It is
very common for you to miss your baby's first attempts at signing with you. The
following are some indications that your baby is ready to sign or is already
signing with you.
Your baby probably understands signing as a form of communication if she looks
at your hands even if you are not signing or if she looks between an object and
your hands or if she makes an inquiring expression and looks at your hands. If
you think that your baby understands the concept of signing, you may be able to
confirm your assumption by playing a game with your baby. Place two favorite
toys in front of your baby - for example, a teddy bear and a dog. Make sure
that your have taught your baby the signs for both of the toys. Now tell your
baby with words and signs the name for each toy. Next, ask your baby "where is
the (make the sign for the word bear)" - but do not say the word. If your baby
looks at, points to, or picks up the teddy bear you can be certain that she
understands that signs are symbols for objects and actions.
Your baby is almost certainly signing with you if your baby looks at you or
looks at your hands or looks at her hands or looks at an object and makes small
movements with her hands. If you think that your baby is signing, you may be
able to confirm your assumption by playing another game with your baby. Place
the same two favorite toys in front of your baby - for example, a teddy bear
and a dog. Make sure that your have taught your baby the signs for both of the
toys. Now tell your baby with words and signs the names for each toy. Next,
pick up the teddy bear and ask your baby "what is this?" If your baby makes any
movements with her hands then you can be reasonably certain that she is signing
with you.
Will my baby continue to sign after she is speaking?
Your baby will probably use fewer and fewer signs as she is able to
successfully communicate with you by speaking more and more words. However,
once your baby is speaking, signing is an invaluable tool for allowing your
baby to complete a sentence that requires a word that is difficult to say such
as crocodile or alligator. Even at two to three years of age, many very bright
toddlers still have trouble pronouncing certain spoken words and can become
very frustrated because they are not able to completely communicate a simple
idea.
Your signing baby is also likely to continue to sign after she have begun
speaking in the following situations: in response to a confused look on your
face to clarify what she is trying to say, when she is unable to speak such as
when she is eating, when she is too upset to speak, when she is asked not to
speak such as at a library or at a live performance, to emphasize an important
point, to communicate with you in a place that is too loud to hear or with the
birth of a baby brother or sister to be able to communicate with her new
sibling.
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