Would this have offended you? am having one of those moments...

[ChirpyGirl]

You know when you play back conversations and they make you feel slightly cringeworthy? I just want to check I am being silly.

I regualarly see a woman with a gorgeous little boy who has Downs Syndrome in the supermarket. He is so smiley and friendly, saying hi to everyone, that I always spot him although she probably hasn't noticed me.

Today we were stopped next to each other and she was signing 'baby' at him and pointing to DD2 so I signed 'How are you?' in BSL back to him, which he didn't respond to, fair enough, he doesn't know me from adam, but I asked her if she did Makaton or 'normal signing'?
She said 'We do Makaton', I replied that I don't know any Makaton, and she wandered off to carry on with her shopping saying 'bye then' over her shoulder.

Please reassure me that she wouldn't have taken that as offensive? I felt awful as obviously I meant BSL

I wouldn't have known where you thought you were being insensitive without your last sentence!

Of course that wasn't offensive!

BTW is your dd deaf? If not you probably do something more like Makaton than BSL - word order in BSL is different for example so it wouldn't accompany speech. Makaton is derived from BSL and designed to support speech rather than be a language by itself.

My ds is profoundly deaf and loves communicating with people who sign, several years ago he spied two ladies signing to each other on the other side of a department store and set off at a gallop to sign with them (me in hot pursuit) They were more than happy to sign with him!!

I would be over the moon if someone tried to sign to my DS in a supermarket! I guess you mean that your use of the phrase 'normal signing' might have offended her, but I really don't think so. I tie myself up in knots sometimes when I'm trying to talk to someone about the difference between DS and other children. I don't want to say 'normal' but no-one outside MN seems to understand 'NT'. I get funny looks when I say 'typical' as well. So I often end up saying 'normal' accompanied by doing quotation marks in the air , which makes me look mad as a hatter

same as yurt1

I absolutely LOVE it when someone takes an interest in my son and it warms my heart,so please don`t give this strange woman another thought (((((hugs)))))

to be fair, there's not really any evidence here that she was offended - maybe she just needed to get on with her shopping! don't stress about it

Thanks! Mad that

I don't think she was offended, she had that air of trying to remember what she needed and wanting to get home, and if I hadn't have said that then I wouldn't have thought twice, it was just one of those things I kept rethinking!

sphil - that's the thing, was trying to explain to DH and he was confused as to why she would be offended, and then me trying to explain to him how 'normal' could be construed....well, add the wine and it all got a bit convoluted!

Yurt1 - That's interesting, my dd isn't deaf and I don't know anyone who is anymore (an old work colleague was) but I have 'learnt' a bit of BSL on a course years ago, so it is probably the equivalent of me speaking fractured German or something but I do try and sign hello or how are you if I spot a child signing.

Ooh, just noticed random typing at start of my post, looks like I went a bit scouse for some reason!