Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) captioning is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.
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3/20/2018  |   2:20 PM ‑ 2:45 PM   |  Starring in Their Own Stories: Language Experience Books for Children with Hearing Loss   |  Quartz A/B.
>> So you're all going to be surprised in about one minute when they bring tables in.  So be prepared. 
[LAUGHTER] 
>> Do we need to move, or ‑‑ 
>> They're going to set up in the back, but we're all going to be doing something together back there [singing] so be prepared to get back up when we're getting to the end.  
My bag of fun.  
(Pause). 
>> Guess we're going to start.  
>> We're going to go ahead and start with this session, go ahead and enjoy. 
>> All right.  So we're going to start ‑‑ I am pretty worried at this point that you guys aren't going to get to do the fun thing that I have planned which is pretty sad starring ing their own stories experience for children with hearing loss I notice you were in the last session that I was in when they were talking about book sharing and making a love of literacy for young children.  I feel like this is a really good follow up, because this is one way that we can use book sharing, to develop language, to develop syntax, to share experiences, in general; with children with hearing loss.  So let's go!  
Oh, maybe not.  
Awesome. 
All right.  So let's start with what is our problem?  I really like this quote.  The child must have gained the experience of dog, before the word dog can have significance. 
Therefore, a fundamental consideration in language development from children who are Deaf from early infancy, is the difficulty they have in gaining the expected norms of experience. 
All language systems ‑‑ dis‑ ‑‑ disintegrate and become useless when the expresser and the receiver do not have a norm of experience.  
So what does that mean?  
Our children, before they can process the language of a dog, need to see and smell and touch a dog.  
Dog means nothing, before that.  
So what we can do is something called "the language experience approach."  The language experience approach was originally used to teach um... literacy using a whole language approach, where you took the language that the child already knew, and used it to teach how to read. 
It was, then, adapted for children in New Zealand, and then for English‑language learners, so while this approach was originally designed to teach children who already had a language base to read and write and transfer those skills that they had in language, to literacy, we can use it to help caregivers build language in children with hearing loss. 
So we're going to adapt it a little bit.  
This quote I really, really like because I think as EI professionals this is critical to everything that we do. 
Instead of assuming a deficiency, whether it be material or intellectual in the home, our approach is an emphasis on the relevance of the intervention. 
So why do experience books work?  Because experience books are about the things that the child is doing.  
That's a picture of mom, that's a picture of dad.  That's me!  
That's my school!  This isn't a book about school.  This is a book about my school.  
So experience books were pioneered by Helen BeBe in the '50s and she used it to not only understand the needs of the child but the needs of it the whole family she would have parents go and make these books with their children and then come in and they could talk about it in the session, what was going on what they had done.  Yes, please, set those up. 

[LAUGHTER] 
>> Yeah.  All right.  
So another thing that we need to always remember is that parents are motivated.  They're the ones that want to do the best things for their children.  So they are the best language facilitators.  The best teachers available.  
And then research has shown us that parent and child book‑reading is the ideal situation for children to go ahead and practice those skills that they're learning in language.  
So every time that a family is able to give large amounts of linguistic input using language strategies, is an opportunity to learn, to grow, to experience.  
All right.  So what we know about children with hearing loss... we know from the research, that children with hearing loss are at risk for delays in all of these areas.  In vocabulary, in syntax in articulation and in pragmatics.  
So what do we do?  
We use language experience books to target all those things.  
And this is my favorite quote, too:  What I think about, I can talk about.  
And we can use that in sign as well.  What I think about, I can sign about.  
And that's our goal.  
So we're now going to talk about the components of making our experience books.  
Okay?  
And why we are doing it.  As this....  man is setting up our books in the path I am also going ‑‑ these are examples of my experience books.  That you can look at and we can pass around so that you can see the variety that you can... 
So how do we need ‑‑ what's the first thing we denied?  We need a shared experience, anything that a child touches, tastes, hears, sees, experiences ‑‑ they are all a great basis for an experience book.  
So I would say that one of the best things that we can do as birth to three providers is those natural routines.  So what does it look like to change a diaper?  We ‑‑ first, we get it diaper.  Take a picture of that.  
Put the diaper on the changing table.  Picture of that. 
Oh, there's a picture of you, laying on the changing table. 
And then that becomes the experience book.  
And it's critical because when we're working with families, who come from different cultural backgrounds, from different SES situations then we are, or that the majority are, it's more difficult to have books that reflect their experience.  
You know, there are more books that star animals than star children of color; so how are these children going to see faces like their own and experiences like their own?  
All right.  So we have a shared experience.  
Next, creating the text.  And this is where most of my presentation is going to sit up ‑‑ what we're going to talk about, because this is the part that we use to get the language and things we want in.  
