Baby Signing - Flower Mound,TX

We are taking a baby sign language class and it is fun and pretty good. This next week is actually bring a friend week on Tuesday. If you are interested, email me and let me know.

One person expressed concern about delayed speech when signing. I actually asked several speech pathologist about this and they said that if you always say the word when you sign this is not a problem. Some studies actually show that a signing baby has a larger verbal vocabulary than average for their age as well.

My daughter is only 7 months and has not started to sign back yet, I am so excited for when she does.

Have you looked at the Baby Einstein movies. There is one called Words around the House. It is designed for babies and toddlers. It shows cup then a lady or child appears on screen with the sign for that word. My youngest learned words from the dvd way before my son did by watching the movie. It has music and is great and educational.

Victoria,

I took a baby sign language class at North Lake college when my daugher was 5mo old. It was too early for her, but the class was really centered around teaching the mom to sign so it was good. My mom went with me, as she keeps my daughter during the day when I'm at work. We both worked with her on simple signs that we could be consistent with - Eat, bath and more. My daughter picked up on eat first. She recognized the sign meant getting her bottle and would make a rudimentary effort by 7mo to make it to us when she was hungry. Bath came next - probably because she loves the bath so much! - and she will ask to have a bath by coming to us and making the sign. I think she started that about 9mo. She just recently started the 'more' signal, about three weeks ago or so (just about a week after she turned 10mo... she just turned 11mo over the weekend).

My mom was actually more consistent with these than I was, so I credit her for my daughter's ability at this point. However, about the time she picked up 'more', it sorta clicked for her that she could 'talk' with her hands and now makes all kinds of gestures that we have no clue what they mean yet.

So, I signed her up for a sign language class at FastTrack Kids. This class is geared towards babies. We've only been to one so far, but it seems good.

One thing they told us at class was to limit the signs to about 6 new ones a time. Pick six signs to start with and when he picks up one, add another to your reportoire. They categorize the signs as "motivational" and "see-alot/do-alot" signs. Motivational signs are things the baby is motivated to learn - like play, eat, bath, etc. And the others are thing that you do alot with baby, that maybe you want them to learn that would be beneficial - like 'all done', 'change diaper', things like that. They suggest to pick three from each group to start.

I bought 'Baby Signs' by Linda Acredolo & Susan Goodwyn. I liked it because they explain the way the baby learns and have pictures of some of the children doing the signs. Oh, that' something else that they mentioned at the class... don't expect the sign to come back to you exactly as you make it... some movements are difficult for babies, but it should be close enough for you to know what they are trying to sign. They warned that it's easy to then try to sign back at them the way they making the sign, but just like if the baby says "bah" for "ball", that you continue saying "ball" correctly back to them, that you should continue to sign correctly for them. They are actually trying to make the sign the way you are and it can be confusing when you change things on them.

They gave us a book and some flash cards that are great and they also gave us a video, but I haven't looked at that yet. Maybe you could find these materials on craigslist or ebay. Also, we have two of the Baby Einstein videos that have signs on them.

Ok, so that was a very long post, but I hope it was helpful. Please feel free to write with any questions. I know that not everyone can take a class, but I would be happy to share the knowledge that we get from it with you.

Good Luck!

P.

Maybe I missed it but I cannot believe no one has recommended the DVD series Signing Time. It is at the top of my all time favorite mommy things and the one thing I am sure to tell every mom about. http://www.signingtime.com/ I heard about it from a friend, bought a couple of videos and me and my 18 mth old daughter picked up the signs immediately. There was NO learning curve. I have a terrible memory! The way they teach you is amazing. My daughter had never had the attention span to sit and watch anything at that point. She was mesmerized! I understand you wanting to use books to teach but this is a very educational DVD and they teach you the signs by showing babies/toddlers/and kids doing the signs. And they have some great songs that incorporate the signs. You would not believe how easy the �Terrible� twos become when your child can communicate what he/she needs. Like, hungry, tired, hurt, thirsty, help, please. My daughter also did not have as wide of a vocabulary as some of her friends and when she started to watch the DVD�s she began saying the words she was learning the signs to. I cannot give Signing Time enough praise. I only wish I would have started her around 9 months. My daughter incorporates signs into her communication with me all day long. Check out the website and check out the our story link which will tell you the personal story and challenges the creator of Signing Times was facing when she developed this program. If you would like to know of a local distributor in the area let me know. If you live close by you could always come over for a signing playgroup!

