The Story of Two Mums Journey to Empower Children's Communication
Tell us who you are personally?
Elaine: I am a 42 year old mum of 2 (11 and 4). I’m from the UK and have lived on the Sunshine Coast for nearly 6 years. I was a nurse for 10 years until I moved here with my husband and son. My passion is my family, inclusion and the rights of children. I love Marvel, Star Wars and board games. I am great chatter and love meeting new people. I hate bigotry and discrimination, I dislike camping and being cold. I am a terrible singer even though it’s part of my business.
Zoe: I’m a working mum to a bright and bubbly 4 year old. Originally from the UK, but moved to NZ in 2007, where I worked as an organised crime investigator, until I could no longer handle the earthquakes and moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2018 with my husband.
My passions are creating art, inclusion and human rights. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family, swimming and reading. My dislikes are also being cold and windy days on the beach!
What is your story?
Elaine: When I had my daughter in 2018, I was looking for a baby signing group. Baby signing is huge in the UK but the only groups I could find was one in WA and one in SA, not even in Brisbane. My business partner Zoe was also looking for a baby signing group with her daughter who was a few weeks younger than mine. If you believe in fate, it seemed like it was meant to be. We were in the same mums’ group, baby sensory class, mum and bub yoga group, went to the same playgroups, ended up living a few streets away from each other and finally were both deciding to set up a baby signing group at the same time. So we decided to set it up together and received some set up funding from AVID property group who owned the estate we lived.
We were looking for products to use within our sessions but were unable to find suitable resources and so we decided to create our own. After positive feedback from class attendees and being approached by a local business that specialises in Autistic children, we carried on creating more products and expanding in that area moving on to include and incorporate children’s key word signing.
Through doing this we realised there was a huge lack of awareness and resources for key word signing for children and that’s when we made the decision to put the classes on hold so we could expand. We spent time on product production, market research, creating connections, researching, learning, and adapting (through covid and beyond).
We have since worked closely with local businesses, playgroups, parents, special schools, professionals and council to get where we are today and are so grateful to all those who support us. There are so many we are grateful to, including the local musician, Johnny Spitz who produces all our music, the local printers who are so adaptable to our ever changing requests, the local businesses who have sponsored us, our property developers who have supported us, the Sunshine Coast Libraries who have been so supportive and enthusiastic and so many others that have helped us get to where we are, not to mention our ever supportive and suffering families.
We now focus on education and training of children’s key word signing, increasing awareness, availability and access to key word signing tools and resources.
Our aim / mission is ‘wherever there are children, there should be key word signing, communication is a basic human right and every child should be given the tools to communicate, to get their needs and wants understood and met.’
Zoe: Yup think Elaine covered it all.
How do you start your mornings?
Elaine: I get woken (normally around 4:30) by my 4 year old “get up get up get up and playyyyy”, cup of tea 1, washing on, cup of tea 2, run the dog (well I wouldn’t call it running, more like slow motion flayling), breakfast & coffee with emails, coffee, coffee, tim tams and coffee.
Zoe: I’m fortunate that my husband gets up with my daughter because he “ can’t stand” me being “tired and grumpy” all day. I’m a slow riser and very much need my coffee and then cuddle my daughter on the sofa while I become human.
What is your product or service?
Elaine: Children’s key word signing products, resources, services and training.
We make physical resources - flashcards, posters, song & sign booklets, story sign books, online resources, present sign and sing sessions and offer training for Early Learning Services, professionals, individuals and groups.
Key word signing is an amazing communication tool that can be used by anybody. We use Australian signs alongside speech, gestures and facial expressions as a communication aid. For babies, it is a bridge between non-speaking and speaking. Babies on average can communicate their needs through speech around 18 months, with baby signing, they can communicate their needs as young as 6 months.
For children that have any form of communication difficulty, speech delay, disabilities – physical or psychological, it can be a vital tool for getting their needs and wants understood and met and can be used in conjunction with other forms of Alternative and Augmentative Communication as an assistance to communication, an alternative to communication and also a bridge to speech to assist in speech development.
There are so so so many benefits to key word signing I could talk about it for hours however I will highlight just a few. Reduced frustration and meltdowns, enhanced bonding, increased self esteem, beneficial for child development – physically, socially, psychologically, emotionally, increased fine motor skills and special awareness, assists with reading and writing skills, increased language development, assists in multilingual families, stimulates both sides of the brain including the language centre. Through all the research there were no negatives found, the very worst that can happen is nothing and the best is just amazing!
If you could meet one person in this world, who would it be?
Elaine: This is so hard, there are so many people, dead, alive & fictional who I’d love to sit and converse with. I love to chat and would adore just sitting asking question after question. People like, David Attenborough, Freddie Mercury, Emmeline Pankhurst, Darth Vader, so many more.
Zoe: I would love to sit down with Jacinta Ardern, I find her such an inspiration, who has achieved so much so young while still seeming so level heading. She is one of the very few people I believe got into politics for all the right reasons, to make the world a better place and I think I could sit and listen to her talk for hours.
Who is on this journey with you?:
Elaine: My business partner Zoe – we are an awesome team. We are similar in our beliefs and core principles but we are we are quite different in ways which makes it work. We have different skills, strengths and weaknesses, we know each others skills, strengths and weaknesses and our place in the business but we both believe in what we do and are passionate about it. My family – my ever supportive husband who get roped into all sorts of things and my son and my daughter – who have been dragged from place to place and even starred in some of our videos.
Zoe: Elaine! She has such amazing skills but the ones I appreciate the most is her approachability, friendliness and ability to connect with anyone while I hide away being the introvert in the corner. Similarly to Elaine my family has had to come along for the ride with my daughter loving being part of the videos for Sunshine Coast Libraries.
If you were face-to-face with a mumma who is struggling, what would be your message to her?:
Elaine:
• Don’t listen to anyone else, listen to your gut.
• If your children are alive and you love them then you are doing the most amazing job.
• Do what feels right for you not anyone else
• No one has got it together, we are all struggling with our own issues.
• Don’t feel afraid to reach out, people will support you
• It’s ok, tomorrow is another day and your children still love you.
They all sound like cliches but they are true.
Zoe: Please go and get the help that you need. I suffered from post natal anxiety when my daughter was born and it took me too long to go and get the help that I needed. No one will think any less of you and you owe it to yourself and your family to feel the best you can.
Where can we go for more information?:
www.sunshinesignandsing.com.au
mail@sunshinesignandsing.com.au
Facebook – Sunshinesignandsing
Instagram – sunshinesignandsing
YouTube – Sunshine Sign and Sing