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andrea
July 11th 03, 10:34 PM
My son Alden is 4 in September. He has Apraxia, which is a speech disorder.
Progress has been slow on the speech side according to the therapist, but I
feel he is doing great compared to how he was.
He had at one point zero understanding. Now his understanding is great for
his age, but he has limited vowels and can't pronounce constanants.

I thought about signing for babies (like for drink), for Joseph and
hopefully Kamron, to help avoid the frustration babies have before they are
able to talk. I also plan on starting this with Alden, he does speak but
it's not very clear, and we usually guess what he is saying.

Have any of you already started signing for babies/toddlers? How did it go?

My pack I have ordered says some babies can start signing from 6 months.

It's sounds like it's worth a try, as babies that can sign find speech comes
more easily. Some people believe signing delays speech, but i'm told this is
not the case.

--
Andrea mom of -
Peter 7, Ellie 5, Alden 3, Joseph 21 mths & little munchie man Kamron 5
weeks!
Married to David since 2000.

Nina
July 11th 03, 11:10 PM
"andrea" > wrote in message
...
> My son Alden is 4 in September. He has Apraxia, which is a speech
disorder.
> Progress has been slow on the speech side according to the therapist, but
I
> feel he is doing great compared to how he was.
> He had at one point zero understanding. Now his understanding is great for
> his age, but he has limited vowels and can't pronounce constanants.
>
> I thought about signing for babies (like for drink), for Joseph and
> hopefully Kamron, to help avoid the frustration babies have before they
are
> able to talk. I also plan on starting this with Alden, he does speak but
> it's not very clear, and we usually guess what he is saying.
>
> Have any of you already started signing for babies/toddlers? How did it
go?
>
> My pack I have ordered says some babies can start signing from 6 months.
>
> It's sounds like it's worth a try, as babies that can sign find speech
comes
> more easily. Some people believe signing delays speech, but i'm told this
is
> not the case.
>

My 10 yr old son is autistic, his teachers sign and speak to him and have
done so since he was about 3. I don't personally, but it works pretty well.
TO keep it from interfering with your sons learning speech, make sure you
talk and sign at the same time.
If he is 4, he should be old enough to begin some reading. Picture symbols
are also pretty good.

My son has clear speech, but it took years before his receptive language was
above that of a 2 year old. His expressive language is in the 2 1/2 to 3
year old level. What e finds easier than speech, is writing. Once he learned
to read,write and spell (age 5) he began writing one word requests and now
can write complete sentences.
At school the combine it all. So he will have a paper with picture symbols,
some including Signs, and below that the typed word. Ex: "I want some juice"
will have the signs for I and want then a picture of juice, with the words
below. WHen the teacher reads this, she will likely sign it. So he gets the
sign language, the pictures, the written word and the oral all at the same
time. The sign language is part of a whole language plan.

If you can get yours to sign, it will probably ease his frustration a lot.
(assuming he is frustrated) Because my son did have speech and could write,
we didnt teach him to sign, we chose to have him speak or write. But for
those who can do neither, signing can be a miracle!

Hope I was a little helpful.

Erin Candell
July 12th 03, 01:04 AM
I have been doing the "baby signs" (Not official sign language, but the
"baby-friendly" version) with my 12-month old for the past few months, and I
am absolutely shocked at how effective it has been. My daughter took to it
almost immediately, and even though she only knows a handful of signs so
far, it has been great. She can tell me when she is tired or hungry long
before she starts to cry and when #2 is born, I am thinking that the signing
will make things less frustrating for everybody.

"andrea" > wrote in message
...
> My son Alden is 4 in September. He has Apraxia, which is a speech
disorder.
> Progress has been slow on the speech side according to the therapist, but
I
> feel he is doing great compared to how he was.
> He had at one point zero understanding. Now his understanding is great for
> his age, but he has limited vowels and can't pronounce constanants.
>
> I thought about signing for babies (like for drink), for Joseph and
> hopefully Kamron, to help avoid the frustration babies have before they
are
> able to talk. I also plan on starting this with Alden, he does speak but
> it's not very clear, and we usually guess what he is saying.
>
> Have any of you already started signing for babies/toddlers? How did it
go?
>
> My pack I have ordered says some babies can start signing from 6 months.
>
> It's sounds like it's worth a try, as babies that can sign find speech
comes
> more easily. Some people believe signing delays speech, but i'm told this
is
> not the case.
>
> --
> Andrea mom of -
> Peter 7, Ellie 5, Alden 3, Joseph 21 mths & little munchie man Kamron 5
> weeks!
> Married to David since 2000.
>
>

