SECTION 3: Communication Supports in the Deaf+ Classroom

Communication isn’t a plug-and-play feature. Especially not here.

In Deaf+ students, language is often delayed or fragmented because of two separate—and interacting—factors:

1. Their Deafness blocks or distorts access to auditory language.

2. Their Autism affects how language is processed, stored, and used socially.

If we don’t explicitly build language access and communication structure into our classrooms, we are functionally asking students to learn without ever being given the right software.

The Golden Rule: Sign Everything. Show Everything.

Even if a student has some speech, some hearing, some device access—they are still Deaf+. That means visual language must be present, consistent, and rich.

You are not just giving them tools to communicate; you’re giving them access to:

• academics

• emotional regulation

• social safety

• bodily autonomy

This isn’t preference. This is survival.

🔹 What That Looks Like in Practice

Support	Purpose	Implementation
Sign Language (ASL or PSE)	Core language access	Staff should be able to fluently sign all classroom routines, transitions, and emotion vocabulary
Visual Schedules	Predictability = safety	Posted at eye level, using icons/words students understand; refer to it throughout the day
First-Then Boards	Clarify sequence and expectations	Use for transitions and task initiation; never as a reward system alone
Flashing Light / Visual Alert System	Auditory cues are missed	Use mounted or handheld flashers to signal start/end of tasks, storm warnings, fire drills, loud voices
Signs for “Break,” “Bathroom,” “Help,” “Don’t Touch,” “Tired,” “Hurt”	Core functional vocabulary	Pre-teach and review frequently with signs and symbols together
Personal Communication Profile	Every student communicates differently	Keep laminated profiles at workstations and staff lanyards with preferred signs, methods, triggers, and calming strategies

🔹 Teach the Tools Before You Need Them

Too many staff wait for behaviors to teach regulation. But if the student hasn’t practiced the communication tools in calm, they can’t access them in distress.

👉 Teach the break sign when they’re happy. Practice “hurt” when no one’s in pain. Use the “stop” card during games. That’s how these tools become real—not just posters.

🔹 Avoid Common Mistakes

🚫 Do not rely solely on AAC devices. AAC can supplement communication, but it cannot replace the deep visual fluency required for self-regulation and emotional development in Deaf+ kids.

🚫 Do not assume pointing is disrespectful. It’s often the first visual communication skill a child masters. Validate it. Respond to it. Then expand it.

🚫 Do not punish when a child communicates with behavior. Behavior is communication. Your job is to upgrade the system—not unplug it.

🔹 Partner Modeling Works Best

If you want students to gain visual language fluency, your classroom must be full of visual language in use.

Here’s how:

• Narrate your own feelings with signs (“I’m frustrated. I need to stretch.”)

• Use sentence strips to build sign phrases: “I FEEL [emotion]. I NEED [tool].”

• Point to icons as you sign them—repetition is not redundant, it’s reinforcement.

🔹 Sentence Strips and Core Boards

Use laminated strips or boards with interchangeable symbols and sentence starters. Example:

I WANT → [juice icon] I FEEL → [angry face] I NEED → [break symbol]

Rotate strips throughout the day to match routines: arrival, snack, emotion check-ins, academics.

Every opportunity is a chance to build sentence fluency.

🔹 Flashback Prevention: Explain the Why

Deaf+ students don’t hear your tone. They don’t guess your intentions. They only see what you show.

So when you leave the room, tell them. When something breaks, show them. When the plan changes, explain it.

Lack of explanation leaves gaps in understanding—and the nervous system fills those gaps with panic.