Securing the attention of students is one of the main struggles facing a special-education teacher, and communication through sign language can help overcome that struggle. Teach American Sign Language to special-education teachers in the same way that special-needs children will learn it. Use games, incorporate objects to introduce a tactile element and use mimicking to help teach sign language to teachers; they will, in turn, use similar strategies when they teach sign language to special-needs students. While a normally functioning person can learn sign language by studying a diagram, the special-education teacher must learn to teach by giving examples and engaging the student in the process.
There are approximately 100 basic words that the special-education teacher should learn before attempting to learn how to form grammatically correct sentences. Mastering the words is also important because a developmentally delayed student may have difficulty communicating through grammatically correct sentences. By emphasizing vocabulary above grammar, the special-education teacher will have a strong resource of words to call upon when communicating with special-needs students.
After teaching the basic vocabulary, instruct the teachers to begin forming sentences using the words. In sign language, only the basic essence of the words is used. For instance, instead of saying "my mom likes the movie," simplify the statement to "my mom like movie." Teach the special-education teacher about how sentences are created in sign language by asking them to simplify several sentences and express them in sign. This is an excellent method for teaching developmentally delayed children how to communicate, because they won't have to worry about verb conjugations and tense.
Play a response game to help special-education teachers learn new words and develop a strong vocabulary. Sign a word to the teacher and have the teacher sign the first thing that comes to mind as a response. For instance, sign the word "cat," and the special-education teacher might respond with "dog." Response games will familiarize the special-education teacher with the words and also provide experience with an excellent game to use within the classroom.