Savannah's Story

Savannah has a social disorder that causes social concepts to be very difficult for her. Once Savannah learned the purpose of communication, she quickly learned sign language. Sign language gave Savannah a concrete representation of speech, making it easier to learn. Once Savannah is comfortble with a word, she stops using the sign and only uses the word. In about five months, Savannah went from being mainly non-verbal to expressing herself verbally and putting together two word phrases. It has now been six months and Savannah is currently learning to sing songs accompanied with signs. She is more confident, finds it easier to attempt new words verbally and is able to make new friends.

—Elizabeth (Mom)

VIDEO: Savannah, age 5, signing "beautiful" and "smart"
VIDEO: Savannah signing "water" and "more"