If you haven't already heard of using American Sign Language with babies to communicate then listen up! More and more parents are experiencing this growing trend to teach babies to sign so they can talk with their babies well before they can speak. As a child of deaf adults (coda), I didn't realize how beneficial it was for me to be fluent in American Sign Language until I started to teach my own daughter how to sign. Sign Language is a very expressive way of communicating and it makes so much sense that babies are able to pick it up at such young ages. I am going to walk you through the process step by step so you can get started.
Step 1: Enroll in a local class or workshop to learn basic vocabulary. If there are no instructors in your area you can email me and I will find you one. A good place to start your search is http://www.sign2me.com/ where you can click on your state and you will see a listing of all the instructors in your state. If you are not interested in learning from an instructor, you can always get a good book on basic sign vocabulary and learn that way. I have several recommended books on my website, the best one in my opinion is "Sign with your Baby" by Dr. Joseph Garcia. It teaches you while at the same walking you through the process.
Step 2: Once you know the material you can start to introduce one or two words the first week. The two signs that I recommend starting with are: milk/nurse and eat. Babies are typically very interested in those two things so it's easy to capture their attention if you start with those. Repetition is the absolute key to introducing signs into your daily routine.
Step 3: After you have been signing the same few signs over and over for a week, you may start to see your baby imitate you. It may not mean that they understand yet what they are doing, but it usually means that they are interested in what they see you do and what to imitate. Go ahead and introduce one or two new signs every week and make sure that you are repeating the signs over and over. I cannot stress how important it is in the beginning to remember to do the sign every time you would normally say it. Most parents give up too soon and find out that their little ones were just on the verge of communicating.
Step 4: Now you have seen your baby imitate you and you have most likely introduced several signs at this point. Any day now you should notice that your baby is aware of and understands what the signs mean. You may even see that the baby is signing for what they are asking for. Do not be discouraged if this is not happening yet. I promise it will happen! Give it some time and continue repeating the signs.
Step 5: Yay!!! Your baby knows what you mean when you sign and you know what your baby means when they sign. You have reached the level where communication exists and your baby may only be able to say a limited amount of things using verbal speech. Using American Sign Language is like having an instrument which translates language between you and your child. It fills such a demand for parents who struggle with infants having many temper tantrums and even just for parents who wish to deepen their bond with their babies through language but can't until close to the age of 2. It is quite common for parents who start early with American Sign Language to communicate with their babies as early as age 9 months, sometimes earlier! Take it step by step and you will too see the many benefits to using signs in your own life. Learn more about the many benefits of using American Sign Language with your children at: http://www.mycreativehands.com/
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