Kindervriend is the first school to receive the SMOG label

The method has been used for decades in De Kindervriend, but also in many other schools. The recognition means a lot to the employees.

Hilde Vangheluwe, speech therapist Kindervriend: “In total there are about 500 gestures that should make communication easier for children with an intellectual disability. It is different from the sign language for the deaf and hard of hearing. It certainly does not replace speaking , it is a visual support of it. So our children will certainly not talk less, on the contrary, the years of experience have actually proven that it is a very good method to stimulate the children’s language.”

Here the SMOG language works very well with the children. Also about what they are going to eat this afternoon. The method is also used in other facilities and in families’ homes. And that is really necessary. “Many children were frustrated or self-absorbed because they were not understood in the past without SMOG, but thanks to that method they have been able to develop and feel understood. Half a word we always say and half a gesture is communication. And that’s what we’re aiming for.”