Wanting to Teach Sign Language

I am a deaf mother of three hearing boys (now 18, 15, and 12). I use American Sign Language (ASL) with them ever since they were born. They picked up real fast, and they have no problem with their verbal skills. I am very disappointed one of the mothers refused to use sign language in her day care. ASL doesn't interfere with verbal skills, it only enhances even more! I am always thrilled babies, toddlers, and young children are using ASL because it's a beautiful language, and the deaf community across the country desperately needs more sign language interpreters. It would be a good career for those who want to be interpreters for the deaf communities. There is a severe shortage of them, thanks to the booming business of video relay services, i.e., Sorensen, Hands on VRS (HOVRS), Hamilton Relay, etc.

I want to add that there is a new coalition set up called Deaf Bilingual Coalition (DBC). Its mission is to educate parents, doctors, audiologists, teachers, and the Alexander Graham Bell (AGBell) organization to allow deaf babies, toddlers, and young children to learn ASL after receiving cochlear implants (CI). Those people are strongly discouraging parents from teaching their deaf children with CIs our ASL and to emphasize on their oral skills and audio-visual therapies (AVT). Those people tend to think that deaf children with CIs will fall behind with their verbal skills and education. It's absolutely not true! It's bitter irony and sad that hearing babies are learning ASL whereas deaf children are forbidden to learn ASL. The DBC is having its conference in Milwaukee, WI, at the end of June. Check their web site at http://www.deafbilingualcoalition.com/

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There is a wonderful site that teaches little ones their alphabet as well as the option to learn the alphabet in sign language: www.starfall.com My 4 year old granddaughter just loves working this site. Also, it is never to early to teach your child. Start now! Scholastic readers offers a book called My First Book of Sign Language Joan Holub priced at $3.50. You can search their site for availablity at www.scholastic.com You can also get DVDs and tapes at www.signingtime.com ;however, they are expensive. Good luck. Love and Hugs, L.

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I run an at home day care and also have a 2 year old of my own. I do some basic sign language with them and start doing the signs to them fairly early. I dont expect them to do them back right away of course, but when I say things like please, or more or drink, etc. I just add the sign part along with saying it. My daughter picked up on this rather quickly and I do think that it helps with communication. You dont have to teach them everything, but some basics will help them be able to show you what they want when their beginning verbal skills aren't fully there yet and hopefully save you a few headaches. Here is a website I used to get some of the basic signs. It is excellent because it shows acutal clips of how to sign the words. I usually went to the top where it says "Dictiionary of Signs". http://www.mybabycantalk.com/index.aspx
Good luck :)!

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A., oh my goodness, this is right up my alley! I have my own little biz where I teach Sign Language (American or "Baby Signs" to hearing infants/children/ and their parents). I'm at www.parentsandchildrensigning.com I also teach a "Baby Signs" class at Gymboree Play and Music, in Webster Groves (Wed. 6:30-7:10). This is an awesome gift to give your child. And you. I got started when my son was born (hearing.....I had been teaching deaf kids at the time and so had the signing background). He took to it an BOY did it make my life a helluva lot easier! His first sign was "more" at 9 months, but that's early. His sister signed at 12 months. I recommend starting now. Just like talking to your son, you're not going to wait until he can talk back, right? So, get going on learning some basic vocabulary so that when he is ready to sign (anywhere from 10-12 months), you already have the vocabulary and are not running to the dictionary trying to learn the sign..therefore missing the opportunity.

I start with food signs b/c really, that's all kids ever want, right? Altho, since he's only 3 1/2 months, he's probably not eating. If you are nursing, or even if you're not, when you give him milk, I would sign "milk" (squeezing fist together twice, like you're milking a cow.....lovely, eh?). Only sign it when you are ready to give it; otherwise you'll confuse/piss him off. "Please" and "thank you" are nice, but I don't deem those signs of necessity. No child is going to freak out b/c he can't communicate "thank you." He will, however, pitch a fit in aisle 7 of Schnucks if you don't understand what "ca ca" means. Teach him the sign for cracker (later..when he's eating...) and he'll stop throwing tantrums. The #1 reason for temper tantrums??? Lack of communication. He knows what he's saying. And it will eventually make him mad that you don't know what "ca ca" means.

