Ep 10: The Power of Signing to Connect with Children with Speech and Hearing Challenges

Raising Confident Kids with SEN

Welcome to another enlightening episode of Raising Confident Kids with SEN. Your host Sarah interviews Suzanne Meill-Ingram, an inspiring mother who has channelled her personal experiences into creating impactful resources and programmes for children with special educational needs. Throughout this episode, you'll hear Suzanne's heartfelt journey of how signing has transformed how she communicates with her daughter, Ella, who has CHARGE syndrome and hearing impairment.

Tune in, and you'll learn about the profound impact of Makaton signing, get tips on how you can incorporate signing into your own routine. Get ready to explore the empowering world of signing, and discover how it can support and transform communication with your own child.

Here are the Highlights:

00:00 Parents learned Makaton to aid children's communication.

06:27 Realisation of the importance of communication, progress made.

10:21 Teaching children to communicate through reading books.

12:03 Child's unexpected sign language communication amazes mother.

14:27 Ella became a skilled signer to communicate.

22:13 Joyful, inclusive Christmas show for special needs.

23:51 Addressing Ella's needs for inclusion and communication.

29:55 Embarrassing TikTok antics during lockdown observed by kids.

33:13 Nursery rhymes are important for language learning.

34:16 QR codes simplify learning sign language books.

39:26 Using props for attention helps communication.

40:29 Encourage persistence in teaching sign language to children.

About Sarah Billingham:

Sarah Billingham is a specialist speech and language teacher with a focus on emotional regulation. Her service, Confident Kids, equips parents, carers and practitioners with expert knowledge and the practical tools they need through training, coaching and group programmes.

Becoming a parent changed Sarah’s perspective on parenting and early childhood development and deepened her interest in understanding the regulation needs of both children and their families.

Qualifying in 2004, she initially worked in mainstream primary education and went on to lead a specialist speech and language resource base. She worked as Assistant Headteacher at a specialist SLCN school for five years and went on to lead their independent multidisciplinary assessment service until December 2021.

Sarah was a committee member of NAPLIC (National Association of Professionals Supporting Language and Communication Development) for five years. She is a Regional Makaton Tutor.

Connect with Sarah:

Website - https://www.confidentkids.co/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/confidentkids.co

FB community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ConfidentTransitions

Instagram @confidentkids.co

Email [e-mail]

Free downloads:

Choosing a School for a Child with Additional Needs

https://www.subscribepage.com/z1k2j3_copy

Easing Your Child’s Communication Frustration

https://www.subscribepage.com/z1k2j3_copy_copy

How do I know if my Child’s Emotional Outbursts are ‘Normal’?

https://www.subscribepage.com/z1k2j3_copy_copy_copy

About: Suzanne Miell-Ingram MBE

Suzanne Miell-Ingram MBE is co-founder of Singing Hands, Makaton tutor and Patron of the Makaton Charity. Suzanne and Tracy of Singing Hands are both parents of disabled young people and started to learn Makaton when their children were born in 1999. Since then, they have appeared on Something Special with Mr Tumble, produced 6 DVDs with Makaton signed songs and have amassed over 220K subscribers to their YouTube channel. Singing Hands perform at SEN events all over the UK, they work at Great Ormond St Children’s Hospital School and Evelina Children’s Hospital School and other mainstream/SEN school settings across the UK. They offer Makaton training and Zoom pop parties and a monthly signing choir online. Singing Hands’ latest venture is the publication of a series of Makaton-signed books under the title ‘Signing Friends’ aimed at helping families and professionals learn to sign stories to help support their children’s language and communication development. Suzanne and Tracy were awarded MBEs in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in 2020 for their work supporting children and young people with disabilities and communication difficulties.

Connect with Suzanne:

Website: www.singinghands.co.uk

YouTube: SingingHandsUK - YouTube

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SingingHands

X: www.twitter.com/singinghands

Inst: www.instagram.com/singing_hands

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/singing_hands

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk