About the Instructor
Hi! I am Lisa Curley, a Master Signing Time Instructor with Signing Time Academy. I have my Masters Degree from Florida State University in Emotional Handicaps/Learning Disabilities, and my teaching certificate also includes Varying Exceptionalities. I have taught kindergarteners to adults, but spent most of my time in middle school until I stopped working to care for my first-born son.
Although I was interested in sign language long ago while teaching at a school with deaf students, I really fell in love with it more than five years ago. That was when Signing Time (and God) delivered a miracle to our family.
Our Signing Time Miracle
Our second son had suffered a severe stroke before he came home from the hospital. It severely affected his left brain, which is where the language centers are located. At age two, he did not communicate at all, except for crying. I decided to give sign language a try. I had picked up a book and DVD set from the book store. Although the information was useful, it was not geared for children to watch. Neither my son nor I were enjoying the very dry video. Convinced that there must be materials designed for children, I did a search and found Signing Time!
Once I put the Signing Time DVD in, it was love at first sight. Our son loved the music and images. The program not only shows the signs for the word, but it also shows the word in print and the concept of the word while saying it and singing it. In a very short time, he made his first sign. I gleefully responded to it, and I could see the light bulb turn on. It was like Helen Keller’s “water” moment. He suddenly understood the concept of communication! After that, he signed like crazy, and within only a few weeks, he began to say the words he could sign. Signing Time provided him that bridge to link the visual/physical with the auditory/verbal. Within about a year, he tested in the “normal” range for speech and language, and he began reading and spelling on his own. Now at age seven, he is doing great in regularfirst grade, he's an above average reader, and he still knows (and loves) signs.
Why we started Sign2Shine
As amazing as our story is, we are not unique. I have since found and personally observed story after story, much like ours, and research supports what we witnessed to be true. Looking further into it, signing helps everyone! Not only does it help with early communication, but it also helps with later academics. And, beyond that, it can be a bridge to link us to members of our own community both hearing and deaf, who use sign to communicate.
Since our Signing Time miracle, I have shared this program with anyone who would listen. I tried in earnest to get Signing Time staff (Two Little Hands Productions) to come to the annual Family Cafe (Florida’s state-wide conference for individuals with disabilities and their families) to get the word out to as many people as possible in Florida...especially those whose children have disabilities or even simple speech delays. To my (and their) disappointment, they were unable to attend.
Then, in the Fall of 2009, I received word that Two Little Hands Productions was starting Signing Time Academy...I could TEACH! I could reach more people! I could even present at the Family Cafe! What a dream come true it is to have the privilege of sharing the immense benefits of sign language and the joy of Signing Time with others! I really look forward to sharing this with you.