Leigh Menconi
July 12th 03, 01:21 AM
Claudia was diagnosed with Down syndrome when she was born so we started
sign language pretty soon, by about 6 months, mostly concentrating on using
it with her twin brother who would help us practice but also model the signs
for her as well. Without having a delay in the fine motor department, he
picked up on the signs much more quickly but it did take awhile with her,
mostly for that reason. Now she probably uses upwards of 150 signs (her
most recent favorite is "chocolate") and is just beginning to use sounds
that are kinda sorta understandable; they would probably be completely
unintelligible without her signing along with the initial sound. Claudia
clearly *wants* to communicate but her lack of muscle tone in her mouth
makes it difficult to form the sounds. The only words that she says that
are about 100% understandable outside the family are "no", "thank you",
"baby", "bubble, and "daddy". But using the sign along with the sound, we
can pick up consistent sound combinations that now mean specific words in
her own Claudia language like "pizza", "chips", "pretzels", "yogurt",
"book", and "draw".

Her twin brother has dyspraxia of speech and it has been extremely helpful
to have used the sign language with him because of that reason. Of course,
my aunt argues that he's speech delayed *because* of having the sign
language as a "crutch" but I have to disagree.

The most powerful word to start with for a child seems to be "more" which is
used by tapping the fingertips together.

As a side note, using sign language in public is a great way to get kids to
behave without having to verbally reprimand them. Much less embarrassing.
And often, if I can't get Claudia to respond to a verbal command, if I pair
it with a sign she'll respond much more quickly. Perhaps she is just more
visually oriented.

Leigh

"andrea" > wrote in message
...
> My son Alden is 4 in September. He has Apraxia, which is a speech
disorder.
> Progress has been slow on the speech side according to the therapist, but
I
> feel he is doing great compared to how he was.
> He had at one point zero understanding. Now his understanding is great for
> his age, but he has limited vowels and can't pronounce constanants.
>
> I thought about signing for babies (like for drink), for Joseph and
> hopefully Kamron, to help avoid the frustration babies have before they
are
> able to talk. I also plan on starting this with Alden, he does speak but
> it's not very clear, and we usually guess what he is saying.
>
> Have any of you already started signing for babies/toddlers? How did it
go?
>
> My pack I have ordered says some babies can start signing from 6 months.
>
> It's sounds like it's worth a try, as babies that can sign find speech
comes
> more easily. Some people believe signing delays speech, but i'm told this
is
> not the case.
>
> --
> Andrea mom of -
> Peter 7, Ellie 5, Alden 3, Joseph 21 mths & little munchie man Kamron 5
> weeks!
> Married to David since 2000.
>
>
>

Shelly
July 12th 03, 02:13 AM
is there a place where i can pick this up online? so i can try it with my
son??

