Your Views and Comments

Hi, due to the lack of signing teachers in my area (Greater London)I too took the plunge and became a signing teacher through www.babysigners.co.uk.

This is the most fantastic and rewarding job, and soon I will be going into pre-schools to train staff with the babysigners curriculum.

Rachael

I started signing with my daughter Kate when she was about 6 months old. We went to TinyTalk classes in Cardiff which we both really enjoyed. Kate did a couple of signs by about 10 months (milk, food, more), but I think at that time it was more for the reaction that she got than because she was trying to tell me anything! Then at about 16 months (when her little brother was born) her signing really took off (alongside a real development in her talking also). Signing with her was great and really helped me to see how the way that I communicated with her by using signing was much more effective than just talking at her. I really made an effort to get her attention so she could see me signing and just doing that helped to resolve many potential outbursts when she would start to get frustrated if she was struggling to make herself understood.

I would definately recommend signing classes - they are great fun and very sociable, using popular nursery rhymes and action songs to help teach signs, followed by social time and refreshments - great for getting to know other mums with babies the same age.

Laura

Hi everyone! I've been signing with both my 3 year old and my 21 month old, and I find its an amazingly bonding experience. I was already converted on the idea, and when my daughter signed milk to me for the first time, nothing can explain the excitement! I am so passionate about the benefits I have seen in my own family circumstances that I signed up to start providing classes of my own in Milton Keynes.

Michelle

"I started signing with my daughter Beth at 7 months through Sing and Sign classes in Eastbourne."- Chrissy

My daughter, Niamh, was only 8 months old when she told me for the first time she was hungry and wanted something to eat!

The important thing to remember is that the signs are not to be used as a substitute for language, but as an added form of communication, to be used in conjunction with normal speech. By saying the word as you sign it, your baby is learning not only the sign for the object/concept, but the sound of the word that it is related to as well! Your baby can then choose which form of communication to use first, speech or sign.

Of course, the signs you introduce to your baby will need to be for particular objects of interest, like milk or food (for young babies) or perhaps toys or pets for slightly older babies. You will need to be consistent with your use of signs, using a combination of persistence and repetition to ensure that your baby has time to get the hang of it.

Eventually, you are likely to find that your baby starts looking to you for the sign for new objects and even making up their own signs for things!

At 17 months, Niamh is now able to use over 40 signs, as well as say a variety of words like mummy, dada, down, look, gone, mine, more and milk. She is able to communicate when she is hungry, thirsty, if she's heard or seen something, if something is hot or cold, or if she is hurt or needs my help, by using signs! Her speech is developing at a rapid rate and she is just as interested in using vocal means of communication as she is in using the signs!

I believe that the 'Sign with your Baby' method offers the following benefits:

• strengthens the bond between parent/carer and baby;
• provides a view into your baby's mind and thoughts;
• reduces frustration for baby and parent/carer as a need or desire is pinpointed quickly;
• offers the possibility of early speech development - research is suggesting this!
• aids the memory - using actions to learn re-enforces the memory process and enables basic communication with the deaf or hard of hearing, plus other signing babies and caregivers;
• enables communication in silence or from a distance.

Adele

"I used baby signs with my daughter Tabitha and it really worked for us both. She was a really calm little person and I'm sure a lot of that was because she was able to communicate her needs to us. She also spoke really early and quickly built a really large vocabulary.

Just a little word of warning though! This isn't for every baby. When Zackery came along after a 31/2 year gap he was a very different case. Much more active and a lot more frustrated and cross. Great I thought at 10 months I'll teach him some signs that will help him feel less frustrated. We started with simple ones like the sign for his favourite breakfast cereal 'cheerios', 'juice' and 'more' but Zack just got crosser. Between his lack of patience and the other distractions of our busier homelife we didn't seem to get the same levels of eye contact and it just didn't seem to happen.

I concentrated my efforts on trying to read his moods and anticipate his needs (which were very different to Tabitha's) more. Then at about 16 months he began gesturing and pointing at something at the table. He started rubbing his ear and I thought, 'I must take him to the doctor, perhaps he's got earache' and then I realised that he was trying to tell me something. We starting picking things up and discovered that he had made his own new sign for the mobile phone. At this point he could manage mama, dada and sis sis and we thought that he wasn't really talking, then we realised that we weren't really listening. As soon as he had our attention his language blossomed. His speech is not as clear as his sister's was but he's a lot less frustrated. I really wish the signs had worked with him but sometimes you just have to accept that they are all different.

If it works for you and your baby it really is good, just be open minded. One of the really nice things that has come out of it is that Tabitha is very imaginative and has made up some wonderful new descriptive words which I'm sure are a direct result of making her own signs. One of my favourites was her description of the weather one very misty frosty day as 'it's fizzy outside'. She is now reading and writing and claiming author status (at five years old)!"

Karen

Signing Classes

Adele now runs 'Signing Babes' workshops in Plymouth. For more information please send an e-mail to: signingbabes@yahoo.com.

If you live in the London area you can find about about workshops at www.signinginfants.com. These workshops are run by another mum, Huma Nasir, who has also experienced fantastic results learning the 'Sign with your baby' method with her family. Currently workshops are held in the South London area but Huma is happy to travel to other parts of London if required.

If you live in the Bournemouth area there is a new class run by Suzanne Taylor starting at the end of April 2004. For more information please contact Suzanne at littlehands.dorset@ntlworld.com.

For more information about the baby signing concept visit:

The Signing Babes home page: www.signingbabes.co.uk

The official 'Sign with your baby' website: www.sign2me.com

www.kindersigns.com an American site run by speech and language therapist Diane Ryan, who specializes in teaching sign language to hearing babies.

www.deafsign.com is a new site, that offers a whole new approach to bringing the Deaf and hearing worlds closer together. The site provides information, contacts and discussion on issues related to deafness and sign language.

"I was very excited about receiving the these 5 new books as I believe sign language is very important and I saw this as a good opportunity to teach Sophie and myself a little sign language.

When I first received the books, although Sophie was interested and enjoyed the nursery rhymes - she did not take any notice of the signing no matter how or when I tried. However over the past few weeks Sophie has become a complete bookworm and is quite addicted to her books, thus showing much more interest and is attempting to learn some sign language.

She now responds to 'I love you' in sign which is really lovely and cute.

From my point initially I found some of the signs quite difficult to grasp but after several attempts and readings through the books most became self explanatory and I found the language quite easy and fun to use.

I have showed the books to several friends - most were parents and one was a teacher - all have gone off and are using what they have learnt from the books.

I've really enjoyed these books both from my point were I have learnt a little about signing and also from Sophie's point were she is starting to respond to the signs as well as loving the nursery rhymes.

Karen

www.amazon.co.uk

For more details of the Child's Play programme of books, games and toys or to request a catalogue please visit www.childs-play.com

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