Marseille Stephenson had a great idea--I think I'm going to give it a shot. It will probably help out as Rachel gets older and attempts to tell me things. So far, Born 2 Sign is the best site I've found. It's an online signing dictionary of simple words to teach your children. You don't have to be an expert to do it. We're just going to start with a few words--potty being one of them.
I've known of a few people who've done this and I've seen their little babies sign back to them, so I know it's possible. Apparently it helps the children have less outbursts because instead of simply screaming and having you guess at what they want, they can give you clues like whether they want "more," if they need a "change," or if they just need a "hug."
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Hey I have learned quite a few signs from teaching Ian. If you have any questions about how to sign something just ask. I also have about 10 Singing Time DVDs if you want to borrow them. They also show them on KUED (Ch 9) on Mondays @ 12p and on Fridays @4pm. I am not exactly sure of the times but I can figure it out if you want.
Mmmm...yeah. How has that worked out for you? Did you think it helped Ian communicate with you?
I'm a big believer in this--although I have no baby to try on yet (less than 60 days left!) because the baby is already communicating with you through her own method and it's easy for them to learn.
Some people are very opposed to it, saying that it stunts their speech development, but I disagree. Just make sure you talk when you sign, and they'll learn that they're both supposed to happen at the same time
like I said though, I have no baby to experiment on, these are just the things I've learned in my ASL classes throughout the years
good luck and let us know how it works out!
It helped us out a lot with Ian. Although he was an early talker it still helped us to know what it was that he wanted. My 2 autistic nephews both first communicated with signing and it helped my sisters out a ton to know what they wanted since they couldn't talk. Ian still signs and it great for Jared and me because we sign to each other, like if we are in a loud place and want to tell the other one something, or we do it church to communicate so we don't have to talk during sacrament meeting. It's a great thing, I actually want to learn more and try to become fluent in it.
I was SO going to do this with Miriam. And then I just didn't. And you know what? She doesn't have crazy meltdowns because of communication frustration and she never has.
I'm not saying I don't believe the reasoning behind it. And I don't doubt that it is helpful/fun/educational for a lot of parents and children. I'm just giving you an alternate viewpoint.
Have you read Confessions of a Slacker Mom?
Thanks for liking my idea! The only signs Christopher (now 2 1/2) really learned are: "ball", "milk", "book", "food", "more". It took a month or two to get it down, but once he got one, he started learning the others fast. I think I started teaching them around 10-11 months. He started using them 11-12months and even now if he wants to make a point, he uses those signs. 2 other common ones are "all done" and "toilet". He didn't have problems learning any of these words, but I notice even now the words he learned first are the words he still says in a baby way. Example: Milk sounds more like "maak."
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