The Education Department of the Arona Town Council has completed the ‘Initiation and Training in Spanish Sign Language’ programme. This initiative was aimed at the Second Cycle Primary Education students of the municipality during the school year. The programme was delivered by the Federation of Associations of Deaf People of the Canary Islands (FASICAN).
In this first edition, the programme involved nine educational centres: CEIP La Estrella, CEIP Parque La Reina, CEIP Los Cristianos, CEIP Buzanada, CEIP Playa de Las Américas, CEIP Cabo Blanco, CEIP Chayofa-La Camella, CEIP El Fraile, and CEIP Óscar Domínguez. A total of 465 children benefited from this training.
The main objective of the programme is to raise awareness among students about hearing disabilities, as well as to introduce the cultural characteristics and communication interactions of the signing community. It also aims to familiarise participants with basic linguistic aspects, enabling them to manage in everyday situations.
The Education Councillor, Héctor Reyes (CC), took part in one of the sessions where information was provided on how to communicate with a deaf person. Existing myths about this group were addressed and debunked, and the fingerspelling alphabet in Spanish Sign Language (LSE) was taught along with basic communication vocabulary.
Spanish Sign Language (LSE) is described as “a linguistic system of a visual, spatial, gestural and manual nature, shaped by historical, cultural, linguistic, and social factors, used traditionally as a language by deaf people and/or those with hearing disabilities and signers in Spain”.
The Education Department highlights that raising awareness about functional diversity is a fundamental action to promote an inclusive culture. This initiative “promotes the creation of positive attitudes of respect, solidarity, and tolerance; helps to foster coexistence, develop empathy, and support the real inclusion of people with disabilities”.
It is worth remembering that Law 27/2007 of 23 October recognised Spanish Sign Language and the right of deaf people to freely choose its use as a means of communication and learning, both in formal and non-formal education. This law also underlines the importance of allowing the rest of the citizenry access to learning and using LSE, to remove communication barriers, and urges administrations, entities, and associations to develop and promote training programmes for learning Spanish Sign Language (LSE).