I'm blabbing. But feel free to email me. I can do private lessons or feel free to come to Gymboree (31 Allen Street) for a free preview class. Tomorrow night is Week #2 (each session is 6 weeks long). Good luck. And be patient! The earlier you start, the more patience you will need b/c he's not ready to sign back yet. But do it. It is super cool! Check out you-tube, also, for moms signing.
--A.

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I didn't start until my daughter was older, almost a year, but I wish I had started sooner. She "got" it right away, and it was harder teaching me than teaching her (and she still doesn't know very many, because I would have to figure them out). It's a great way to improve communication. My older daughter started talking young (as in full sentences at a year, I swear) and we never did it, but I wish I had with her too. I'm sure I'll do better next time around. Anyway, here's a website I used a bit, just an asl site to look up words... http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm

Enjoy it. I think the sooner the better, remember it's mostly you you're teaching!

K.

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I would go to the library and check out a book on baby signing. The earlier you start the better. Also, be consistent with signing. I have started signing to my son who is now 7 months old. I'm not sure if he knows any of the signs yet, but we teach him "more", "nurse" and "all done". Hopefully, this will help deter some future temper tantrums a little later. Good luck.

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We use the Baby Signing Time DVD's and my daughter loves them. They keep her interested and will watch them over and over again. There are 2 volumes for babies that are available through the library. You may also purchase them through their website signingtime.com, however, I have found them cheaper at Amazon.com. They also have several volumes for 1 year and up! We say the word as we are signing it and I actually think it is helping her to speak. I agree that it definately difuses some of the temper-tantrums. Have fun!

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I have a 13 year old deaf daughter and a 6 year old son. We learned sign language early and when I had my son I started to teach him early. He knows quite a few signs and is now starting to put them into sentences. Sign language is a fun way to teach children how to communicate before they can talk and tell you what they want or need. There are books, dvd's to help with learning sign. There is also a great web site www.aslpro.com that is very useful because in the books it is really hard to tell what they are doing in the illustration. It would be best to learn the alphabet first and go from there. Good luck!

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There is a book called "Baby Signs - How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk" by Linda Acredolo & Susan Goodwyn. I highly recommend it. At this age, you can start learning the signs yourself & just use them around your daughter. She'll start associating the sign with your words & you'll be amazed one day when her little hands tell you she wants more of something, is hungry or needs a clean diaper, etc. Good look!

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Start now. Also, the Liberty Parks and Rec (thru the community center) has several classes that teach parents how to start SL with their babies. Check out their website to see when the classes are offered. www.ci.liberty.mo.us/LPR Or maybe your local comm. center has classes also. I think Children's Mercy was offering some at one point. If you can't find one, check out the library. It is never to early to start. You just have to be consistant. Good luck and God Bless.

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I did a party with Discovery Toys one night at a house with an 8 month old and 3 toddlers. We popped in the DVD of Baby Signs. Within 15 minutes all the kids were captivated and starting to sign. The set comes with the DVD, 2 board books, and a chart to hang up for non signing people. This is an item that we have been told will not be continued in the fall catalog. When they are sold out of the warehouse, they will be gone.
Check my website for this and other lifetime guaranteed, educational toys! www.discoverytoyslink.com/boyoachum
L.

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I bought a set of sign language cards for babies(@ a big box store like borders or barnes and noble) when our 6 yo son was a wee one. I had all the good intentions of using them! May I commend you for wanting to teach many different types of language to your son! Sounds like he has bright parents! To tell the truth..our son learned the alphabet and many phrases/words in sign while in preschool!!! All the same it is a wonderful thing to bring sign to the hearing world. It brings us closer.
p.s. I have seen a show for children that uses sign as a teaching tool on our local PBS station. It is really fun and easy for children to do and understand. Good for you Mom!

