We are excited to partner with Key Word Sign Australia to offer a number of workshops in NSW.

This introductory workshop in Key Word Sign will be held in Newcastle with Kasey Woodham, speech pathologist from Creating Opportunities. Bookings are required by the 8th November due to catering. This workshop will be offered exclusively to Celebrate T21 families, along with their circle of friends, teachers and support workers and is capped at 15 people. NDIS invoices/receipts can be issued. *Please select at checkout if required.

Full day in person introductory workshop:

In this introductory key word sign course, you will learn about the principles of key word sign and gesture, who it can be used with and how it can be used alongside other ways of communicating. You will understand how key word sign is different to Auslan, the language of the Deaf Community in Australia.

In the practical component of the course you will learn up to 80 new signs along with common natural gestures. You will have the opportunity to practice using speech and signs together in interactive activities, building your skills in a safe and fun group environment. You will leave the workshop with a detailed plan of the next steps in your key word sign journey, as well as a host of helpful resources to support your learning

*includes morning tea, lunch and Getting Started with Key Word Sign book.

Who is it for?

This workshop is suitable for any one who wants to learn about key word sign. It is our introductory qualification and is the pre-requisite for all other courses in our range. You do not need any experience of skills with key word sign to benefit from this course.

What is Key Word Sign?

Key Word Sign (KWS) is the use of signs and natural gestures to support the communication and language development of children and adults with communication difficulties.

KWS is one of the most widely used strategies utilised by people of all ages who cannot communicate by speech alone.

KWS incorporates signs from the local deaf sign language (Auslan in Australia), but unlike Auslan users, we use speech with sign, and the signing used is more simplified.

KWS can help people understand what is being said to them, and can be a way of sending a message for someone who’s speech is unclear or still developing.

Features of Key Word Sign include:

Use of sign and speech at the same time
Sign the key words but say the whole sentence
Use of visual strategies including:
- body language
- natural gestures
- facial expression
- directionality and placement (these are features of sign production used in Auslan, and in natural gesture)
Some use of finger spelling

KWS works well alongside other forms of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) e.g. pictures in communication boards and books.

How does Key Word Sign help?

Communication is a fundamental human need and right. We can all get quite frustrated if we can’t get our message across to other people, and can feel anxious and a bit isolated if we can’t understand what someone is saying to us.

Speaking is one of the hardest things that people learn to do! It’s the result of a rapid and precise series of movements, involving the tongue, teeth, jaw, palate, larynx (voice box), and coordinating all of that with the flow of air. We can use a lot of words to communicate, and we often say them quite fast. Adults with a disability and children with delays or disabilities can find it very difficult to produce and/or understand speech. Many of these people may use some speech but not very clearly, and many may have trouble understanding more than very simple language.

We all use natural gesture while we speak and this adds meaning and clarity to the message we are sending. People with communication problems understand what is said more easily when we use gestures because the gestures help to “translate” the words they hear. But there is a limit to what we can communicate with gestures. Using signs as well as natural gesture means we can use our hands to communicate about more things, and be more specific. When people with unclear speech use signs when they talk, their speech can be more easily understood. When the people talking to them use signs at the same time, their message is clearer and easier to understand.

Children with communication delays often have things they want to communicate but no way to do that successfully. The only thing they have left is crying, tantrums and difficult behaviour! Many adults with intellectual and other disabilities have learned some Key Word Sign (KWS) at school. They need the staff in adult services to know KWS, so they can be understood when they use it, and so they can learn more signs that would help them communicate about a broader range of topics. Both children and adults who can benefit from KWS need the people in their lives – family, friends, teachers, support staff, to learn and use KWS with them for this communication support to be of benefit.

Key Word Sign in the NDIS – Key Word Sign Australia (kwsa.com.au)

*All information from the Key Word Sign Australia (kwsa.com.au) website.