The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children will launch a free iPad application that teaches Australian sign language to users, helping them to communicate with the deaf.

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The Auslan Tutor: Key Signs application displays short video clips of 150 signs and has been designed for use on the Apple iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Developed by experts at the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC), this “lite” version will help anyone wanting to learn Australian Sign Language (Auslan) and communicate with someone who is deaf.

Users of the “lite” version can learn how to communicate a select group of common words including the alphabet, numbers one to 10, “please”, “thanks”, “how are you?” and many more useful references found similarly in travel guides.

Each Auslan sign is presented with a photo of the handshape used to form the sign and a video clip demonstrating how the sign is produced.

RIDBC Multimedia Developer, Ronnie Lam, said that RIDBC Auslan Tutor: Key Signs is the first free Auslan resource of its kind available anywhere in the world for an iPad.

“It is the first free Auslan based tutorial reference program in the iTunes store developed for the iPad which was launched in Australia earlier this year. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, it will be a useful resource to anyone wanting to learn about the basics of what is a complex, visual language,” said Lam.

Auslan is the language of the Australian Deaf community. It has a unique grammar which is different to written or spoken English.

A program like this isn’t designed to replace Auslan classes, but for beginners the RIDBC Auslan Tutor: Key Signs offers a simple introduction.

The launch of the application coincides with the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children’s anniversary celebrations. Over the past 150 years, RIDBC has been dedicated to helping children overcome the immense challenges associated with having impaired hearing or sight.

You can download RIDBC Auslan Tutor: Key Signs from the Apple iTunes store from 20 September. For a more comprehensive understanding of Auslan with over 500 signs, phrases, full sentences and grammar instruction you can download the full-version for AU$49.99.

RIDBC’s Auslan Tutor: Key Signs can be downloaded free from the iTunes store from Monday 20 September.