teaching my toddler to sign

Starr - posted on 01/11/2013

I agree with Katie about learning to sign certainly helped with daughters speech/language. We started signing with our daughter at about 7 months old and her communication skills are much more advanced than others her age, doctors comment on it every time she is seen. I also agree that for your child to pick it up faster you need to be involved and use it throughout your day. We started with please and thank you. It's an easy one for even young ones to sign and is used often throughout every day.

Katie - posted on 01/10/2013

I'm a pediatric speech language pathologist and taught all of my kids to sign when they were little (3 typical and twins with special needs). the easiest way is to learn a sign a day (from a book or you can use youtube to see people actually making the sign) then use that sign throughout the day IN CONTEXT. You "can" look at pictures and point to the, for example, doggie and then sign dog or watch videos and those are also helpful, but my experience with my kids and with my clients in therapy were the ones i used in context within a situation (he wants a drink, you walk to the fridge, you get out the milk and then and there you sign milk, then help him sign it hand over hand, then you sign it again) made for the fastest carryover of my children using them independently. Good luck! and fyi, if anyone tells you sign language hinders speech production, it doesnt. Actually research has shown that typical kids who learned to sign had better speech/language than their same aged peers! ~~Katie Sullivan, M.S., SLP-CCC

Cleaver - posted on 01/04/2013

2yo he is very smart i can see in everything else he does but he is unresponsive when i call his name or offer him things when im far from him

Starr - posted on 01/04/2013

That is good news. I certainly hope things continue to improve for the two of you. How old is he?

Cleaver - posted on 01/04/2013

he is learning to talk more and more ill have to talk to the doctor about this i still think hes not hearing everything but hes starting to talk a little more

Starr - posted on 01/03/2013

I really don't think that your child will pick up signing any faster than you would especially if you stay involved and watch the videos with him and make it a part of your everyday life. I'm not sure how old your son is but it takes awhile for them to catch on and begin to use signs regularly, you will definitely get it faster than they will. We always watched them with our daughter when we first started out and used the signs at the dinner table and whenever appropriate, especially the please and thank you's.

Cleaver - posted on 12/31/2012

that is a very good idea

Cecilia - posted on 12/30/2012

http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Mu...{keyword}

this is the book we used. We did start doing it when she was 3 months so i don't know how much it will help with a toddler. You can also make up signs. The book didn't have one for juice so we made one up, well she made it up. We just followed. The biggest thing is for the words you know, say it and do the sign at the same time.

I don't know if i would use a dvd because then if he picks it up quicker than you, he's doing signs you don't understand which might frustrate him.

Starr - posted on 11/30/2012

My 2 yr old and I love love love Signing Time. We use both Baby Signing Time and Signing Time. It has been great for us. This is our go to baby shower gift. I would start with the Baby Signing Time as it seems a little more interactive and fun for the little ones just starting out. Every few months or so you can find the entire set (DVD/s, music CDs, books and flash cards, great set) on sale at www.babysteals.com, its a daily deal site, wonderful. We actually just bought it for a friend of ours so it may be a little bit before it's up again. Singing Time has a website you can purchase from as well. It may take quite few times of putting it on for your child to get into it and a few months before they actually will start signing depending on the age you start it and how often you practice.

Cleaver - posted on 11/26/2012

i am in Canada but we think (hope mostly) its temporary his hearing loss. i mean its been going slowly im not sure if that means anything. i will try the site thank you.

Amy - posted on 11/26/2012

http://www.signingsavvy.com/



That's the website I used to teach my daughter. My MIL also bought her flashcards but they weren't all practical, but she enjoyed playing with them. Also if you live in the US there is a program birth to three, they'll come out to the house and do an assessment to see if you qualify for services.