--






Shelly
Mommy to Zachariah
January 24, 2003
"Leigh Menconi" > wrote in message
thlink.net...
> Claudia was diagnosed with Down syndrome when she was born so we started
> sign language pretty soon, by about 6 months, mostly concentrating on
using
> it with her twin brother who would help us practice but also model the
signs
> for her as well. Without having a delay in the fine motor department, he
> picked up on the signs much more quickly but it did take awhile with her,
> mostly for that reason. Now she probably uses upwards of 150 signs (her
> most recent favorite is "chocolate") and is just beginning to use sounds
> that are kinda sorta understandable; they would probably be completely
> unintelligible without her signing along with the initial sound. Claudia
> clearly *wants* to communicate but her lack of muscle tone in her mouth
> makes it difficult to form the sounds. The only words that she says that
> are about 100% understandable outside the family are "no", "thank you",
> "baby", "bubble, and "daddy". But using the sign along with the sound, we
> can pick up consistent sound combinations that now mean specific words in
> her own Claudia language like "pizza", "chips", "pretzels", "yogurt",
> "book", and "draw".
>
> Her twin brother has dyspraxia of speech and it has been extremely helpful
> to have used the sign language with him because of that reason. Of
course,
> my aunt argues that he's speech delayed *because* of having the sign
> language as a "crutch" but I have to disagree.
>
> The most powerful word to start with for a child seems to be "more" which
is
> used by tapping the fingertips together.
>
> As a side note, using sign language in public is a great way to get kids
to
> behave without having to verbally reprimand them. Much less embarrassing.
> And often, if I can't get Claudia to respond to a verbal command, if I
pair
> it with a sign she'll respond much more quickly. Perhaps she is just more
> visually oriented.
>
> Leigh
>
> "andrea" > wrote in message
> ...
> > My son Alden is 4 in September. He has Apraxia, which is a speech
> disorder.
> > Progress has been slow on the speech side according to the therapist,
but
> I
> > feel he is doing great compared to how he was.
> > He had at one point zero understanding. Now his understanding is great
for
> > his age, but he has limited vowels and can't pronounce constanants.
> >
> > I thought about signing for babies (like for drink), for Joseph and
> > hopefully Kamron, to help avoid the frustration babies have before they
> are
> > able to talk. I also plan on starting this with Alden, he does speak but
> > it's not very clear, and we usually guess what he is saying.
> >
> > Have any of you already started signing for babies/toddlers? How did it
> go?
> >
> > My pack I have ordered says some babies can start signing from 6 months.
> >
> > It's sounds like it's worth a try, as babies that can sign find speech
> comes
> > more easily. Some people believe signing delays speech, but i'm told
this
> is
> > not the case.
> >
> > --
> > Andrea mom of -
> > Peter 7, Ellie 5, Alden 3, Joseph 21 mths & little munchie man Kamron 5
> > weeks!
> > Married to David since 2000.
> >
> >
> >
>
>

Akuvikate
July 12th 03, 02:37 AM
"andrea" > wrote in message >...

>
> It's sounds like it's worth a try, as babies that can sign find speech comes
> more easily. Some people believe signing delays speech, but i'm told this is
> not the case.

I'm not sure what the exact research is on whether it delays speech,
but even if it does that's not necessarily a problem. Up to a certain
age (I think around when they start school) children growing up
bilingual are behind monolingual children in each language. But
eventually they catch up. And I think it's easy to see the benefit of
being able to sign if spoken language is limited (or have a second
spoken language) -- so even if they are a bit behind for a couple of
years, it's probably well worth the tradeoff.

Haven't done it yet, but I absolutely intend to sign with the Bug --
I've twice taken introductory American Sign Language classes, though
never gotten any further than that. I also fantasize about speaking
lots of Spanish or French around her so she grows up bilingual, but I
doubt that'll ever get past fantasy.

Good luck with Alden.

Kate
and Bug June 8 2003

John TM
July 12th 03, 10:19 AM
www.signingbaby.com

www.babysigns.com

www.deafsign.com


All the above give baby signing advice.

I work with deaf children so if I ever get pregnant I will definetly be
teaching my babies sign from birth.



