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| After good morning hugs & tickles...signing time! |
BABY SIGN IS COOL!
Easy, Fun Communication With Your Infant
Using ASL
Several years ago I was friends with a deaf[*]
woman and was always intrigued when watching her sign with her baby.
When pregnant I heard about the trend of parents who weren’t
deaf teaching their babies ASL (American Sign Language) or a modified “baby
sign” as a way to create clear, two-way communication before a baby was able to
speak. I knew that parents and babies had many ways to communicate and express
without needing to use sign, but again I was intrigued.
I read several books and websites to learn more. Many
teachers and authors encouraged parents to begin signing with their children
between 6-8 months, and advised that though babies would be learning—they’d usually
remain unable to sign back until 9 months, 12 months, or older.
Encouraging parents to sign with their children at any age
seemed beneficial and fun, but the information I found was a little different
from what I’d observed with my friend and discovered in the deaf community (and
what with a little contemplation makes sense):
deaf parents use sign to communicate with their newborns from day one. Just
like newborns learning to speak from day one with their parents, babies can
learn sign from day one!
