‘Signing Time’ Star Earns Emmy-Nomination
Denver – An alert reader of Paotie’s Green Couch has sent in a report that a children’s American Sign Language educational program has been nominated for an award at this year’s 35th annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy awards show in Hollywood. Rachel Coleman, star of the popular show, Signing Time, was nominated as an “Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series,” according to the nydailynews.com web site.
Coleman, whose first daughter, Leah, was diagnosed as profoundly deaf at age 14-months, learned American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with her daughter. Coleman would later decide to teach ASL to children and began producing Signing Time videos, which are available on CDs, DVDs, and through PBS stations.
A second child, Lucy, was born with cerebral palsy and a doctor warned Coleman that her child “was profoundly retarded and would never speak.” Then one day, Lucy signed the ASL word for more and “It was amazing that her first communication was in [ASL],” said Coleman. “Her next sign was ‘water,’ and though it wasn’t perfect, we knew what she wanted.”
Today, Lucy is in second grade, loves to sing and attends a mainstream school. Leah is now a fifth grader after skipping a grade, and recently won a spelling bee.
“If we had believed that doctor and not signed with her, she would have been locked in that body and not communicating. Now, she speaks beautifully.” – Rachel Coleman on Lucy
To read more about Rachel Coleman’s Emmy award nomination, her daughters and Signing Time, click here.
Paotie
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That is a nice tribute you made…
Also, showing that the parental/guardian involvement is the key to the child’s success… as usual. Expose any language to the child EARLY.
Wow, amazing!
ASL opens a door to a world of communication for all sorts of disabilities!
See?
Any languages that any disabled person who cannot talk *CAN* earn their welfares.
Glad to know that the parents of the CP girl did not buy the doctor’s advice. They proved him wrong in a huge way!
Doctors can be the blunders.
Doctors are really @#$%^!
One thing to note– Leah didn’t learn ANY language until after diagnosis at 14 months. So this is not one of those examples that some people would like to use which proves that infants with sign become geniuses, skip grades, etc. More than likely she was a brilliant girl, and would exhibit this regardless of language used. She was over a year delayed in ANY language. And implanted kids who learn spoken language in infancy can be equally as communicative, do well in school, etc. So while this is an interesting point regarding manual language for the physically disabled– those unable to utilize oral motor control– it is not proof that ASL is the key that is absolutely necessary for unlocking the potential for each and every deaf child. It is more a proof to me that parents tend to know what to do with their kids and, being around them regularly, are astute at how to bring out the best in them.
I just came across a blog which mentioned, also, that Leah received a CI a couple of years ago, so I thought that might pique the interest of some of your readers, as well.
Absolutely. ASL will enhance the potential that was already present. Not to say that ASL is the “reason.” Another boost is the fun factor and Signing Time looks fun!
Camilla ..
If you would provide a credible link regarding Leah’s CI, I will update the article with that information.
Also, many hearing families are using signs with their young children as a means of facilitating communication. Teaching a child to sign, “more” enables a 2-year-old to ask for “more water” without throwing a temper tantrum. Same with “toilet.”
Ignoring all the academic bullshit regarding “Deaf Education,” teaching hearing children signs is simply a way to ease parenting issues, namely angry, frustrated children. I am not at all suggesting that teaching a hearing child the ASL word for “toilet” is going to make the child fluent in ASL, a Deafhood freak or anything else, including an English professor at Harvard.
Paotie
Here is one link mentioning it:
BTW, I know you do not insist on ASL always and only for kids, but there are those out there. It’s just that I could hear the people beginning to assume… and wanted to point these things out. She isn’t one who developed early pathways via ASL. By 14 months many hearing or implanted kids have spoken words for the things they want.
Of course, now we know you haven’t potty trained, because most kids are not potty trained until they are old enough to speak, so ASL wouldn’t be helping that along. Unless they are a savant in that category. Which would be pretty special.
My other thought is that the kids of mine who are likely to be tantrum throwers were not helped by language of any kind, receptive or expressive. Some kids are just more demanding than others. Ahem. But they grow up to be very high achieving people. Yeah, that’s what I keep telling myself.
Another link, presumably credible:
Hey Paotie…Karen Putz posted this information about six days ago…WHY THE HELL DIDN’T IT MAKE THE DEAFREAD.COM BLOG PAGE AND WAS LEFT ON EXTRAS???? With all of the heckling regarding teaching deaf babies sign language, Rachel is a superstar shining example of what everyone has been asking for, begging for, yet Karen Putz’s post remained on extra…that really pissed me off. I’m so glad you reminded me of how pissed off I was. Now, I’m going to try to go to bed pissed off, but it’s no damn use because like a dumbass I had an espresso at 8:00pm and will probably never fall asleep! Kisses, Jodi
PS. Paotie…I’m blogging your blog…still pissed off, Jodi