The bear arms are hollow, which allow them to communicate and disguise the arms of the puppeteer. Now the bear's borrowed arms can rotate 180 degrees, and hands can tell stories in sign language, teach finger spelling, wipe a runny nose or toss a ball. Honey enters a child's world in ways limited only by the creativity of the teacher and the imagination of the students. To a hearing impaired child, a signing bear becomes character and often the element that draws the child out of his shell onto the main stream. Other innovative applications are reported regularly.
Honey can offer a stick of gum to an autistic child or help a retarded adult zip their jacket.
In the hands of a pediatrician, Honey can examine an abused child. We have found the bear works best for people who think like teachers. Some of these teachers go by different names, such as mom, dad, librarian, pastor, therapist, counselor or doctor. The Smallwoods have been inundated with joyous letters describing the happiness and progress for which the signing bear has been responsible. At the Tennessee School for the Deaf, a student with extreme hypertension was observed watching an eleven minute video featuring Honey telling a story.