Baby signing (sign language)

[pantheraba]

You guys and gals with new babies might want to look into this...we are doing it with Hayden and it is very awesome to see it work.

We got the first video and tried it...he picked it up so quickly that we got several more. We watched it with him and picked it up as he did. He can sign: eat, more, apple, bird, dog, sign (as in I want to watch the "signing video"), please, thank you, help, hurt (as in "I hurt"), frog, cracker, flower, train, milk, juice, drink, sun, car,and a bunch of other ones that I can't remember until I see him do them. He knows the signs for red, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue, rainbow, daddy, grandaddy, grammy, fox, wolf, skunk, bike, motorcycle, sit, slide, policeman, fireman, swim, tree, walk, run, explore etc.

http://www.signingtime.com/

The only TV he has watched his first 2 years is Signing Time. The dvd's are very entertaining...but more importantly, when he makes a "d" sound we didn't always know what he meant...but when he patted his leg at the same time (sign for dog) we knew exactly what he wanted. It cuts down a LOT on the frustration level for babies...and parents.

We started Hayden at about 12 months...he could have started much earlier.

The videos are great, well made, high quality. We are excited about it..just passing it along.

 

[Stumper]

Gary , THAT is way super,uber, mega cool.

 

[stehansen]

What's the sign for shut the freaking chipper off?

 

[Newfie]

We did that with both of our boys, no videos though. They had a pretty good sign vocabulary before they could even talk. We started them at 5 or 6 months. It's nice when they can sign things like "hungry" or "sleepy". Studies have shown that it vastly improves their verbal skills. If you start them early enough they will create their own signs. Both boys used soft to mean cat.

 

[Paul B]

ok, we are so doing that when junior comes along. too cool.

I learned the ASL alphabet years ago and a few basic signs when I had a deaf fella working for me at a nursery, made life WAY easier than the other people who just yelled at him or talked while looking away, like, hello, do you get the concept of READING lips? I could 'talk' to him from 50 meters away.

 

[rumination]

I never knew about that before, very cool!

 

[vharrison]

Gary, that is so cool.

What's the sign for shut the freaking chipper off?

That is funny, I don't care who you are!!

 

[pantheraba]

ok, we are so doing that when junior comes along. too cool.

I learned the ASL alphabet years ago and a few basic signs when I had a deaf fella working for me at a nursery, made life WAY easier than the other people who just yelled at him or talked while looking away, like, hello, do you get the concept of READING lips? I could 'talk' to him from 50 meters away.

My mail lady is deaf and she tolerates me ambushing her and practicing on her. I only recently realized how isolated deaf people might be/feel in our speaking society.

It can be useful...my wife, son and daughter all know some sign now and use it sometimes. We played "Guesstures" at our family Thanksgiving get-together...kind of like charades. The other team got kind of ill when they realized we were using sign language on some of the words.

Sign language is very intriguing to me. I am delving deeper into it...have gotten some books and video programs to help learn some of it. I recently found an ASL class being taught a church (American Sign Language) and hope they start a new class soon.

It's pretty cool being able to communicate across the yard without speaking...or when you are trying not to wake the baby...or when THE FRIGGIN' CHIPPER is so loud you can't hear anything else...or when you are way up in the tree and sign "water" to have it sent up.

 

[MasterBlaster]

They've been using hand signals in aviation from the beginning. It works quite well.

 

[Old Monkey]

I've seen this with other kids. We didn't do it with Haley. She has had great verbal skills from the beginning and has a pretty killer vocabulary for a kid her age. We thought about doing hand signs but were too overwhelmed when she was small.

 

[squisher]

We did this as well, but as Julia started speaking it fell by the wayside. My wife has taken ASL training in the past so she was the strong signer I have fumbly fingers at the best of times. It is amazing though, anything to help to communicate quicker is a real plus. We started Julia extremely young and I think that helped her to learn to talk quickly, Julia could speak basic words before she could walk, now at three she will say ANYTHING she hears. So I have to be really careful now!

 

[Frans]

That could get embarressing

 

[squisher]

Yah a tip to you brand new parents and parents to be on here, when you are referring to the movies that you and your wife will watch, don't call them 'adult movies'. We're a big hit in the video store lately.

 

[sawinredneck]

We did this with Bubba, after watching it with other children in the "parents as teachers program"!
COOL, doesn't even cover the half of it, it's just downright impressive!!

 

[Brock2saws]

Its the underlying structure of grammar that allows babies to learn language so rapidly. All languages, including sign language, have a similar set of rules (grammar) that allow coherent communication.

This is often demonstrated through the babbling process that we see all babies go through. They are practicing the sounds of their native language. Eventually these babbling noises will form into the proper pronunciations. What I always found really interesting is that deaf babies will babble too, they just do it in sign.

 

[pantheraba]

This is often demonstrated through the babbling process that we see all babies go through. They are practicing the sounds of their native language. Eventually these babbling noises will form into the proper pronunciations. What I always found really interesting is that deaf babies will babble too, they just do it in sign.

That is some very interesting info...babble-signing is something I had never considered. Thanks for the info.