baby sign language

[jenz]

does any one know anything about teaching this to baby.which system should i use? has anyone tried it if so i would love to hear about it.i am really keen to do it with ds but am not sure how to get started properly

i have a hearing baby

There is a book and video "Baby sign langauge" its on amazon, but is expensive. My ds (8months) has some hearing problems because of glue ear, temporary I hope, so I'm (a bit half heartedly) introducing some signs. I haven't used the book I mentioned above, the whole kit is very exepnsive. I just got some simple British Sign langauge signs from a booklet about hearing impairment. I don't think you need to spend a lot of money on getting a kit, it seems to just be about using some very simple signs (we are doing e.g. mummy, and eat) at the moment. The tricky things seem to be getting eye contact, especially when ds is crawling about.I don't think it matters what signs you use for a hearing child as they are not going to be using it for long. As far as I can see making your own signs up could be just as helpful. I am a bit cynical about it though, do hearing children really need signs above and beyond your normal gesturing. Hence my reluctance of spending £50 on the video and pack. someone somewhere is making lots of money- but maybe its really good??
hope this is helpful , happy to talk some more.

or just type makaton into a search engine and use makaton sign- cheap and simple.

We're using the "Sign with your baby" kit (probably the expensive one lol)and its pretty good. Dd (15 mo) can sign "drink", "eat", "bath" "bread" and "cat". I'm sure she would be able to do more if we were more religious about using the signs- I'd say go for it, whatever system you use- it does seem to reduce frustration.

There was a woman on this morning a few months ago and she apeared in bella magazine she had a hearing child but taught him signing and reckoned it cut down on his frustration she was able to understand him.web site is sorry can't do link www.tinytalkuk.com or phone 07950290557 let me know how you get on.

I signed with my own little girl when she was a baby and it was such an amazing experience for us that I devised my own teaching programme and spend all my time trying to inspire other parents to sign with their babies too! There are lots of groups springing up teaching baby signing in the UK nowadays. Whereabouts do you live Jenz? I know most of the areas where classes are held, it's really nice to learn alongside other parents and maybe there is somewhere near you. Check out my website www.singandsign.com and good luck with baby signing however you decide to learn it!

I also signed with dd when she was a baby, in fact she started it by sniffing loudly to "say" flower. Then I found a book at my local library, I think it is called Baby Signs, which I thought was very useful in getting started. Dd is now 2 and speaks well, so does not need to use signs anymore but still occasionally uses the "more" sign when she really, really wants something badly...
For me it was a fantastic experience to be able to communicate with her before she could actually speak, and I think it helped her a great deal to cope with learning 2 languages.

Singandsign - thank you for the website address. I do not need it right away as my baby is due in 4 weeks, but I have the address reserved. I have heard such wonderful things about signing with babies, mainly that it relieves some of the frustration they feel.

I'd second JimJams suggestion of Makaton. My DS2 learnt a small selection of signs from this by default as DS1 has a deaf friend. He did adapt them to his own abilities but we knew what he wanted. He still uses the one for biscuit when, like Mammya says, he really really wants one and I've said no to his verbal request. It's difficult to resist him then...

I read the Baby Signs book and started using them when Dd was almost 1 - she got up to around 60 signs within a few months.

In essence what the Baby Signs book says is that you can use anything you want as a sign, just keep it simple and distinctive enough for your baby to cope with. They have a range of suggestions to get you started which can be useful if you're not feeling very inspired.

Like Mammya my Dd is now 2 and has no need to sign - but occasionally she will revert to using them if she thinks we're being particularly thick and not understanding her! She pronounces 'dog' and 'frog' in a very similar way, so sticks her tongue out after saying frog to make sure you know what she means.

