[Dysphagia] OT: dysphagia patient with deafness & sign language question

[sabanach at yahoo.com (Sylvia Banach)]

Sorry if you've already gotten replies.
I agree the fist to the open palm is probably "help"
The palm can also raise up as the fist hits it.  My sign instructor said to think of Lois Lane
falling and superman catches her and takes her up. Good trick to remember.

The fist to her chin is probably a simplified "home".
Home is actually a combination of two signs sleep and eat, therefore bunched fingers ("more" hand)
 to the side of the face by the ear(sleep) and then moved down near the chin (eat).

If she were signing cup, she would most likely use "drink" a C hand to the mouth.

A closed fist to a closed fist is "Work"  usually tapped twice.  But all signs may be simplified
and can be regional, just like dialects.  Unfortunately a sexual sign closely resembles "work" but
she is probably signing "work".

"More" is made by both hands with bunched fingers coming together to touch fingertips at chest
level.

I really loved my sign language class.  Maybe you can find one offered near you or invest in a
product that has some video of the signs being made instead of just pictures.

Hope this helps,
Sylvia Banach

--- Bonnie Heintskill <bonnieh4455 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> I was seeing a patient that was cognitively delayed (age 63), profoundly hard hearing/deaf, is
> now PEG tube fed due to aspiration pneumonia.  PMH includes seizures, agitation, was on
> psychotropic medications. Ended up dehydrated and aspirated.  She is also non-verbal. Lived in a
> SNF for 25 years which closed then went to a residential group home where she got very ill.  Her
> case worker said she knew some sign language but the records never got transferred to the group
> home.   She is now at a sister group home.  When I initially saw her, she only made one sign
> which was hitting one closed fist to the other palm repeatedly.  Looking in sign language
> dictionaries I found what she may have been doing - cup - in a modified way. She also was
> repeately doing a forefinger in the air (I understand?).  I tried a binaural amplification
> system with her without any apparent success.  
> 
> Yesterday she was doing 2 -3 more signs. One she was taking her right fist and hitting her left
> cheek or chin so hard that she turned the skin red, taking her left fist and hitting her head,
> and then doing some finger signing.  She was getting very frustrated with the caregiver and I,
> which I don't blame her since I'm not a signer.
> 
> She was also doing closed fist to closed fist (more?).
> 
> 
> Anyone have a clue as to what she may be signing?
> 
> She only likes applesauce and refused to eat anything after one bite yesterday.  The caregiver
> stated she had been crushing up her meds and putting them in apple sauce.  She used to drink out
> of a sippy cup but when I tried one with her (tupperware) she refused. Group home is getting a
> new one on Wednesday and will trial it with her (nectar thick liquids).
> 
> I put together common signs for ADL's and gave them to the group home.  They didn't know that
> another resident had been using sign language so at least this helped the caregivers.
> 
> I am looking in my sign language dictionaries and don't see anything comparable. She may have
> adapted a sign or two.
> 
> Any suggestions?
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