger brother aspires to learn English and go into tourism to support his mother and grandmother. They are beautiful people who are the kindest souls on the planet. A small gift to them at Christmas would touch their hearts and be very special for them!
Any donation will go into their hands directly, minus the Western Union fees. I will post their thank you letters to all supporters to you can feel their love coming back to you.
Feel free to drop me a note with any questions. There is a donate button under the donate page.
Thank you for making a holiday dream come true for me and some beautiful families.
http://deafblindproject.com/donate/
With my love and thanks,
Pam
Holiday Signing gifts for families!
Fantastic gifts for families with babies, young children. Real Language at an elementary level to get you started with sign language!
ASL Classes made easy
ASL classes via skype for everyone: homeschoolers, elders, professionals…
Are you are you a busy professional wanting to learn ASL to communicate but can’t fit in a class to your schedule? Are you homebound with children or illness and need a computer-based class? Contact me and we will create a class around YOUR availablilty.
As a long term teacher I bring 30 years of teaching to you with 14 years as a professor at a major university who was the ASL program coordinator.
Details:
- Twice weekly lessons for 1.5 hours each
- Homework given
- Cost is $40 per hour or $600 for ten classes.
- Achieve your dream of fluency easily and enjoyably in the privacy of your own home.
- For up to 3 people
Deaf Blind Project 