i live in west yorkshire near Hebden Bridge if there is not a baby sign class here maybe i could start some interest in one.i have been looking online for info thanks for the web address will check it out in a min!i have come across kindersigns.com which is based on american s l .the book on amazon is by somebody called Garcia
it is probably good but is expensive(the garcia guy was on rich n judy a few weeks ago).the kindersigns costs money too
i dont know much about makaton is it the same as bsl.as bsl has just been recognised as an official language it maybe a good idea to use baby signs based on this.i know a few basic signs and alphabet(well some of it!)but nothing to teach baby.ive made a couple up signs-nappy(as if i didnt know)and more-but i would like to use ones that other babies are using then he/ds can communicate with other babies too! does this happen? i first got interested in baby signs through reading about it-a mother had taught her bs a sign for where and a new sign for snow -they were on a winter holiday .when the plane landed for home her 18 month old baby son,who couldnt talk , looked out the plane window disapointedly
and signed where and snow , asking where the snow had gone! i think this is amazing that babies have so much to communicate before they can talk!
some of the reasons for teaching signing are that babies who sign
-can communcate before they can speak
-speak earlier than non signers
-experience less frustration

• have IQ's that are at least 10 to 12 points higher -develop larger vocabularies is there anyone living in my area who would be interested in joining or starting a group?

signandsign i cant get your site up-ill keep trying!

Hi
the joseph garcia book is really good, if a bit american biased. His web site, based on the book has a really cute video of babies signing - well worth watching - v inspiring. Am signing with ds (7 months) at the mo - apparently it can take a couple of months to sink in, then he might start with a couple of simple signs. Saw a friend's son sign at 10 months (milk, more. finished).
Also watch cbeebies for signed versions of progs.

www.singandsign.com should be up an running by now, sorry about that Jenz! As far as the questions about which sign system, Sing and Sign is largely compatible with Makaton (which is based on BSL) and I feel this is the future of baby signing in this country. It is an established system used in schools and nurseries across the country and intended to be used WITH speech to support the spoken word.
Baby signing is really very easy indeed, but still there is not enough information available on how to learn it!! Parents have to search high and low! Sing and Sign has an exclusive tie up with Mothercare in May and that will make it more available in the coming months, which is great.
Good luck with it!
Sasha

Anyone interested in learning how to sign with their baby? I run workshops based around the Joseph Garcia, SIGN with your BABY programme, but we use British Sign Language. You can learn all you need to know within just 2 hours! We cover the history of baby signing (over 20 years of research has been done on the topic!) we look at signing techniques and tips and cover over 100 of the most popular signs, topics that your baby is interested in! we'll also give you ideas for baby signing games.

I can verify that signing really does work... our 16 month old dd has over 70 signs and is speaking beautifully. Thankfully she has very little need to get frustrated, because if she wants something, she simply lets us know! I really can't imagine how our lives would be without signing, it's made being a mum even more special. So if you are interested in hosting a workshop and learning how to sign confidently with your baby, please contact me either via my website onceuponasign.co.uk or email me at [email protected]

If anyone has any questions or concerns please get in touch.
Michele

This sounds like an advert to me. Did you realise you're meant to pay an advertising fee?

Jenz, agree with Jimjams. Use Makaton because British Sign Language is much harder. You can get books from the library, videos with Dave Benson teaching nursery rhymes etc or if you like, e-mail me (judith [email protected]) and I'll photocopy you some sheets I was given. Soupdragon, I agree that advertising is a bit naughty. If anyone checks my previous posts, you'll know I run a business but if I ever do have to mention it, it's usually just a quick mention which is relevant to the subject. Having said that, I have checked out all the websites re signing and I think some of them are a bit too american based (sorry, not meant to offend anyone) and that some of the signs are made up, because they're a mixture of BSL and Makaton. To me, if you're going to teach a sign, teach it correctly, I think it's like saying moo-cow instead of cow but that's just my opinion! Just a last thought-I use signs in my work and I have 14 month olds using about 10 signs, so it does work! LOL

I use makaton and think it's fab. So lovely to see my 19month old do the sign for more, as well as saying it, when I've been tickling her or throwing her in the air etc. It's also great to see friends and family realise she's thirsty because she's signing for a drink.
Just as a ps Jenz it's important to always say the word with the sign. makaton is an aid to speech, not instead of. You probably realise that but just thought I'd say anyway!

We've been making up our own signs since dd was a couple of months old (now almost 8months). We aren't expecting her to catch on for a few months yet because we've been half hearted about it but she does get excited now if she see's us signing food or drink and smiles when we've put her in her cot and sign sleep.