Hi A.!
I started using sign language to my son the minute he was able to sit up by himself...(I'm pretty fluent in sign)Before he could talk he was using simple sign..more, milk, please, please, sorry as well as naming animals...and it was great! However I must say he's turning 2 next month and my son..prefers to sign more than talk..and will even make up signs for things... I'm not too worried about it...because developmentally he's on target...I encourage you to develop these skills...It's quite fun!
C.

Hi A.,
There is a book you can buy called "Baby Signs" that has a lot of information, helpful hints, and pictures of the signs (a glossary) and it's written by the creators of Baby Signs. It went really well for my son (now almost 4), but my 11 month old daughter hasn't quite picked it up like he did. She, however, is more interested in figuring out how to actually talk. Every child is different! Good Luck!

I taught my oldest daughter (now almost 4 years old) sign language and it was amazing!! She was communicating with us with words like you said, more, hungry, please, milk, etc, by the time she was 10 months old. I did not start with her until she was about 8 months old but I was later told you can start from day one and they will pick up on it. I now have a 5 month old daughter and I have been using the signs just as you talk with them everyday. It was so neat with the first one, I can't wait to see it work again!!

Babys can use sign language a long time before they can say the words. A deaf child will be saying short phrases by the time a hearing child is saying words, My grand son would get so frustrated trying to let us know what he wanted that we taught him a few signs and it helped a lot. By bout 6 months they can start to understand by 9 months they start to use a few signs by 1 1/2 y/o they can do real well. Their signs will not be as formed as the real sign (the sign for more is to tap the tips of your fingers together and they may clap their hands together etc) but if you say the word and sign it to them you'll be suprised how quickly they learn. there are tapes available to help you learn and that they can watch with you to help them learn. Just don't try to teach them to many things to start out. I and my 2 daughters have used it for my 3 grand kids. Good luck

HI A.,

Signing is great. I recommend the book "Sign with your baby" by Joseph Garcia, and their website is www.sign2me.com
I signed with both my daughters, and it really helped. I think I started at about 8 months old, and sometimes it seems to take a while for them to "get" it, but it is so exciting when they do (babies understand a lot more than we think!)

Best of luck!

We have an excellent video called "Talking Hands" that taught my children a lot of basic sign language. They both started watching it when they were a little over a year old.

Baby Einstein has a DVD about signs. We got it when my daughter was 6months. Her dr said that they really don't start using the signs themselves until they're about 9mo, but they understand it earlier. So, I'd say the more they see it, the more they will remember.
Good Luck!

A.,
Check out www.communicationforkids.com it is a local business owned by two women who are passionate about improving communication with children. They sell a book/cd combo that is wonderful called Baby's First Signs (spiral picture book) and Talking Tykes (cd). You can also contact Diana Foster at ###-###-####

I started signing to my daughter around six months as well. She didn't seem to be picking it up at all but one day when she was about 11 months old she really wanted more of a snack and just started signing more out of no where. So even if your little one doesn't seem to be understanding or getting it just keep it up. My daughter is now 20 months old and still uses the signs for more, please, and cheese(her favorite food). I actually found a childs board book with signs that got us started. Once she had picked up the signs in there she needed I found other books on signing to give her any other words that were needed. Good luck

For me the easiest way to get my daughter to pick up on the signing was just to start using them when you use the word that goes with the sign. I was amazed that one day she just started using the signs! I don't think there is anything wrong with starting now with them. Babies learn what they see!

I think I started somewhere around 4/5 months, where I was using it just so she saw it for a month or so. Then I started "helping her" with the signs one at a time for a week then adding a new one the next week and so on. By the time she was 9 months she knew "please, thank you, milk, more, eat and all done" and used these easily. My sitters also knew these signs and worked with her as did her daycare. I honestly think that was one of the best things I did for her. It gave her a "voice" and elleviated a lot of stress for her.

I started with more. This is best to do when they are starting to eat baby food. - especially finger food. I mainly started around 6 m. and had the daycare do it too. Just with more. My older son picked up 5 signs by 9m. My younger is 12m. and ony knows 3 signs. It depends on the kids and how often you do the signing. Good luck!

