The Family Signing in the Home Project (FSH) has one main aim – to provide better communication within a family where there is a child or children diagnosed deaf.
The FSH project first began in Northern Ireland and now operates in different regions across the UK, depending on available funding. If you would like to find out whether Family Signing in the Home is available in your area, please get in touch by emailing bda@bda.org.uk or by completing the contact form on our website.
Useful links for families
Families often tell us that learning BSL is not only about communication, but also about connection, confidence and understanding Deaf culture. The resources below may help families explore early access to BSL, learn from Deaf community stories, and find out more about the impact of the Family Sign at Home project.
Good communication skills are vital in all areas and walks of life, but this is nowhere truer than in the early formative years of a child’s life where the importance of early language acquisition cannot be underestimated.
Early communication/language with care givers creates the foundation for all areas of development including personal, social, emotional and physical development.
With 90% of deaf babies being born into hearing families with often no knowledge of deafness or signing skills, this communication will be limited and problematic without appropriate support.
Family Sign in the Home began in 2015 as a pilot project to provide quality Sign Language tuition in the family’s own home by delivering a 10 week course tailored to suite their own particular needs and situation.
The project has now evolved from the initial pilot and now operates as a 20 week course as standard, delivered by qualified Sign Language tutors.
If you would like to be involved with the Family Sign in the Home project, please get in touch with us to register your interest.
