Monday, April 20, 2009

Reading and children who are non-verbal

"How can I tell that my child is learning the words if they cannot speak?"

This is a very common question, coming from parents of children who are non-verbal, or simply too young to 'prove' they can read the words they are being shown. My response to this is that input and output are two different functions, and just because they cannot speak doesn't mean they cannot process what they are reading. In fact children are often overlooked and undertaught because of this very thing.

The video below is of a young boy, David, who is 5 years old. David was born with Down syndrome, and is also deaf. He has learned sign language, and is using his sign language to show his mom that he comprehends the words she is flashing to him. David and his mom are doing amazing work and we are very grateful to her for sharing this video with us!

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