One thing I neglected to mention in my last post about the weekend was our futile search for some sort of baby sign language DVD. Why the sudden interest? Last week, amidst my own personal breakdown, Liam had an evaluation from the speech therapist to see if he needed therapy. At two, he probably has less than 20 words that he uses and he does virtually no two word combinations (the only one being “wa-shat?”). It’s nothing majorly concerning and I’m not worried. His pediatrician isn’t really worried either, but referred us out anyhow just to be on the safe side.
I’m not sure why we’re not doing Early Intervention or something would require less piling of the kids in cars and driving clear across town every week, but… whatever. The gal was nice and Liam took to her right away. And his stubborness to speak on command became clear right away (as did his nearly non-existant attention span). But before our hour was up, she got him to two things: ask for an M&M (personal favorite) by going “mmm” and to make the sign for “more”. And… well, WOW. Kile and I are both sold.
Of course, finding a baby sign language DVD has proven much more difficult than I would have expected. We did find a board book at Babies R Us that has illustrations of babies doing the signs. This will give us some general signs that we can start teaching him. Also, we discovered last night that Evie LOVES THIS BOOK. I was looking at it while she was in my arms and when she saw what I was looking at, she about threw herself forward and out of my arms towards the book. Her eyes were wide as saucers and she started to breathe very excitedly. Of course, it was the pictures she was jazzed about. But it made me realize, “Hey, just we can do this whole signing thing with her too!”
Very exciting.
I never would have imagined that Liam would grasp on so quickly to the notion of signing. He, since yesterday, has already learned the sign for “hug” (he would request them continually after that, which was so adorable I think I died and am dead right now) and I plan to go over more of them this afternoon if I get a chance. I really would like a DVD though, that we can look at together. Mostly because that’s an easier format for us both to look at in case I might be tied down nursing Evie or somesuch.
So does anyone have any good recommendations? What DVDs or VHS movies have worked for you? Where did you find them to buy them because so far we’re coming up blank there too. Any and all information will be greatly appreciated! (We’re total newbies, can you tell?)
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10 Responses to “Give me a sign”
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Absofreakinglutely. “Signing time with Leah”
http://singingtime.com
I was introduced to these because Rachel was a big performer in the LDS music scene and she had a deaf child named Leah. So, she made this series of sign language DVD’s that are EXCELLENT.
We used them at the speech/pathology dept. at my university and I am so using them if we have anymore kids.
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http://www.mybabycantalk.com/
http://www.signingtime.com/babysigningtime/
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Signing-Time-1-DVD/dp/B000HKCSYO
Hope that helps a little
I’ve never used a signing DVD, but I’ve used a lot of books (both from working with deaf students and to use with Nicky). I love the book Baby Signing for Dummies because the illustrations were a lot more understandable than the other books I used. A DVD would definitely be easier to follow correctly, but if you need a quick reference, a book helps.
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I’ve heard about the baby signing and it sounds intriguing. Let me nose around in my of my old homeschool files and see if I can come up with something. Maybe try here: http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/ I used to go there all the time for homeschool stuff when the kids are little. There is a message board and swap/sell board. If you ask those folks I am sure they could guide you to the right place!
As for Liam, I wouldn’t worry too much about his talking just yet. I think it’s a boy thing. My son barely could say 5 words when he was two but within a year he was babbling all over the place and hasn’t stopped since (he’s about to turn 16!). My daughter said her first words at 7 months (!) and went from there. Also hasn’t stopped since.
Geez, you spend two years teaching them talk and walk and the next 16 years telling them shut up and sit down LOL (kidding…I love hearing my kids’ thoughts).
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We’ve used both the Baby Einstein one and Baby Signs, I think. We’ve never had much success with Kitten and the signs – the only one she’ll do is “more”, and only when you ask her if she wants more. ::shrugs:: She’s pretty communicative, so I don’t worry about teaching her to sign all that much.
I hope that you have some success with something – you might even be able to find free resources online. If you look up sign language in general, you might find some easy, free signs online.
We took in a foster child last year who has absolutely NO language skills other than “mama” and “jew” (for juice). We started teaching him sign language, making sure to say the right words when we did the motions, and he learned to speak so quickly it was unbelievable!
We never used a video, but used some sign language cards our language person gave us. Our favorite phrases? Go play, potty (which is so easy, just make a T and shake your hand!), and good job!
Very easy to do, very fun to do, and is great for the entire family!
Try this one too: https://www.babysigns.com
Whichever system you go with, be sure that it uses actual ASL instead of some sort of made up set of signs. There are a few systems out there that do that, and even at about 9 months kids recognize and respond to ASL. You can always just get a sign dictionary or use one of the online ones – you just need to introduce the basics – potty, eat/hungry since they Liam’s alreayd two, all done, play, hello/goodbye, airplane, drive, socks, shoes, please and thank you, etc.
We used signs with all three of our kids. The second two were both speech delayed – one only had four sounds at age two – but none were ever frustrated because they couldn’t communicate and I attribute that to the signs. Good for you for doing this!
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Hi, Marilyn – I know you read Amalah, but do you remember this post of hers http://www.amalah.com/amalah/2007/09/the-absolutely-.html? Just thought I would throw it out there. I remembered her talking about baby signs before. Hope this helps.
Have you checked out your library? You might find some there and then that would help you decide what to actually spend your cash on.
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We order a DVD through Discovery toys.
Good luck!
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