Case study: Micky

'I went to see Micky when he was two and a quarter. Initially his mum didn't want sign language because, like a lot of people, she assumed that if he signed he wouldn't talk. I started a very simple picture-based system with him. Then I thought, "This child really does need to sign to communicate", because he was obviously frustrated. He'd throw his toys or himself on the ground because his understanding was quite good, but he had no speech at all.

'I went through a whole box of toys, to find something he really liked. The only thing that gained his attention was a wind-up helicopter. I wound it up and it trundled along, and when it stopped he looked at me in expectation - which was brilliant, as he didn't make much eye contact - and I made the Signalong sign for "more". He got all excited, and his hands started flapping, so I wound it up and it stopped again, and his hands flapped and I signed again. On the third time I modelled his hands into the "more" sign. The time after that I said, "If you want me to do it again, Micky, you'll have to sign", and he tried it himself. His mum and I were both in tears, and she said, "Oh my god, he's actually done it".