"Shelly" > wrote in message
.. .
> is there a place where i can pick this up online? so i can try it with my
> son??
>
> --
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Shelly
> Mommy to Zachariah
> January 24, 2003
> "Leigh Menconi" > wrote in message
> thlink.net...
> > Claudia was diagnosed with Down syndrome when she was born so we started
> > sign language pretty soon, by about 6 months, mostly concentrating on
> using
> > it with her twin brother who would help us practice but also model the
> signs
> > for her as well. Without having a delay in the fine motor department,
he
> > picked up on the signs much more quickly but it did take awhile with
her,
> > mostly for that reason. Now she probably uses upwards of 150 signs (her
> > most recent favorite is "chocolate") and is just beginning to use sounds
> > that are kinda sorta understandable; they would probably be completely
> > unintelligible without her signing along with the initial sound.
Claudia
> > clearly *wants* to communicate but her lack of muscle tone in her mouth
> > makes it difficult to form the sounds. The only words that she says
that
> > are about 100% understandable outside the family are "no", "thank you",
> > "baby", "bubble, and "daddy". But using the sign along with the sound,
we
> > can pick up consistent sound combinations that now mean specific words
in
> > her own Claudia language like "pizza", "chips", "pretzels", "yogurt",
> > "book", and "draw".
> >
> > Her twin brother has dyspraxia of speech and it has been extremely
helpful
> > to have used the sign language with him because of that reason. Of
> course,
> > my aunt argues that he's speech delayed *because* of having the sign
> > language as a "crutch" but I have to disagree.
> >
> > The most powerful word to start with for a child seems to be "more"
which
> is
> > used by tapping the fingertips together.
> >
> > As a side note, using sign language in public is a great way to get kids
> to
> > behave without having to verbally reprimand them. Much less
embarrassing.
> > And often, if I can't get Claudia to respond to a verbal command, if I
> pair
> > it with a sign she'll respond much more quickly. Perhaps she is just
more
> > visually oriented.
> >
> > Leigh
> >
> > "andrea" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > My son Alden is 4 in September. He has Apraxia, which is a speech
> > disorder.
> > > Progress has been slow on the speech side according to the therapist,
> but
> > I
> > > feel he is doing great compared to how he was.
> > > He had at one point zero understanding. Now his understanding is great
> for
> > > his age, but he has limited vowels and can't pronounce constanants.
> > >
> > > I thought about signing for babies (like for drink), for Joseph and
> > > hopefully Kamron, to help avoid the frustration babies have before
they
> > are
> > > able to talk. I also plan on starting this with Alden, he does speak
but
> > > it's not very clear, and we usually guess what he is saying.
> > >
> > > Have any of you already started signing for babies/toddlers? How did
it
> > go?
> > >
> > > My pack I have ordered says some babies can start signing from 6
months.
> > >
> > > It's sounds like it's worth a try, as babies that can sign find speech
> > comes
> > > more easily. Some people believe signing delays speech, but i'm told
> this
> > is
> > > not the case.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Andrea mom of -
> > > Peter 7, Ellie 5, Alden 3, Joseph 21 mths & little munchie man Kamron
5
> > > weeks!
> > > Married to David since 2000.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

Mary W.
July 12th 03, 10:25 PM
andrea wrote:

>
> I thought about signing for babies (like for drink), for Joseph and
> hopefully Kamron, to help avoid the frustration babies have before they are
> able to talk. I also plan on starting this with Alden, he does speak but
> it's not very clear, and we usually guess what he is saying.
>
> Have any of you already started signing for babies/toddlers? How did it go?

We had planned to do it with our daughter but were pretty lax with it. She
picked up a couple of signs around 10 months. At 14 months we bought her
the signing time videos and her signing exploded. These are great videos.
They also really help with her vocabulary. At 25 months, these are still her
favorites to watch (they are videos of kids doing signs, she's fascinated by
them).

You can find them at www.signingtime.com

Mary

sher
July 14th 03, 05:55 PM
We started signing with both of our boys early on and saw no delay in
their language. If anything, we think it helped them. The key is to
make sure you are always saying the sign when you make it and to
introduce them one at a time. We started making the signs to them at
around 6 months. We started with More, Drink, Eat and Milk. Next, we
taught Help, Yes, No, Mom, Dad, Dog, Please, and Thank You. We taught
ASL instead of making up our own signs. It just didn't seem to make
sense to make up something that no one else would understand. We
found that we ran into a lot of people that knew even just a little
bit of ASL.

As they got older, teaching sign language was more of a novelty than a
tool, but they were still interested, so we created a calendar to
teach them a sign a day. Usually we had a theme each week – fruits,
weather, the next holiday, etc. The calendar included the printed
word and a picture, so we used it as a reading/spelling/vocabulary
tool as well. We slacked off after awhile, but with baby #3 on the
way, we're planning to pick it up again. Our oldest often brings just
his hands to show-n-tell and teaches the class some signs.

We have given signing books to several friends as baby shower gifts
and they have really loved them. Our favorite is "Sign With Your
Baby", by Joseph Garcia. http://www.sign2me.com/default6.htm. There
are also some websites that have QuickTime videos of the signs which
is a great way to really see what it is supposed to look like. Try
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm

I agree with the comment about being a great tool for communicating in
public. The "toilet" sign is especially handy in church when you'd
rather they not announce their need to go to the whole congregation.
It also works well across a crowded room.

Good luck!

~ Sher, due with boy #3 9/27/03