Families
... as soon as we involved Rory's brothers and sisters... we made huge progress
Initially, families will probably learn signs from the team or speech therapist following a Lámh assessment. A small group of signs that will be motivating for the Lámh user are chosen, and used by those communicating with him/her. After a period of time, it will be important to check if the individual understands the signs, and begins to make the signs him/herself.
Following on from this process, the family may want to increase their skills and knowledge about Lámh use and the signs by attending a Lámh Family Course.
Family Course
• Four 2 - 2 and a half hour sessions
• One follow-up session (4 weeks later approx.)
The core areas covered in the course are:
• Learning signs
• Selection of vocabulary
• Involvement of other communication partners
• Extension of situations in which signs are used
Course materials include a family course handbook and sign illustrations. Contact your service provider or local Lámh Tutor to find out about the next Family Course.
Lámh Family Courses are delivered by trained Lámh Tutors working in the context of service provision. The Lámh Tutor may be the speech therapy team, pre-school or nursing staff. If the service does not have a trained Lámh Tutor on staff, they may link up with a local service, or alternatively they may use the Contract Training system to contract in a Tutor to deliver a Family Course.
The course was originally designed for family members though others close to the family have also attended e.g. childminders,neighbours, pre-school staff.