:) Our Little Girl Signing

[Wild Boar]

We've been teaching our little girl American sign language and now that she's just under 13 months old she has a sign vocabulary of about 18 words. She almost never signed back to us until about four or five weeks ago and since then she's been adding words rapidly. Of course some signs like mommy, daddy, kitty and water all look somewhat alike, but we can usually understand the differences when used in context (and she's very clear in context).

We are very excited about this. It has avoided lots of potential frustration and she's enjoying it, too.

[Callipygian]

That's very impressive. What was the inspiration for teaching her ASL so early in her life?

Calli

[Wild Boar]

Teaching ASL to babies is the new fad. There are supposed to be all kinds of developmental benefits. (Google baby ASL and I'm certain you'll find lots of articles.) Also, there is a genetic hearing loss on my side of the family which affects my two brothers and we want Breanna to be able to communicate with them when the loss becomes greater than hearing aids can compensate for.

I have a little hearing loss, too, but it's not of the genetic sort. It comes from too much head-banging as a young adult. :)

[Breea]

I think it's wonderful..The younger you start them the quicker they pick it up...One of my best friends is deaf and she taught me..It's also a beautiful art form as well...I use to sign for different meetings and sometimes at the hospital..

She's a lucky little girl..she has you & the Mrs.

Breea

[Malkyte2]

I had a friend of mine teach their baby girl and it was very impressive. Like you mentioned, it cut down on the misunderstandings between the parents and the little one, because she was able to communicate what she needed.

It was pretty cool to see in practice!



Malkyte

[BST]

Very impressive indeed. This makes me :) :) :)


I, too, have always had an interest / fascination with ASL. Maybe it's time to check into this.....

[Dawg]

I took some ASL classes once. Since I don't know anyone who is hearing-impaired, I remember "thank you" and three or four letters of the alphabet.

It's a good thing to teach kids - it's as much a second language as any verbal language.

I am
Dawg