I have been signing for years, and all of my babies signed at around 8-10 months, so I applaud your efforts. It really will make your life easier! They are too young for sitting down for any formal lessons, but every time he is eating ask if he wants more, and use the sign fo more each time. The best thing is to repeat yourself a few times, and over time he will get it. You have every right to request that the day care use specific signs with him. They may not teach him, but can follow through and encourage your efforts at home. At this age you want to keep it as simple as you hope their natural vocabulary would be, so words like more, please, help, sleep, play, thank you, eat, milk(bottle), mom, and dad are great starters. I have never had to use a video, so I can't make any good recommendations, but I do suggest a video over a book for sure. And be sure to remember that if you are right handed, sign with your right hand. It can be hard to do, as most people want to copy the person that has signed to them, but remember its more ,like a mirror image, and they most likely are using their right hand too. And dont worry that it will slow down his vocabulary, he will talk...it is easier once they figure it out, as long as you talk and sign with him at the same time. Have fun!!!

I used the book Baby Signs by Joseph Garcia. You can buy the set which includes the book, a DVD, and a quick reference sign chart. My son signed his first word at about 8.5 months. I noticed that there were many signs that he wouldn't sign, but he understood what I was signing. Just keep signing even if he doesn't seem to respond because one day out of the blue he'll do it. Have fun with it!

I took an evening class with my daughter when she was about 10 months old last fall. We took it at Mountain View Community college. It was a 6 or 8 week class (can't remember) and each week the teacher had groups of signs that we learned. She also had large picture cards of the item being signed. The groups were things like Animals, Foods, Bedtime rituals, etc. Each week we practiced what was learned previously and then learned the new set. I have also seen classes offered in Mansfield Parks/Rec. The class we took was based on American Sign Language. There are some books on Baby Sign, but they don't necessarily use the ASL signs (not sure if that is important to you or not). Anyway, it does take practice and time. My daughter took quite a few months and I blame myself for not being more consistent. The more you practice the quicker he will understand. AT first you say the word and do the sign and eventually you can drop the word and just sign. My daughter doesn't use all the signs we learned but she does use some and does understand. As far as preschool, you may have some problems getting them to sign to your son if they do not know the signs themselves. As far as DVDs I noticied that Baby Einstein has some where Marley Matlin and children sign words and they show the object or a picture of the object. Whatever book you do get be sure that there are some picture cards so that your son can make the connection.

Good Luck! If anything, it is a great thing to learn yourself and even better the time spent with your child is great bonding time.

I started signing at about 4 mos. My sitter had this great book from Wal-Mart, it is small, thick purple book- Signing with Baby?? I also got most signs from the ASL website. My daughter seemed to not understand until 9 mos. She recalled the sign for diaper change @ 11 mos. that I had given up on doing. Signing is the best thing I have done for us. It takes a lot of patients & repetition up front, but the payoff is huge in the end. Now at 16 mos, she is putting signs together and picks up new ones daily. Her vocabulary has excelled at a rapid pace also. Good luck!!

We used Baby Signs by Joseph Garcia with my first. He has a kit that includes a book, a DVD and a laminated fold-out cheat sheet that's invaluable. We started with her at around 7 months and although we tried to get our daycare to do it as well, they didn't. But, we kept it up at home - similar situation to yours - and she signed "milk" at around 9 months. Just keep it simple...all he really needs to know early on are a few basics: milk, eat, change, bath, hurt, more, done. Just use them as often as you remember to when you're interacting with him, and he'll eventually pick it up. And, it's so cool when they do - and sign back. And, don't worry about speech delay - most of the studies have shown that if you actually say the word at the same time you're signing (and talk it out when he starts signing back), that it increases their vocabulary. My little girl talked WAY before many of the other kids her age and people are amazed at her vocabulary (in fact, there are times when I wish she didn't talk as much as she does - but that's another issue altogether!) Best of luck and happy signing!!

There are several dvds out there; but the one I use with my day care groups is "Talking Hands". You can find it easily enough if you just do a search for the title.

I usually start signing with them at about this same age as your baby and it's not unusual for them to be responding by a year or so. Some take longer...but those that do will sometimes come back at you with numerous signs all at one time. We usually start with "please", "thank you", "more", "sorry", "all done", "milk", "juice", etc.

Don't get discouraged. They will sometimes start signing before you realize it because each child will do their own version of the sign at first.

