Total Communication

As I mentioned previously, Austin began using his hearing aid in March 2008, when he was 4 months old. It opened up a whole new world of sound to him. From the moment I first turned it on he was amazed!



Early on I had made the decision that I wanted him to SPEAK, but understood that his Tracheostomy might hinder that for a while. So while I have always spoken to Austin as if he could hear every word, I (we) have also embraced signing so there you have it: Total Communication. Whether it be ASL, SEE or Baby Signs, I was game as long as we could communicate.

While he does verbally speak, babble and on occasion, believe it or not, even sing! Austin has really picked up signing as his primary means of communication. At almost 7 months old he started working with an Auditory Impairment Specialist, Miss B. She was a Early Intervention therapist who worked with infants/toddlers and their families to help them learn language skills and understand deaf culture. She was a loving, amazing woman who had a deaf child of her own. She came into our home once a week and played with Austin encouraging him to make sounds and learn a few baby signs. The first sign Austin learned to recognize was JUMP, he was 8 months old.



After that he started to catch on to the idea that each sign meant he could get something so naturally, the first sign he used was "WANT". What a shocker huh, an 8 month old who wants something!? We continued to add signs to his daily routine. He often also gets impromptu "lessons" from four of my brothers & their significant others, who are all either deaf or hard of hearing and happen to be fluent in ASL. Austin watches in utter amazement as their hands move swiftly through the air.

For his First Birthday I decided to buy him a the first 3 volumes of Signing Times dvds. They are a huge hit. He loves them and has learned so much in a very short time. He continues to amaze me daily with a new sign (or his version of a sign), but hey whatever works, right? Later I learned that Rachel Coleman had a show on PBS and my brother had recorded a few episodes on a DVR that he then gave us. Woohoo!

At 18 months Austin currently about 70+ signs that he uses with regularity. There is no stopping him!




Thanks for peeking,