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As I've become more independent in the last few years, I've found verbal communication really difficult. I'm hoping that learning BSL will allow me to communicate more effectively. Campus life has been extremely overwhelming and when I'm most stressed and least prepared, I physically cannot speak. It's not a 24/7 problem but it can crop up when communication is important, so I thought it would be best to trying something new. So far, I've just been writing notes but I think BSL might be able to open some doors for me. I'm so used to avoiding unnecessary social situations and writing little scripts for myself when it comes to things like doctor's appointments; it's an incredibly inconvenient and exhausting way to live. And since the british-sign.co.uk online course provides learners with a certification, I thought it would also look nice on my CV since I'm planning to work in an immensely competitive industry. All in all, it seems like a really great idea. If you're in a similar boat to me or are learning BSL for an autistic person with verbal communication difficulties, feel free to drop me a message and let me know how it's going!

Hello, My name is Amelia and I am a research assistant with the Child Orientated Mental Health Intervention Centre looking at diagnosing Autism in deaf children. To give you a little background about our study, we are recruiting families with children aged 2-18 who are either deaf, deaf with a diagnosis of ASD or hearing with a diagnosis of ASD. We have worked with international experts to adapt three autism assessment tools to make them more accessible for deaf children and young people. Surprisingly, current assessment tools have not been designed with deaf children in mind and many are often misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all! We hope that this research will help us to develop better assessment tools, understand more about how autism presents in deaf and hearing children and support families in receiving the right support Autism regularly goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed in deaf children because inappropriate assessments are being used. We are currently recruiting: - Deaf children with autism - Deaf children with no autism - Hearing children with autism Please email me at [email protected] if you can help out and I hope to hear from you soon!

Hi everyone my little boy is six years old has Down syndrome and Autism spectrum Condition. His hearing is fine but his speech is severely delayed and is only just beginning to emerge - parts of words and sounds but they're mainly copied. He attends a school which teaches BSL throughout so although he started on Makaton he has been learning BSL for the last three years. His signing is once again just copying others however when his one to one signs to him he clearly has a good understanding of the signs. We have been trying to learn BSL through books etc but I'm looking for a suitable course in the Liverpool area. The night school courses aren't suitable they seem to be aimed at adults whereas I need infant type subject matter also they are £800 basic level. Any ideas? Thanks x