BabiesRus also offers a free intro class (I think someone from Gymboree usually comes to do the class). It will give you teh basic overview and then it is helpful, as others have suggested, to go online or buy a book with some other basic signs. We started at about 6 months, and my daughter is about 11 months. She hasn't signed anything yet, but we also haven't been as consistent as we should've. It's hard to keep signing "more" and "nurse" and "eat" when you don't know if she will ever do it back...but she eventually will!

6 months is a good age to start. A few things to keep in mind though. Always say the word you're signing - speach is the ultimate goal. Make sure you teach others who are watching him the signs he uses - no need for Grandma to be frustrated while she babysits. And don't feel restricted by the signs you find in the books - if his 'sign' is different, but you can still tell what he means just go with it! Have fun.

L.

You can use sign language to talk to your baby now. As you say certain things, use your signs at the same time so the baby can tie them together eventually. There is a book called "Baby Signs" you can get. I ended up just getting a cheap paperback 'sign language' book and picked through it and chose the signs I wanted to use. For example, every time I finished changing his diaper I would say "All Done" and use the sign for it. And when he was older and sitting in the high chair and it was clear he was finished eating because he had knocked the rest of the food onto the floor, LOL. I would say "Are You "All Done"?" and use the 'all done' sign. Eventually my children would sign that they were all done. They would sign, "All done" BEFORE they knocked the food off the high chair and if you didn't get to them in time, well, then it was your fault the food ended up on the floor, LOL. Our favorite sign was "More" because you can teach that one easy and we used it the most. You would hold a Puff (at 6 or 7 months old or so) and say, "You want more?" and sign 'more' and you could also moved him hands for him and say "More" and then give him a puff, and after a few times doing that, they learn and use it. Especially when you use sweets like an animal cracker or a sugar cookie. When he didn't like long family car rides, we played the "more" game with puffs. All four of my children learned at least a few signs and that helped our communication a lot. Congrats on your baby and good luck!

I taught my son to do sign language at six months and he does a good job with signing and talking now. I bought the movie baby's first signs by baby einstein and it is very helpful it will teach you the signs and everything.

I started as soon as my son started focusing well. The sooner you get into the habit, the easier it will be and possibly the sooner your child will pick it up. My son does the sign for all done, it's the only sign he has right now, but he's been doing for about 5 months (he's 16mos). If you're really interested you can pick up the book, "Baby Signs." I don't think you need to read the whole book, I did and it was very repetitive. Just skip to the back and study the signs. Lol! Good luck!

Start anytime. Just be consistent. My son mostly signed until two and then starting talking fast. The signing helped me understand him for those first two years instead of going crazy.

Children start talking around one year but you don't wait until then to start talking to them right? Start signing now if you wnat him to catch on sooner. Also, the signing will help in the long run to develope better communication skills, but in the short run may cause a small speech delay. Don't be allarmed by this because he is still developing the communication/speech part of his brain through signing. We did almost six months of intense speech therapy that was just devoted to signing and that is what finally at 2 1/2 got my son talking! Of course he happens to be autistic which was the main cause of the speech delay for him. He is still in speech therapy, but the signing really helped him. Hopefully your son is not autistic and the signing will just be there to enhance his communication skills. By the way, research has shown that children who sign tend to read earlier as well.

Your baby needs to see the signs with the spoken word. Pair both. Say and sign bye-bye or please, etc. A child must be able to imitate hand movements prior to signing but they can learn that words have meaning and they can understand way before they can talk or sign (use expressive language).

My niece wanted to do this with her daughter, so I had gotten a Baby Einstein DVD about Signing with Baby. She is thrilled that it works and seems to make her baby so much more contented since she can communicate what her needs are. Interestingly enough, she will NOT sign Mommy or Daddy since she can SAY those words. She will only sign for things she can't say yet, and she's just turned 1. Get started right away. They understand so much more than people realize before they can talk.

