Fast forward several years - I was out of high school, taking a year off to work and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I was still interested in possibly pursuing a career in interpreting, so I found an evening ASL class and joined. This was a much more serious class and was my first time being "immersed" in ASL - the teachers were all Deaf - ASL or writing on the board was their only way to communicate. I learned quickly and my love for the language grew. I took ASL classes for 2 years and got to know several members of the Deaf community outside of class, so had plenty of opportunity to practice. Unfortunately, life circumstances changed and I could no longer continue those classes. Sadly, my connections to the Deaf community also ended when I moved to a new city and it's now been a few years since I've had any real practice.
However, having a baby has renewed my interest and passion for ASL. This time, I'm the teacher! I know a lot of parents use ASL or some form of signing with their babies, and find it to be a very effective method of communicating with their little ones before they're capable of speech. It was a no-brainer for me to hop on board the baby signing bandwagon. I already knew all the signs I would need to teach Tessa early on and still have my books handy for when she gets a little more advanced. I can't wait until her little hands start talking!!
If you're interested in teaching your baby some basic signs, I recommend the following resources to get you started:
- Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk (Linda Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn, Doug Abrams)
- Signing Time DVD series (or check out their YouTube videos)
- A baby sign language class
- An ASL dictionary (if you want to learn more!) (There are also lots of free online ASL dictionaries)
A few tips:
- Start anytime - I started signing with Tessa almost right away, but a lot of people wait until around 4-6 months to start
- Don't get discouraged if baby isn't signing back - babies need lots of repetition to learn, and most babies won't start signing back until 9-12 months, although some start earlier.
- Be consistent - use the signs over and over, and say the word as you sign it.
- Signing does NOT delay speech - in fact, some research shows the opposite (see here)
Basic signs to start with:
- Eat
- Milk
- Sleep
- Mom
- Dad
- Finished/All done
- Anything else that will be helpful to you and your baby
Have you taught your baby sign language? What was your experience like? Any other tips or tricks? Please share in the comments below and happy signing!
