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So, sometimes people ask me which videos they should get for
their children who have special needs, and I always say, "Get
them all." Get "Baby Signing Time!", if
your child is 3 and under. Get the "Signing Time!" series,
if your child is 3 and up. There are topics and there are
signs that pertain to everyday life, to animals, to whatever
your child is interested in. And then we've also had some
professionals write guides specific to signing with
children with autism or Down's syndrome or speech delays.
We have a different guides. So make sure you really check
out our website and see all the cool stuff we've made for you.
I was sharing with the Lucy the other day that she has fans, and
this sort of surprised her. As I do different events,
parents will come up to me and say that their children watch
"Signing Time!" and they can hear them from the next room
holler, "Lucy!" every time Lucy's on the screen.
And I love that, of course. You know, it's "Signing Time!"
with Alex and Leah. Lucy's in there representing the
kids with physical disabilities or using a wheelchair.
And you've been able to see her grow up and watch her signs
develop, as well. Lucy's in there because she
really is our first "Signing Time!" miracle.
We were told she would never sign and she would never speak
and that she was just trapped in a very uncooperative body, too
bad, and that she would never develop fine motor skills.
And we felt that being born into a signing environment because of
her big sister, Leah, actually really altered the course of
Lucy's development in her life. And so Lucy is now -- You know,
she's in fifth grade and she does speak and she does sign.
You've seen her on the shows riding a bike or swimming in our
pool. She has a walker now, but most
of the time, she uses her wheelchair.
And it's been fun to share her with all of you, as well.
People ask where they can get more experience with ASL, and I
like to think that we hook you with "Signing Time!"
You watch "Signing Time!" You learn some signs.
You think, "This is really easy. This is fun.
That wasn't so hard. Where can I learn more?"
And so that's my goal is for you to get enough signs that you
think, "This is fabulous." And then you start looking for
those resources in your community.
So my suggestion is -- always looking -- Number one, go to
signingtimeacademy.com. We have instructors across the
globe. And you may have instructors in
your area or you may be the one who becomes an instructor in
your area to teach "Signing Time!" curriculum classes.
You can also look for community education classes.
Sometimes at high schools, they'll have classes available
or at deaf schools, they'll have after-school hours, some classes
available, college courses. If there's a deaf community
center nearby, they usually have resources there, too.
There's always college-level courses.
And I love that when people say, "Well, we started with 'Signing
Time,' and now my child wants to become an interpreter" or "We
just love it so much, we're looking for more."
That's my goal. That's what I've hoped would
happen. I get a lot of requests for me
to come do performances in a lot of states, a lot of cities and a
lot of states. And I'm not on tour.
If you follow me on Twitter, on Facebook, or, you know, are
looking at the calendars of events, I'm really not on an
official tour. But organizations will hire me
to come out and either speak, present, or do a concert for
their groups. And then we have community
concerts that are put on really by the community.
So somebody in the community, typically a Signing Time Academy
instructor says, "I'm bringing Rachel here," and they start
fundraising and they find sponsors.
They sell the tickets. It's all for the Signing Time!
Foundation. And this year, in 2010, I've got
over 22 events that are gonna happen.
And you can always see if I'm coming near you.
Make sure you're subscribed to our newsletter, because you'll
get an e-mail that tells you if I'm coming near you, when, and
where. Also, there is a community
calendar. You can go to
signingtimefoundation.org, and you can see all of the upcoming
events there.