PECS AND SIGNS/ SANDY

[Guest guest]

Hi Sandy,

Thank you for your answer.

The therapist who worked with my son to teach him signs was just

teaching him the signs of everything she could think of.what she did

was teach him the signs of just about anything she had on a flash

card.I kept saying that we must keep to the ones that he needed to

interact since the idea was to make his basic needs understood and

try to get him to say something as well.But that was it, everyone was

just happy with just the sign,and with no speech therapy at all (no-

one would take us because we were using signs),he just learned to

sign without even trying to make a sound.

So now they tell me I need to choose between pecs and signs.the one

or the other,can't do both.The therapist I see privately (the one who

said that we haven't used SIGNS correctly) says that we can use both

and more just as long as it's communication.And that is called

wholistic communication.And that you do strictly pecs on kids that

don't communicate in any other way .She is the one who " translated "

signs into our language(culture),so she knows what she is talking

about

We do pecs for 3 months now and he hates it.He makes his sentences to

ask for things but he prefers to come to me do the sign or try and

say " ba ba " ,or if he knows the sounds he just says the ones he knows.

So really I think I 've got my answer ,I just need to tell the

teacher's now....

Thanks again

Antonitsa