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Autism/autism and sign langauge

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Expert: - 1/27/2010


Question
My nonverbal child with autism is learning sign language at school. He is eight and has a low cognitive ability.  When they started teaching "popcorn" they taught a non-sign, but said that it was a step to the correct sign.  They had him touch his index fingers together.  It is mastered, and they now want to extinguish his current sign and have him put his index fingers to his shoulders, which is also not the sign for popcorn. It is putting your index finger up and down.  They said that the third stage will be the actual sign.  This is ridiculous to me, since my son only has four signs, and this seems confusing for him and a waste of time. They have a sign language consultant who is telling them to do this.  I requested that they wait a week to start stage two so that I can get a second opinion.   Thank you for your help!

Answer
I totally agree with them-as a matter of fact-I wonder if they took my class, because that is the methodology that I teach. He  has autism and children with autism have motor planning issues which makes it very hard for them to sign. That is why we break it down in steps. What is the name of the therapists. I want to see if they took my class. If you want, you can see the class for yourself to understand the concepts. It is a webinar which you can watch at your leisure. Here is the link to register for it.

http://www.valerieherskowitz.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=133

Autism

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Valerie Herskowitz

Expertise

I am an autism expert and speech pathologist (for over 30 years). I am also the parent of a child with autism. I can answer any question on autism dealing with communication, education, behavior and diet. I cannot answer questions that are medical in nature or are dealing with medications.

Experience

I have run a therapy center for individuals with autism since 1981. I lecture all over the country. I also teach classes on autism on line.

Organizations
Vice President of Communications Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Member American Speech and Hearing Association, MembernAutism Society of America, President of the National Autism Registry, Vice President of the Association for Developmentally Disabled Adults and Adolescents.

Publications
Autism Society of America's national publication (September 2008). Advance Magazine, South Florida Parenting, Spectrum Magazine, I am the author of: Autism and Computers: Maximizing Independence Through Technology (available:www.valerieherskowitz.com)

Education/Credentials
I have a masters degree in speech pathology

Awards and Honors
I won a Stevie Award in 2004: Lifetime Achievement Award for my work with individuals with autism. My therapy center won, Judge's Choice Award Best Center in South Florida by South Florida Parenting magazine 2005.

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