All right.  So each of these different experience books can focus on those areas of risk that we already talked about.  
And they would have a specific target or goal in mind.  
So I want everybody to stop and think about a child on their caseload, and a specific goal that you are working on.  
Are you working on... just attending to joint attention?  Are you working on subject/verb prepositional phrase.  Any of these things, from the very, most basic identifying myself ‑‑ that's my in that picture ‑‑ to high‑level literacy skills, can be used in an experience book.  
All right.  So here are our areas of risk.  Remember, vocabulary syntax, articulation and pragmatics.  
So first we're going to focus on vocabulary.  In order for vocabularies to be ‑‑ similar words to be useful to someone, they need to be connected to the things that they mean.  
You can show, again, a picture of a dog, but if a child has never experienced a dog or seen a dog, it's not going to mean as much as when they've actually had that experience.  
So it's important that we teach ‑‑ we set our children up to be able to learn vocabulary incidentally but sometimes we have to work on it.  Sometimes we have to teach it.  
And this is way we can do that.  
So here we go.  I have an example of a um... 
Experience book.  That teaches ‑‑ food vocabulary.  
Here we go.  
Okay.  
So it worked!  
Our favorite foods.  Are you ready?  
I'm going to tell you guys, this is funny so I made this in grad school so my daughter is in every picture.  I didn't have any students yet.  
Um....  
So....  
Victoria brought apples, so vocabulary word apples.  
Ruben brought Baloney vocabulary word baloney. 
Parsippany brought carrots.  Vocabulary word carrots.  Wentworth brought noodles and so we're repeating the rest of the words are the same so we're not focusing on the rest of the language in the book, just those vocabulary words that we're targeting. 
And French fries are Ms. Melissas favorite food so this can also be used as a ‑‑ reading book, later, when they're reading just stories where only one word changes at the end with very early readers so let's see if I can find my PowerPoint again.  
Hmm.  
What do we think?  
Yeah.  All right.  So that's food vocabulary. 
Here's an example of syntax.  So for this book, I'm at tassel Level 2 simple sentences of three or more words, and subject/verb object and subject/verb prepositional phrase so this is a much higher level and I'm specifically targeting that syntactic element.  This is a springtime sensory walk.  We walk outside.  Subject, verb, object.  Bodaceous ‑‑ can't use real names guys. 
See as squirrel.  Subject, verb, object.  
Audacious hears a verb.  Subject, verb, object.  
Beyoncé smells of flower.  Dirt is on your nose, so now I have a prepositional phrase. 
And, at the same time, I'm teaching sense words, we're also talking about hearing, seeing, feeling ‑‑ so you can integrate your other goals your curricular goals your other things you're thinking about within it and still focus on the language target that you're doing.  
Your hands are on the tree.  
Prepositional phrase.  
My toes are in the grass.  So this would have been we went outside, we went for a walk, we did these things and while we were doing them, I took pictures of that happening.  
So this isn't a made‑up story.  This isn't oh, we could go out and put our toes in the grass.  We did.  
My toes are in the grass, picture!  
So that they can experience and then remember.  
We splash in the water.  
So, again, prepositional phrase.  
So that was syntax.  
Articulation.  So in this book, we're working on final T.  
Again, this was an experience.  We went to Walmart.  We went shopping.  I took pictures while we were shopping.  
And all my targets are final T words. 
Our final T shopping trip.  
Walmart.  
"I put on my coat" final Ts. 
I went in my car seat.  [Accentuating final T syllable].
I bought a bat.  I got a cart.  We sat and ate.  
We left for our apartment.  
So, again, we can focus on the individual child's goals, by using an everyday experience, of going to Walmart. 
By thinking ahead, what are the things that we can do in this experience that are going to line up with my goal of final T?  What ‑‑ would the shopping trip have gone faster if I wasn't worried about finding a bat and taking pictures of everything that we do?  Absolutely, but then we wouldn't have the rich opportunity to use a book like this.  All right.  So we got articulation I think that's the last goal ‑‑ oh, no pragmatics the best part of all. 
So as I talked about before, we often have children whose life experience does not mirror that that's being showed in typical storybooks.  They're unfamiliar.  
They talk about things they've never experienced.  So let's talk about going to the farm.  Oh, you live in downtown Chicago?  Never been to a farm?  Mmm tough.  So when we make stories that reflect our children's lives, that doesn't happen.  
So creating books that reflect pragmatics can be anything ‑‑ it just is everything else that you could possibly use a book for.  So one of the books I passed around, I made before my toddlers went to visit Santa.  We were going to go see Santa on a field trip and I was, like, I need to prepare these guys because going on a field trip is a lot of stuff.  You have to line up.  You have to get your coats and then you have to get on the bus and then you go to this different place and then there's a weird guy with a beard and I'm supposed to sit on his lap?  Really so we can use these books about experiences that are coming as well. 
