REVIEW: September 2017 BATOD Magazine (British Association of Teachers of the Deaf)

‘ These are some of the ensuing comments: “This is lovely. It will be brilliant.” “It will make the loveliest signing course.” “Look at the useful contacts with the # symbols” “Everyone working in a school with deaf children in it should have one” “This is just utterly, utterly perfect. It’s exactly what we need in school.”

The book covers a multitude of school-based signs and is fully conversant with 21st centruy requirements. New signs include Skype, Snapchat, Facebook and Google. It also includes directional verbs, inflections, getting acquainted, activities and people vocabulary. School vocabulary beyond KS2 is included but it would be invaluable for people who work in primary or for secondary aged children. The signs are all divided into separate topics with a full index.

Add this heady mixture to the fact that the book is also available from amazon.co.uk on a print on demand basis (which means it can easily be updated) and on Kindle. What’s not to like? ‘

If there are pupils or classmates in your school who use signs in their everyday learning and communication then this book is for you.

It contains a basic introduction to the signs needed for the day to day interactions and experiences in school settings (primary and secondary) – school activities and instructions plus vocabulary to enable peer conversations that will be useful to classmates and school staff alike.

Includes: Basic Handshape Key, Left and Right-Handed Fingerspelling Alphabets, the American One-Handed Fingerspelling Alphabet, Days of the Week, Months and Numbers plus a vocabulary of over 300 illustrated signs with written descriptions and a puzzle at the end of each section to test your learning.

Who can benefit?

In addition to the clear needs of children who are deaf or partially hearing, sign language is also used in education to benefit children and adults with a wide range of special needs such as:

• Down Syndrome • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) • Dyslexia • Learning disability • Additional speech, language and communication needs • English as a second language • And to benefit children’s development through Baby Signing

Supported by the Let’s Sign BSL series of resources – www.DeafBooks.co.uk