In our situation parents come to our centre every Saturday to learn sign language...
...and to pick up the signs from our deaf teachers, but we also have websites.
In our websites we have archives of signs, and we also have archives of signed stories....
...so that the parents can actually learn from the sign stories. They can pick up a lot of the signs there.
I know that parents actually go to our archives and learn the signs from our archives.
And sometimes they also learn how to sign stories to their deaf infants, and to their deaf kids.
So I think an archive is very important, because parents, because they’re hearing...
...they do not have a deaf model around. But if they have an archive to support them...
...I think it would be very useful.
And of course some of our parents come to our early reading programmes...
...every day before the kids start school, we have 20 to 30 minutes reading sessions.
And we have the deaf teachers there, so the parents would also pick up signs...
...through communicating with other deaf kids, or communicating with the deaf teachers...
...so they can also pick up some signs there.
Some parents hire our deaf instructors, or our deaf staff members from the centre...
...to go to their homes, to teach the whole family sign language.
And I find it very useful, because our deaf members of the centre...
...can also build ??? and relationship with the families, who think that...
...sign language is indispensable in their communication.
So we have different ways of supporting parents of deaf children in learning sign language.
I think the most important thing is whether you want to use signs to communicate with the children...
...and whether you want to use a lot of facial expressions.
Sometimes… of course we are adults, we are late in learning a new language...
...but sign language, having some components of gesture and facial expressions.
And if you don’t mind being a little comic, and be a bit cartoonic, you use some facial expressions...
...you use some gestures, you can communicate very well with your kids if you incorporate all these into your signing.
-Thanks. Maybe one last question is related to what you said just now, when the child is young...
...your whole world is about the child, you tailor your schedule to the child...
...and you’re also concerned about the language acquisition of the child.
But how important is it that parents of deaf children get in contact with adult deaf people and with the deaf community?
-When we started our programme in Hong Kong, we also get in touch with the deaf association in Hong Kong.
There is one deaf association that belongs to the world federation of the deaf, and the centre...
... liaised with the deaf association and asked if they can give the kids some support after school.
So the deaf association is very keen on supporting not only the kids, but also the parents.
So at the end, after school and during weekends the parents actually take the kids to the deaf association...
...and the kids play there with the other kids, with the other deaf adults...
...and the parents are also interacting with the deaf adults there.
It is important that the parents also join the deaf communities.
It’s not only the kids, it’s also the parents because it’s better that the whole family...
...joins the deaf association, or to join the deaf communities, going out with deaf friends.
This would to me be the best way to bring up your deaf child...
...because he would no longer feel that he is deaf, and a lonesome deaf.
In fact, he is a deaf person, but he has a lot of support in the community.