So to prepare for surgery. 
To prepare for going to school for the first time. 
To talk about rules. 
To say, "Oh, we don't put our pee on the floor.  We put it in the potty" so anything that a child needs as far as understanding and pragmatics can be ‑‑ converted into a book.  
All right.  I got one more example of book for you guys.  
Oh, it was visiting Santa so I hope you guys saw it.  So, yeah, we lined up.  We put on our coats.  We walk outside.  
We wait our turn. 
That was a big one in our class.  
We're not so excited that we see Santa that we just run up.  Finally, I sit on Santa's lap. 
And Santa is my friend.  
So we can use these to introduce new ideas, to help us prepare for things that are going to happen; and even for behavior.  So if you have a baby who doesn't like to sit in his high chair for dinner and mom really wants to work on spending more time in that high chair at dinner time.  
We can make a book of him sitting in the chair, and big smiley faces and thumbs‑up and every time he does it he looks at the picture and puts a star on it because he did a good job, and then depending if it....  suits your fancy, you can have one with ‑‑ with him screaming, and a sad face next to it. 
So he can see the difference.  
All right.  So now we know how to create the text.  
You guys can make some. 
Then the last step, is adding drawings, photos, mementos, something else that came from this experience.  
Your tickets, when you went to Disneyland.  A little baggy of sand that you got at the beach.  The shells that you found.  Anything that can invoke that memory of what the child did at that experience that will add more meaning for them.  
So we added all that and then what's the last thing we do?  
We read and reread and reread.  
The point is, to share positive memories and support communication. 
That leads to more engaged families, families who feel comfortable encouraging, and supporting language.  
All right.  Now, is the part we need the tables for. 
I have set up magazines.  I have set up crayons and scissors and glue, and paper ‑‑ and I want everyone to think about a child that you have in your life, and an experience you did with that child.  
And you can draw one page.  You can draw ten pages.  But think about the text that you're going to put, because you're intentionally thinking about something that you're targeting before you create the text.  
So everybody can stand up and go back, and then in a few minutes, we'll come up and if anybody feels comfortable sharing, they can share.  
(Pause.)
>> And I wanted to tell everybody when I gave you your examples I wanted to show crow some that were photos, some that had just been clip art.  Some that had just been drawn ‑‑ because you can do this in any way that you are comfortable, and the family is comfortable.  
(Pause.)
(Various conversations). 
>> All right.  Start finishing up so that we can come share.  Well, you're not writing a whole book.  Do, like, two pages.  
Okay.  So does anybody feel comfortable sharing ‑‑ I have my microphone.  
What they did with their experience book or what goal they were working on?  When they were thinking.  Oh!  We got one.  

>> I was thinking about my daughter who likes to run away from circle time; so ‑‑ 
>> Yeah. 
>> So she goes to a certain class for reading so I just said Ada walks in and sits at the table Ada takes turns in her group Ada stays at her table and doesn't run away. 
[APPLAUSE]

>> See, that's perfect!  That's perfect.  So that's the pragmatics that we're talking about.  That is something that she specifically needs to work on, and so, you use her language and her life experience, to make a book about what she needs.  
Anyone else?  
FROM THE FLOOR:  So I did one on how my friends are feeling. 
And it's targeting pronouns, and emotions. 
So, I took a picture of Ben and it says he is happy.  
And then, lily, she is sad.  And it just goes on. 
So that we can use ‑‑ practice using he and she.  And then different emotions that we're learning about.  
>> Perfect so that's syntax, and. 
[APPLAUSE]

>> ‑‑ vocabulary.  Anybody else want to share?  
Okay.  
>> So the last thing that I have are some additional resources that you can access.  So Cochlear has an entire serious of YouTube video about use using experience books.  There is ‑‑ this is all on my slide if you guys click on them you can click there's also a Facebook group that is just about making experience books called the experience book club so you can join that as well. 
And these are all my millions of citations that you guys will read, definitely, read later.  
Do we have any questions?  You want me ‑‑ you want to go back here, so that you can, actually, get those.  Yes. 
>> So ‑‑ 
>> I'm not sure it is right now, but if you e‑mail me, I can definitely get it to ‑‑ yes ‑‑ 
>> I think you can post it on your handouts now you've got five more days to post it. 
>> Definitely.  Yes, yes, yes.  I couldn't put it up before or you guys wouldn't have come.  Now you came so you can get it. 
All right.  And, yeah, these links will be on there and you can take a look.  All right.  Thank you, everyone.  
[APPLAUSE]