Bahia

I live in Co. Down with my husband and baby girl, Reya, who was born in September 2014.  I am originally from Massachusetts, USA but have lived in Northern Ireland since July 2008 and currently teach Swing Dancing as well as Sign2Music. I went to a performing arts high school from 2001-2005 where not only was I lucky enough to take classes in the performing arts, but I was also able to take three years of American Sign Language as my foreign language credit. I immediately fell in love with how expressive, logical and straightforward the language was, and I became fascinated with deaf culture and hearing about the stories and struggles that deaf people go through, living in a hearing world.

I have always been fascinated with child development and I had heard about teaching children sign language to help aid in communication during early stages, before and during speech development, and I became determined to do that with my own children one day.

I discovered Sign2Music from a simple google search and was very impressed with their approach and the importance they put on using signs from British Sign Language used in the deaf community in Northern Ireland.  I was also thrilled to see the element of singing and fun that was incorporated into the sessions.  I had done an NVQ II in Children’s Care, Learning and Development at Belfast Metropolitan College from 2009-2010, which included a placement at a nursery that I continued for a year afterwards.  I became a Sign2Music teacher in 2010 and completed my British Sign Language Level 1 qualification alongside my first year of teaching.  I am currently studying part-time for a BSc in Psychology with The Open University.

Becoming a Sign2Music teacher has been a great opportunity for me to combine my love of music, sign language and child development all into one fun-filled session.  I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every family that has joined my classes over the years and have been thrilled to see how Sign2Music has benefited them.