This video shows how to sign 'Water' with the Canaan Barrie On Body sign system.

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To sign "Water": Stroke your hand down the person's throat, indicating the path water would take if the person drank it.

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What is the Canaan Barrie On Body Sign System?

The sign system was developed at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh.  It is used to communicate with children who have multiple disabilities as well as being visually impaired. 

On body signing helps develop a young person’s natural gesture and, in turn, helps them communicate better with their world around them.  Signing also encourages and develops spoken language giving more meaning to the individual word.

There are universal Canaan Barrie signs but not every child will need every single one of these. Canaan Barrie signs are developed as a relationship between an adult and child grows. Each child’s Canaan Barrie signs are slightly different as they are unique to them.

Five tips when on body signing:

* Sign only the key words in your sentence.  
* Observe carefully for any kind of reaction from the young person.  
* Think about your position in relation to the individual i.e. come in close.  
* Slow your speech down and use expressions, especially with the key signing words.  
* Due to the visual impairments of the young people, be sure not to take the child by surprise and always introduce who you are first.