Making information visual in South Africa

01 August 2008
Country:
South Africa
Organisations involved:

Sign Language and Development (SLED)

 

Synopsis:

Parents of deaf children in the rural areas of South Africa are unlikely to have access to information about
deafness that reflects their homes and communities. In addition many have limited education and find written
information hard to access. With Deaf Child Worldwide funding, Sign Language Education and Development (SLED)
has been working to produce a toolkit, to help community workers and schools deliver this information. Designed
by a Deaf and hearing team, a flipchart and video conveys information in a visual and easy to understand format.

As many parents in rural areas have limited literacy, there is an emphasis on visual information. Key themes are communicating using South African Sign Language, getting help, starting to learn, keeping your deaf child safe and praising your child.

Contents of the toolkit:

  • A mini-dictionary in a booklet and on video/DVD covering family focused vocabulary, using English and illustrations. 

  •  A video and DVD - Understanding your young deaf child. This is aimed at all families and gives examples of successful communication between deaf parents and their deaf children. 

  • Flip charts containing similar information to the video for use where there is no video player. The flip chart has pictures which support the work of a social worker. There is text on the reverse of the flip chart to help the social worker remember the most important points to cover with families.

  • A wordless picture book and video/DVD showing a signed story which is an excellent tool to help teachers and parents read to their deaf children in sign language. 

Training with SLED Toolkit, 

SLED Toolkit put into practice whilst training DeafSA staff

 

 Some learning from the toolkit

  • A needs assessment can help to find out what information is important before developing materials.

  • Visual accessibility helps where families speak different languages and where many families are not literate.

  • Involve parents who are deaf as well as those who are not in selecting and producing information.

  • Information provided on a flip chart does not need any technology! 

  • Disseminating the materials and making sure they are used is just as important as producing them.

  • It takes time to produce high quality materials – but it is worth it!

 

 

Using the flipchart to discuss during training

DeafSA's Social Auxiliary Workers received four-day training on how to use SLED Toolkit 

Read more.... 

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