In June, the parents of pupils at the Tumaini School for Deaf Children had the opportunity to take part in a sign language course. These courses are particularly important as they greatly improve communication within the families. The sign language courses help parents to communicate better with their children. This enables them to respond better to the children’s needs and the children finally feel understood.
Teachers report that parents need less support during the summer vacations to communicate with their children (e.g. if the children fall ill) after the training courses. Also, the children’s school performance and behavior improved, as sign language is practiced together during the vacations and the parents can better support the children with learning.
Most of us have already learned a foreign language – whether English, Spanish or any other language – and know that continuous practice is important in order to master a language. We are now putting this into practice in our new language courses, which now take place several times a year. During the long vacations (twice a year) there is a one-week intensive training course at the school. During the short vacations (also twice a year) there are afternoon courses run by teachers from the Tumaini School. Between the training sessions, there are follow-up meetings at the parents’ homes, where they practise together in small groups. The children are present at the training sessions so that the parents can practise directly with their children. This ensures a quick sense of achievement.
The courses are also an important point of contact for parents to ask general questions about deafness and to exchange ideas with other parents. In this way, parents gain a better understanding of the special needs of their children and deaf people in general.
