IN BRIEF

In Brief...
Supporting Communication with Signed Speech
Diana James summarises her case study of the effects of the use of Paget Gorman Signed Speech in supporting the communication of four pupils with specific language impairment at a Special School. aget Gorman Signed Speech (PGSS) is a method of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) that uses both signing and the spoken word to support a persons ability to communicate. The system is most commonly used in specialist language units and schools as a learning tool for children with specific language impairments. There have been very few recent studies of the effect of PGSS upon the communicative development of children with specific language impairment. This case study took place in Meadowbank Special School in Cardiff, which caters for children aged five to eleven whose primary difficulty is a severe/profound speech, language and communication disorder. The speech and language therapists based at the school provide the high level of therapy appropriate to meet the complex speech and language needs of the children. They are employed by the Local Health Authority but work in close collaboration with the class teacher and teaching assistant in a high adult / pupil ratio of 3:8. I examined the effectiveness of the PGSS system in supporting receptive and expressive language before and after using a teaching programme that involved learning new vocabulary with and without the use of PGSS. I evaluated the opinions of a focus group of professionals who work with pupils with specific language impairment, together with the results of questionnaires presented to the pupils themselves and their parents. I assessed levels of attention using structured observations during a story session that incorporated PGSS and one that did not. Analysis of the data indicated that, when PGSS is used with pupils with specific language impairment, it can have a positive effect on scaffolding both receptive and expressive language skills. As a learning tool it supports the understanding, learning and use of new concept vocabulary at a single word level. My recommendation was that further assessment be carried out into the effectiveness of PGSS in supporting language at a higher level of complexity such as in a phrase, in a sentence or in a narrative. Finally, data relating to the use of PGSS in improving attention levels revealed a clear differ-

supported by

One lucky contributor in each issue receives 50 in vouchers from Speechmark, which publishes a wide range of practical resources for health and education professionals (www.speechmark.net).
ence between those who found or considered it effective in supporting different styles of learning and those for whom it was a distraction. As a class teacher I conducted the research primarily from an educational perspective. However, I have a PGCE in Speech and Language Difficulties from Birmingham University, coupled with ten years experience of working collaboratively with the speech and language therapists based at the school. My initial motivation for undertaking this case study was that I had been using PGSS as an AAC tool with pupils with specific language impairment for over ten years, but had never questioned how and why the system supports their language development. Furthermore, I do not consider my position in my educational setting to be unique. This case study examines and outlines the efficacy of PGSS as a successful learning tool in helping children with specific language impairment understand, learn and be able to use new vocabulary. What was enlightening to me as a practitioner was to analyse in detail how the PGSS system works as a supportive strategy, and to consider its use in other less specialist educational settings. This can inform the practice of other professionals and parents, not only when working with children with specific language impairment, but also those with wider communication difficulties. Diana James is a specialist teacher at Meadowbank Special School in Cardiff. For further information about the case study, email diana-james@meadowbanksp.cardiff.sch.uk. Resource Further information on Paget Gorman Signed Speech is at www.pgss.org Grandma: How do you think they learn to talk? Hester: They learn from other people. By their speaking. They try to say it and they listen to what people talk about for when theyre bigger. When they was just babies they didnt know anything. People talk about things they dont know about. You tell them what to say. Like this: Say duvet. Adelaide: u-ay Hester: Thats right. First words are blah blah blah, just bubbly noises. Adelaide, talk. (Adelaide ignores her) Hester: TALK!! Have you lost your voice? (to Grandma) When she says, Hester come, she doesnt say the things in between. You have to work it out. (to Adelaide) Whats this? (pointing to a picture of a puppy) Adelaide: ph Hester: Whats this? Adelaide: /i/ (inaudibly) Hester: Say it clearly. Adelaide: tee Hester: Thats not tea, its a puppy. Adelaide: tee Hester: puppy Adelaide: tee Hester: puppy Adelaide: puppy Hester: (triumphantly) See! Hesters instructive role was continued in a conversation about a year later, however by now her sister was distinctly less cooperative. Adelaide, charmingly, misarticulates a few words (as a retired speech and language therapist, I have no motivation whatsoever to correct her t/k d/g substitutions, which are adorable). Hester: Adelaide, why do you always say bollom instead of bottom? Adelaide: Because I want to. Hester: Well, when you grow up you will just have the wrong word in your head. And then you wont be able to say bottom. The most recent conversation on the nature of language took place as they walked to school. Hester is now 6 and Adelaide 4. Hester: I think the best word is AND. The best word is and, because it joins sentences together. Adelaide: (thoughtfully) I think the best word is please. Because when you say please, people give you things. Clearly words, for my granddaughters, are performatives. Nicola Grove is a retired speech and language therapist, best known in recent years for her work on storytelling and sharing, email drnicolagrove@ fastmail.net, www.openstorytellers.org.uk.

Out of the mouths of babes

Nicola Grove is amused to observe the changing course of her granddaughters talking about talking over a two year period. ow do young children view the process of language acquisition? If my experience is anything to go by, they start out as inveterate behaviourists. This is a verbatim conversation between Hester (4), Adelaide (20 months) and Grandma (myself, aged 60). We are sitting in bed companionably in the early morning, reading books and chatting. Hester: When babies are little, they cant say anything, but they hear people talking about what they dont know about.

SPEECH & LANGUAGE THERAPY IN PRACTICE AUTUMN 2011

17