Just for the Fun of It

Signing has multiple purposes. We have come to find that signing has the ability to allow our children to communicate at an earlier time in their development than ever before. It becomes much of a gift. But it’s more than a gift of communication, it lends itself to a world of bonding and having fun where fun may not have been thought possible.

For example, this season, for our family, has shown itself to be a sick one. My 11 month old daughter and I were at the doctor’s office two days ago. She had had a consistent fever and was breathing quite deeply and fast with a cough.

She was trying to keep in there as we waited for the doctor to make his debut by opening that little door that stared us in the face as she was embraced in her mother’s love.

Well, as a mother, embracing doesn’t always leave your child with the comfort you had hoped to sustain you for the time being. She began to be wiggly and agitated.

I had one of those “lovies” with a small stuffed animal attached to a small blanket in my purse. I decided to play a game.

As we sat, I began to put the “lovie” below my knees where she could not see it. I had one had free to sign “WHERE.” Without the sign “where,” the game would not had involved her attention as much (including my own attention and ability to perk up for both our well beings).

I would say “where” as I signed “where”... my finger moving itself back and forth multiple times giving myself more encouragement to continue on with this simple game. For myself, with just a simple sign used, the game became more engaging and therefore more desirable to play.

As I would move the “lovie” and make a “swoosh” sound as it would rise up from beneath her eye level, I realized that even in the most unlikable situations, moments can become memorable and engaging.

I can remember the sweet bonding time we had together instead of the anxiety that was creeping in because of my little daughter being sick and waiting for the doctor.

Sign just for the fun of signing... and enjoy the engaging way it allows you to bond with each other.

Written by Shawna Tran: www.mybabydetails.com and www.vietnammylife.com

Sign Language Great for ALL!

I wanted to share an email I received the other day from a mom who began using sign language with her son after seeing Fireese sign on You Tube (I’ve removed names for privacy sake):

“Laura, I wanted to let you know how much you've helped me with my son. He is almost 4 years old now. He is a high-functioning autistic child. He was also born tongue-tied, and has a hard time forming our everyday sounds. At age 2 1/2, he had not slept for six months more than 2-3 hours at a time. Neither was I, of course! You can imagine how that sleep deprivation, coupled with a child who couldn't speak intelligibly anyway, had my husband and I at our wit's end.

One day in September 2007, I was browsing the Internet, when I came across the video of Fireese at 12 months old, doing all these signs! I called my son over and together we watched the video several times. He LOVED it! Within 45 minutes, my son was able to start communicating with me like never before! I could understand him when he needed a drink, or a diaper change, or his favorite toy (a pink monkey!), or to be left alone.

I realize that you may not realize this, or believe you're just using your own talents, but you and your beautiful daughter are angels to me!

My son ended up getting a speech therapist who provided us tons of flash cards with signs on them to learn. He will be 4 years old in June, and I'm now looking to find ASL classes to keep up with him!

I don't know where we'd be today if we hadn't found your video online - I really
don't. Thank you so much for taking the time to put it up and share it. I will always appreciate it!”

This email made my career and it’s emails like this one that make me so happy that I began posting videos of Fireese showing what children are capable. I hope this email encourages all parents to sign with their children; it can be such a useful tool to ALL!

by Laura Berg; Founder of My Smart Hands, 'educating young minds'

Starting to Sign....

At two years old, my younger son was finally able to keep his center fingers down to sign "I Love You."  Until that time, he signed it with an open 5 hand.  Both of my children demonstrated understanding my signs around 4 - 5 months.  They began to use signs at 6 1/2 months, and put two signs together around 9 - 10 months.

Remember something very important--- they saw me signing since the moment they were born.  I already knew ASL... I didn't have to learn a new language and way of communicating at the same time I was learning to be a new mommy.  

So relax.  Give yourself time to become comfortable signing.  Enjoy the process.  Give your baby time to take it all in--- and once you think he/she understands you, give him/her the opportunity to express needs & desires.  

We have had children in Baby Fingers classes begin to sign at 8 months, and others not until 18 months.  There have also been children who never signed but began speaking-- really clearly speaking-- at 15 months.  Their  parents directly credit the exposure to sign and the focus on language in general.  

As Etel said so elequently below, there are benefits at every age and stage of development.  So expose your child to language from day one, and to signs as early as you are able... that could be at 3 months or at 2 years.  And again, enjoy the process... you will enjoy the results!

