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This week on All About Audiology, I’m joined by two very special guests – Razi and Dr. Leah Zarchy who are the creators of American Sign Language at Home. The innovative curriculum breaks down learning ASL into small, simple steps that are designed to relieve some of the overwhelm that parents of new babies might be feeling after a hearing loss diagnosis.

The story of how American Sign Language at home came about is truly awe inspiring. Razi and Leah have made it their mission to educate parents on the importance of giving children an accessible language as early as possible. 

This week on All About Audiology:

* 12:43 – After creating a class to support families in learning ASL, Razi realized that the available resources didn’t meet the need of parents who were learning to communicate with very young children during everyday situations.

* 15:15 – While stuck in an airport for 6 hours after their flight was cancelled, Razi and Leah began to have a conversation about what a curriculum for parents might include. They began brainstorming and writing down notes that would end up becoming an outline for their book.

* 20:22 – The book is broken down into four chapters, based on things that Razi was already teaching families. Chapter one teaches basic food vocabulary, chapter two introduces bathtime vocabulary, chapter three is for vocabulary related to diaper changes, and the last chapter is dedicated to teaching parents how to share books with their children. There are videos related to each chapter with vocabulary lessons that help to practice different phrases. 

* 25:57 – Digital copies of the book are free! Depending on your preference, you can either download it as a PDF or ebook.

* 29:00 – There have been requests for the book to be translated into other languages and Razi and Leah would love to collaborate with someone to produce videos in other sign languages. The text and learning resources of the book are currently being translated into Spanish due to so many Spanish speaking families requesting this. * Download the Spanish version of the 5 Step Guide to Navigating Your Child’s Hearing Loss for free : allaboutaudiology.com/guia* English version: allaboutaudiology.com/guide

* 32:08 – To help keep the book free, there is a patreon account where people can subscribe to pay an amount of their choosing per month, to help with translation costs.

* 34:05 – Advice for listeners – Don’t miss opportunities to connect with your baby. Provide an accessible language that will help you bond with your child. Deaf people with implants can still sign and know more than one language, but please don’t wait until you know how well your child can hear with an implant. Start now and let your baby lead you.

* 41:30 – One of the major goals of the curriculum was for parents/family members who are unsure if they can learn ASL on their own, to be able to go through bite sized lessons to prevent overwhelm and get the ball rolling so that they can communicate with their child.

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* All About Audiology Website

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