Wait until he is waving bye bye and clapping his hands. We did some signs like more, and help me. Our kids were both early talkers, and I think that was part of the reason.

I haven't read all of your responses, but the ones I did read were good. You can start using a few now, but don't expect them to use them until they are pointing, clapping, and starting to imitate you. It really can help lessen both of your frustrations when they have another means to communicate. Good luck!!

Hi A.. Baby sign is a wonderful thing! It really cut down on the temper tantrums and crying when my daughter was younger. I signed up for the class when she was 4 months old. The instructor said it was perfectly fine to start using signs in front of her while saying the word, but not to expect her to start using them until she was around 9 months old. We started with "more" and "please," then went on to "drink" and "hungry." Those were the main ones, especially "more."
As for how to get started, we were overseas when I took the class through my local community center. I would think you could check with some of the larger hospitals in the area that offer various classes or check out the local bookstore. The books are pretty good about having exact directions and pictures showing how to make the signs.

I think it is really cool that people do this but make sure you still talk to the child(ren) I have seen babies that won't talk because they know sign language. Also if your child will be going to daycare find out if they are willing to work with you on this. I do daycare and had a parent tell me that they were working on some words with their child I told them that is good but I talk to them all day I don't do sign language that is something that they can do at home but I do not do here. Partially because I have other children in care. I don't want to make someone think I am against this because I am not. I just never taught my children and I am not comfortable with it because I have a fear that the child will not be talking because they don't have to use vocal words because they know the words in sign.

They say that you can start with hearing babies around 6 months and it will take them a while to pick it up. The Baby Einstein videos has a video called first signs that shows a few basics. I also bought a book that had several in there. I started teaching mine "more" and "milk" b/c these two sounded exactly the same when she said them.

I started teaching my daughter baby sign language at 7 months. It has been wonderful!!! I first took a baby sign language class when I was in college. To find classes in your area, contact your local college, WIC offices, or Head Start office. The other source that I have found VERY helpful is the Baby Einstein's Baby Sign Language video. It touches on most of the signs, but it does not teach the usual ones of more and thank you. That video will help others that interact with your child also. My parents, sister, and brother found it helpful after getting frustrated not understanding what Briana was asking for with her signs. When looking for a daycare, I asked each one if Briana's teacher knew baby sign language. Only ONE daycare, out of the ten I interviewed knew sign language!! I was amazed that they didn't know sign language!! Even Kindercare teachers didn't know sign language. I was sad to see this new communication technique not used in early childhood centers yet. I picked the daycare that did know and Briana does very well.
Some may tell you that teaching your child sign language will impair their talking. That was not the case with my daughter. She started talking at the normal time. I believe that you have to SAY the word when doing the sign. When Briana felt more comfortable with the word and being understood, she doesn't do the sign as much now. She will use her words.
Just take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Do what is best for you, work at your own pace, repetition, and HAVE PATIENCE!! I started teaching at 7 months but she did not catch on until 10-11 months. Good luck!

I agree... 6 months is a good time to start. And it really is amazing, just about the time you're ready to give up because it just doesn't seem like they're getting it, they sign "more" or a different sign that you have been showing them over and over and over and over again! That simple sign makes it all worth while!

I did this with my kids and it was great! They did not get as frustrated because they could let me know what they wanted. The moter skills develop faster then the vocal skills. They are never too young to start. They learn by example, so if you use sign language when you talk to him, he will be learning and will pick it up. I even took my childrens hands and helped them say please and thank you when it was appropriate. My children were stuburn at first, but when they figured out it helped them it was really good.
It also teaches good manners at a young age.

Oh, one more thing. My brother and his wife also use this. They taught their children a ton of words. I was amazed really at how much his children learned before thay began speaking. When they start to talk it all sort of just fades away. ( speaking of the signing). Good luck to you, and God bless.
By the way we learned this through a class called Growing Kids Gods Way, you should check it out. It is good.

About me: A SAHM of 3 a girl age 12, and 2 boy's 9, and 4. I love being a mother. I have been married to my best friend for 18 years on June 2.