Signing

My friend Liz was asking a few questions about signing with Talia and what I thought about it. So here is my post since a comment could have been forever long.

I always knew I wanted to sign with Talia and I had a book called "Sign with your Baby" by Joseph Garcia. I actually read this book (it is really short) years ago so I knew the basics. Most babies start to observe and understand signs around 6 months but won't duplicate until around 9 months. I think that any time is a good time to start signing with your baby because it will always reinforce language skills by giving a kinistetic way to remember words and concepts. I also use videos called "Signing Time" which I was introduced to by my sister-in-law Camille. They used them with their daughter Alyson who was and still is a very good signer. Most libraries have Signing Time DVDs and some PBS stations show "Signing Time" on their weekly schedule. Or you can buy them.

"Will signing interfere with my child's speech development?"
Here is what Joseph Garcia has to say...
"A considerable amount of research supports the fact that children exposed to several languages early in life achieve higher levels of language competency later on. Studies conducted at the University of California a Davis by Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn determined that babies who used symbolic gestures early learned to speak more readily than those babies who did not. Their research also indicated that the signing babies scored higher in intelligence tests, understood more words, had larger vocabularies, and engaged in more sophisticated play. In their book Baby Signs, Acredolo and Goodwyn present their research findings and offer their approach to communicating with babies. It is an excellent resource for any parent.

In my observations, the children who used signs in their early language showed above-average understanding of English syntax earlier than those who did not use signs. Children who had not learned signing were just starting to identify objects with words, while the children in our study were already talking about those objects. The signing children had the advantage of previously learning how to identify objects, feelings, and needs through signs. The important thing is that using signs to communicate before speech develops can enhance the overall communication process."

I really think that no matter what babies move at there own pace and what ever aid we can give them to communicate is going to be a benefit. My nice Alyson was such a good signer and she didn't think to use her mouth to communicate for a little while but when she started to talk more all of her signs just transferred over and became words as her verbal skills increased. She still signs but most of her signs have been replaced by words and she is just over 2. With Talia I notice that she almost always tries to say at least the beginning sound of the word while she signs. And she has dropped a couple early signs because she can say the words. For example when using "more" she will interchange the word and the sign, or sometimes use both. It It has been really nice for words that look or sound similar because I usually have both the sound and the sign to differentiate. For example Bath= baa, book= bu, ball=ba, bottle=ba, baby=bay, and these call all sound very similar especially to people who are not around Talia very often. Or on the reverse she signs "car," "bath," and "cold" quite the same but she adds sounds to them to help differentiate. So to sum it up...I know that some kids can get reliant on signing just like some get reliant on crawling or diapers but with signing the language skills are not lost they are still progressing as a child signs and when that child is ready to speak they will have a lot to say. :)

How many signs does Talia know?
At first I only did a few signs like "milk" for nursing, "more", and "up." I remember at a very early age Talia would get really excited when I signed "milk" and I always knew when she was hungry because I just needed to ask. Then I introduced the "Signing Time"and after that Talia's signs started to explode. Last time I counted she was over 100 signs and I see her sign new ones everyday. We were at a family gathering and Talia kept signing something over and over and I couldn't figure out what it was but my sister-in-law recognized that she was signing "strawberry" and sure enough she took me to the refrigerator where the strawberries were. I think Talia was really proud of me when I figured out what she was saying. The other more recent signs that blew me away were over the last two days. She saw the cat sleeping in the backyard and signed "cat...sleep...GRASS" I had no idea she understood what grass was. She has also been really cute with emotions lately I think she likes to sign "sad" and "excited" the most. And she has just started to identify colors mostly yellow and blue. Also when my mom was here for a visit (they just left this morning) and we were working on a sewing project she really wanted to help so she signs "help...SCISSORS" I had to let her play with some kid scissors after that beautiful display of understanding and she was so happy. Other signs I get a kick out of are "cold, wind and backpack." She doesn't actually have a backpack but she knows what they are and that is one of her few two (baa-pa) syllable words as well. But my all time favorite story was about a month ago Talia had to tag along with me to a Young Women activity and I was chatting with another leader at the end. Talia comes right up to my face and signs "bed...bottle...sleep...home!" and then grabs my finger to pull me out the door. She just melts my heart. There was no crying, no fits jut really clear communication of her needs and for crying out loud it was after 9pm so she was well with in her rights to demand that I take care of her. So to sum it all up I have loved signing with Talia and highly recommend it.