Signing for Babies
By The Schoolmarm • Aug 4th, 2009 • Category: educational
photo credit: purprin ”I love you”
I became interested in signing as a teenager and spelled out words to the only deaf person I knew in my small town.
After moving to Los Angeles, I met a man and woman through my church, who dropped off their four hearing children to attend Sunday school. Because we didn’t have anyone to interpret for them in sign language they had to drive downtown LA to a church for the deaf and hard of hearing.
When they learned of my desire to sign, Paul and Shirley invited me into their home and I spent many evenings with them, as Paul taught me signs from Lottie Riekehof’s book, Talk to the Deaf
For weeks my free time was spent diligently learning new signs: before school, at recess, at lunch and after work. (I didn’t have a child then so I had the time to devote.)
Because I am a believing person I credit God for rewarding my hard work and helping me to learn so quickly. I was soon able to interpret for Paul and Shirley at church. They became dear friends and I interpreted for them for several years, which allowed the family to be united on Sundays. It was a richly rewarding experience.
I taught my neice, Lori, some of the signs. When she became a mother she passed the signs on to her two daughters. Hannah and D.J. They became articulate little girls, clearly demonstrating that signing does not interfere with early language development. Now another neice, Mandy, is planning to teach signs to her little Patrick.
Gesturing is a natural part of our lives, so signing for milk, water, sleep, love and hunger, is not such a strange idea. This form of communication helps to cut out some of the frustration babies may feel when they are not understood.
Here are a few resources to check out:
- Signing Time Vol. 1
- My First Signs
- Baby Sign Language Basics (book for hearing babies and toddlers).
- www.signingfamilies.com
There are many more. You’ll be amazed how quickly those little hands catch on.
Please leave a comment if you have had any experience with signing. With early communication in mind,
The Schoolmarm is
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Thank you for writing a wonderfully poignant article about your experiences with learning to sign. Many hearing people “fall in to” the world of sign language and deaf culture due to unique circumstances, such as your own. As a sign language instructor, I often have an opportunity to meet “newbies” to sign language. Many are parents of infants who are excited to learn sign language in order to promote language development with their young children, others are educators, college students, senior citizens, veterans who have lost some hearing and people who live or work with individuals with special needs, such as Autism or Downs Syndrome. Each one has their own motivation to learn. It is my job to make sure that they enjoy the process as much as you did!
Your readers are more than welcome to learn more about our company, which I thank you for citing, SIGNING FAMILIES. We offer DVDs that range from basic sign language to our award winning BABY, TODDLER and PRESCHOOL SIGN LANGUAGE (created for those who care for children to learn themselves and teach youngsters and those with special needs). Many of our products are tri-lingual with Spanish included in addition to English and Signing. Also, note we have a Made for You option, too. This is a DVD we will create with your own vocabulary list and we will insert a child’s name to heighten attending, which is often needed among special needs children.
People are free to contact us at Info@SigningFamiies.com Also we have a FACEBOOK fan page (SIGNING FAMILIES) and are on TWITTER ( LouiseASL)
Again, thank you for posting a wonderful article and mentioning SIGNING FAMILIES. Please note that a percentage of all our proceeds goes back to help community organizations.
Ms. Sattler, I am delighted to hear from you. Thank you for providing such excellent resources for parents and students, hearing and non-hearing. I have enjoyed knowing this wonderful language and certainly encourage others to learn. I have written a bit more about it on http://www.theschoolmarm.com. Thanks for writing, Mary Taylor, the schoolmarm.