Good luck and God bless...

http://www.missBrenda.com

Victoria,
I teach Baby Signs classes at the Mansfield Activity Center. If you are interested in the classes just email me and I can get you some more info. I have to agree with most people here that you just need to be consistent with your child. Make sure that you sign and say the word with it. Someone mentioned being worried about not talking if they sign. All of the research shows that the opposite is true, that they often times begin talking sooner.
I like the Signing Times videos the best besides the Baby Signs ones. To get started just pick 2-3 signs to start with and just start incorporating them in your daily routine. It may be a little hard to get used to at first but it will get easier. As he picks up on those than you can add more. Most children start signing back sround 9-10 mo. but with everything else that can obviously vary. Good Luck.

I just started signing with my 9 month old and she is picking up on it so quickly! She got eat and more down within a week or so and tries to do the sign for milk, although it's difficult for her little hands (but, if I do the sign without saying the word, she knows what it means and reacts to it). She also has her own sign for night-night and we are working on all done.

The only thing I will say is that she tends to use the sign for eat everytime she needs something. (even if she just wants her diaper changed or to go to sleep) I think she has just learned that she gets a reaction by doing that sign, so I think by working with her some more, she will eventually get it, but she is off to a great start!

I borrowed the Baby Signs book from a friend of mine and it has a video and a quick guide chart with it. The signs I started with aren't that hard, so I haven't looked at the video yet, but the book seems to be pretty descriptive and that has been enough for us to get started. Good luck! I know my little one is less frustrated when she is able to tell me she needs something.

Im a first time Mom of a 4 mo old boy and I have been hesitant to try baby signing because I'm afraid it will delay my son from actually talking. With me, my Mom used flash cards and taught me vocabulary such as dog,cat,etc and I started talking before I was walking. I get a very good sense of what my baby needs or wants because I've become accustomed to his sounds and gestures. I can tell his hungry whine from his sleepy whine or poopy diaper whine. After I feed him, I can tell he wants more if he puts his fist in his mouth. I can also tell when he's full. He is a very vocal little boy and I'd like to try and introduce flash cards and the Baby Einstein Vocab DVD's when he's 7 mos. Perhaps I'm completely wrong about my worries regarding signing. Every Mom is different so I sat go with your instinct. The response regarding the signingtime DVD sounds great. :)

Great website! http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm

I use just the basic signs with my son, and it saves us a lot of tantrums. He started to really use it after 13 months, so be patient and consistent.

Good luck!

I got these quick reference cards from a book store. They are from the publishers of PARENTING Magazine
50 easy words to learn from sleep to I LOVE YOU. They come in a little box. Very handy. You don't need anything fancy to get to the basics.
Lonie

Victoria,
I just went to Half Price books and picked up a copy of the AMerican Sign Language dictionary. We picked about 10 signe we would use- Mommy, Daddy, please, Thank you, drink, food...

Here is a web site_ http://www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDict.html
They have the same pictures.
Anyway, I just used them over and over when I spoke to my kids- so when I said :Mommy" I did the sign for mommy. If I said "Here is a drink" I did the sign for drink at the same time. When they were little (I think I began at 9 mos) I would place their hands in the position and say the word a couple of times a day with them. When #1 was in day care I made copies of the signs I was using and asked them to use them too, they did w/o a problem.
Hope this helps!
D.

Victoria,
I taught my 10 month old to sign "milk" and "please" within 5 minutes!! By the time she was 18 months, she had about 200 signs in her vocabulary and it was wonderful!! I knew exactly what she wanted and there wasn't the terrible tantrums from not being understood.

I've got my degree in American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting, so I was able to teach her myself. I did buy some DVD's, but my daughter didn't use them very much as she was able to learn from me. By all means teach him what you can! It is wonderful!

The daycare she was at did sign with her a little - but not very much. You need to sign to him on a continous basis, it's a language that they learn, just like speaking - it has to be repetative.

Signing is not as overwhelming as you may think. There is nothing better then being able to understand your child at the age of 10 months!!

If you have any questions email me directly @ ____@____.com.

Regards,
T.

I have heard good things about "Baby Signs." I already knew some sign language, so I taught them from my vocabulary. We started with practical terms - more,eat, up, mommy, daddy, cat. The one I did not teach them that I wished I had was "hurt." Just realize that your baby's sign output might look different from what you teach him. Good luck!

We have taught our daughter eat, more, please, thank you, all done, and drink. We started when she began eating solids about 6 months and she really wanted nothing to do with it until about 11 months. She could sign more or drink but only when she was really desperate and thought we weren't paying attention. When she reached 11 months though it was like a light bulb suddenly went on and she started signing more and drink whenever she wanted anything. She quickly picked up the rest within a weeks time. The way we worked with her was we would do the sign then hold her hands and do the sign for her while saying the word each time. Sometimes she gets them mixed up or she'll sign whatever she can think of but for the most part she's got the basics down.