To read my Mother's Journal of my children's sign development, take a look at the OUR STORY page on www.mybabyfingers.com.  Happy signing!  :) Lora

What is the earliest age that I can start Sign Language classes?

I get asked this question regularly by curious parents who are eager to start signing with their baby or child. I truly love this question, but you might be surprised to learn that there is not one correct answer.

What do the experts say?
The average recommend age is 6-9 months. Why? By this age, babies are usually developed enough to sit by themselves and point to things. When you think about it, pointing to an object is actually the baby’s first sign. What she’s trying to say is, “Mommy, look at this!” or “Daddy, I want this!”

My belief is that babies can and should be exposed to signing before they actually produce their first sign. Just like in talking, we start to talk to our children from day one (and sometimes even while still in utero!), obviously way before they can develop speech of their own.

Parents in my programs:
Families join my classes at every age and stage. From pregnancy to 6 months or even at 16 months of age or older. Each family benefits from the process in a different way and at different developmental stages of their child. Many parents choose to take the class twice or three times and gain new experiences as their baby changes.

My conclusion:
The answer rests with the parents. Are you willing to sign every day with your child? Are you committed to communicate with your child beyond verbal words? These are all questions to answer for yourself before deciding when to start this wonderful journey of communication and connection.Are you a parent who is anxious to see your child signing right away? Then you may want to wait until your child is a bit older. Or do you have the patience to sign to your baby and wait until she is ready and physically able to produce signs? If so, then you can get started right away.
I do not believe in ‘too young’ or ‘too old’ – you are the expert on your child and your instincts will lead the way.

Click here to read my article about the right age.

Recognizing the Signs of "Signing"

My daughter just turned 10 months old. She now is clapping her hands, and this has been a real indication of her beginning process of signing. Before she clapped her hands, sign language was a way of engaging with her... lots of eye communication and bonding. Now our sign language communication is evolving into a new phase. This is where it can be lots of fun... recognizing the signs of “signing.” I will give you an example with the use of “eating time.”

Expressions change when I sign:
Giving my daughter finger foods... she eats them on her own and looks up at me.
She immediately begins to smile when I sign and say, “more.”

Sign approximations after I sign:
As she is smiling, she begins to clap. Is she clapping because it’s fun, or is she trying to sign “more.”
Both could be the case, but watch for consistency in her hand movements.

Mimics signs:
After I sign all done, her hands go up in the air on the side and she immediately begins to mimic the same sign and laugh as if she is proud of herself for “signing.”

Signing the same sign for many different signs:
An example of this is if my daughter were to sign “milk” for many different types of food.

Your child is understanding that the ability to sign allows them to communicate. During this exciting time, continue to sign the appropriate signs and even add more signs . Eventually the approximation of the sign will become more clear and the continuous sign being used will evolve into many different signs.

Recognizing these little steps to your child’s abilities to sign can help encourage you to continue signing and to realize that although a process, having sign language as a means of communication is worth every “sign” of the way.

Written by Shawna Tran: www.mybabydetails.com and www.vietnammylife.com

Signing saved the day!

I wanted to share this story with all of you because it shows how valuable signing can be even with preschoolers. My daughter recently started going to preschool two mornings a week. This experience is very new to her as she has never been to a drop off class before. She has adjusted quite well except there is one little boy in her class who keeps pinching her behind the teachers back. Fireese doesn’t want to be a tattle tail but it is really upsetting her and isn’t sure how to handle the situation. Every time we are at school I ask her to tell me who the boy is, as she doesn’t know his name, so I can make the teacher aware of the problem. However, there are always many kids and parents around in the morning that she is uncomfortable pointing him out to me. Finally, yesterday we were in the hall and Fireese turns to me and signs “mean boy red shirt”. I was SO proud of her for figuring out a comfortable way for her to let me know who the boy was. That way I was able to privately talk to the teacher and ask him to keep an eye on the child’s behavior. Fireese was also so proud of herself that she was able to figure out a way to let me know who it was without making a big scene. I love signing!!
Laura Berg, My Smart Hands, 'educating young minds' http://www.mysmarthands.com

Survey Findings Tibit...

Our results from the "Connecting Through Sign: Promoting Communication in Preverbal Children" are amazing! Thanks to all of those who contributed by taking the survey. You still have the opportunity if you haven't had the chance!
Of all the questions that were asked and answered by the participants - the one that does it for me was that 100% of all who answered stated that signing with their child is a positive experience! I think that's incredible!
When the results are completely finalized I will post them here for you to take a look at!
Again - thank you to all who have participated.