Deaf Family Proud of Nine-Month-Old Deaf Son Who Signed ‘Milk’ Using American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a visual means of communication. When people use sign language, their brains sort out and interpret linguistic data through their eyes. Hand shape, placement, and hand movement, along with facial expressions and bodily movements, all convey […]
A person shared that she heard so many stories of parents being told that their baby or child has failed their hearing tests and how sorry the doctor is to inform them. Imagine being told a newborn baby has hearing loss, or that they aren’t “perfect”. It is devastating for some parents to receive news […]
Step 3 – Start Talking Are you ready to start signing? This is so exciting! It’s now time to choose the signs you are going to start with. Go ahead and choose a small handful of signs from the vocabulary link below (be sure to include not only need-based signs but sign that will excite […]
by Heather Jensen Scientists have found that the muscles in children’s fingers and hands are develop faster than the ones in their mouth and jaw, which has made baby sign language popular. Teaching your nonverbal child or child who struggles to communicate with sign language can be a great way to give them a voice […]
Step 9 – Advancing Your child is growing and advancing! How exciting! You are now probably combining signs and speech with your child. This can greatly enhance his vocabulary as well as give him the ability to learn new concepts that he may not be able to verbalize. There are many more fun things you […]
Step 6 – More Signs Moving on from basic signs you learned in Step 3, choose some secondary words from the vocabulary link below. Try to branch out a little more from the first words you learned and more closely point out the world your baby is growing into: => Baby Sign Language Vocabulary You […]
Step 5 – Caregivers Some parents who use baby sign language stay at home with their children while others leave for work. If you are working away from home, you most likely leave your baby with a caregiver or family member. If your baby’s caregiver is not involved in the signing process, this may be […]
Step 8 – Taming Stress Signing, like I said before, is great for preventing tantrums with your baby. Signing helps eliminate the frustration your child feels when she can’t communicate. For example, when your child is frantically waving her arms in the air and signing “help” to you, you would sign “help” back while asking […]
Step 2 – Getting Started The first thing you will do before you start teaching your infant sign language is pick the signs you are going to begin with. I suggest picking a handful of signs. Most parents choose signs that have to do with eating like “eat,” “drink,” or “milk.” Throw in some fun […]
Step 1 – Introduction Yes, you need to read an introduction before starting. This will just give you a background about why sign language for babies is so effective. Baby Signing Myths First, I want to list some myths about teaching your baby sign language: Signing with your baby is a new fad. Your baby […]
Step 10 – Your Growing Child When your child begins to speak, you may want to continue to teach your toddler sign language. If your child has begun to speak, you may notice that she stops using many signs. At this point, some parents will stop using sign language because they have gotten what they […]
Step 11 – Finding More Signers Getting connected with other parents who teach their babies sign language can truly be a great thing. Not only do you have some support, but you can also make great friends. When you get together, you will be able to share strategies and progress. You can even learn new […]
Step 12 – Conclusion Many parents buy a baby sign language DVD or many books to learn what you have learned in these 12 steps. You have learned so much already without buying either of those! However, if you do wish to learn more than what we have offered here, we highly recommend buying one. […]
Step 4 – When Things Don’t Go the Way You Planned You may encounter some friends or family that don’t believe in baby signing. Skeptical friends and family can definitely depress your excitement. They may quote the myths we told you about earlier or tell you that signing with your baby will never work. All […]
Step 7 – Sign Combinations Babies will often start to combine vocal words (the baby talk begins!) as they progress in their learning. This is the same for signing children. If you sign with your baby long enough, and even when he becomes a toddler, he will most likely start combining signs. This may happen […]
12 Easy Steps for Communication with Your Baby Let me guess…your baby is crying uncontrollably and you want to know what he wants so your ears can take a break. No? Maybe, then, you want to learn how to keep that from happening. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Teaching baby sign language to […]
