A New Year, A New Chapter in Your Child’s Literacy Journey
The start of a new year is the perfect time to focus on building your child’s communication and literacy skills. This quarter’s newsletter shares strategies and resources to help support your child’s language development and literacy through various communication modalities. Whether you are beginning this journey or looking to expand your toolkit, we are here to help every step of the way.
ASL Corner
Tips for Reading to Your Deaf Child,
Based on How Deaf Parents Do It
Tummy Time
Use tummy time to read simple board books to your child. Keep both languages (ASL and English) visible by having the child lay across from you to see your hands and words/pictures.
Follow the child’s lead.
What does the child want to read? What if the child wants to read just one part of the book then move on to another? Follow their lead.
Make what is implied explicit.
Make the hidden meaning clear. This includes figurative language and sarcasm.
Adjust the signing style to fit the story.
Be dramatic. Play with the signs and exaggerate your facial expressions to animate different characters.
Use attention maintenance strategies.
Tap lightly on the child’s shoulder or give a gentle nudge to keep their attention.
Reread stories on a “story telling” to “story reading” continuum.
The first few times, ensure the child understands the story. Then, slowly, focus more and more on the text.
Provide a positive and reinforcing environment.
Encourage the child to share ideas about the story and support the child’s ideas.
It is never too early to start reading to your child.
Expose them to a variety of books, stories, and texts throughout the day! These tips are based on the research of Carol Flexer, a pediatric audiologist and an expert in Auditory Verbal Therapy and literacy of deaf children.
Read the same story again and again.
This will help your child catch words he may have missed before. Explain the story as needed.
Minimize background noise.
Turn off the TV. Close the door to reduce noise from other rooms. This ensures the child has optimal access to your speech.
Make sure your child can see your face and the pictures.
This will help your child follow the story, even if she doesn’t catch all the words.
Read books that rhyme or repeat the same sound.
This helps your child learn the sounds letters and words make. This will promote their phonological awareness which helps develop their literacy.
Read, Read, Read!
Read aloud every day to your child, beginning in infancy. Carol Flexer recommends 10 to 20 texts a day. Such texts can include baby books, stories, signs, and instructions.
Slowly build up reading time.
Since younger children have short attention spans, try reading for a few minutes at a time at first. Then build up the time you read together.
Reading to your child every day plays a crucial role in their brain development and language growth. Whether you are using spoken language or sign language, choosing books that will engage your child—like those with rhymes or repetitive sounds—can help teach the sounds of letters and words. This consistent exposure to language, no matter the form, builds a strong foundation for literacy skills and helps your child’s language development thrive.
DCMP educates students with sensory disabilities, along with their parents and teachers. Their major network-produced, educational content is carefully customized to serve the needs of K-12 students, as well as adult students studying to meet the needs of blind and deaf students.
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