Concentrate on the activities you do each day and the things that you notice your baby is interested in. As your baby grows, add signs for each activity. This way, you don’t have to feel overwhelmed that you have to remember a lot of signs at once.

To help you remember the signs, post the Sign Babies ASL Flash Cards where you will need them like place diaper related signs next to the diaper changing station and place the meal signs next to the high chair and so forth. This way, you have a reference right where you need the signs to be displayed and you don’t have to rummage through an alphabetized dictionary to find the sign you need.

Meal Signs: MILK, MORE, EAT, ALL DONE
Be careful of using signs out of context. If you sign MILK out of context, you might have an unhappy baby because she has come to expect that when she hears you talking about milk and signing it, she is going to eat. Ruby had to nurse whenever we discussed and signed MILK in a class I taught. It became a joke in our class, but was not so funny for her mom.

If you don’t know the sign for something, don’t stress out. You can use a generic sign for an entire category of things. For example, use the sign EAT or FOOD for the process of eating and for the foods. Later, you can learn the signs for specific foods like banana, apple, cookie, cracker and so forth.

Diaper/Dressing Signs: CHANGE, CLOTHES/GET DRESSED, LIGHT or FAN, ALL DONE, UP

Activity Signs: BOOK , ALL DONE, PLAY, MUSIC, DOG or CAT    ALL DONE is helpful when you want to transition from one playtime activity to another.

PLAY Most babies cannot correctly make the sign for play until they are well over 12 months because they do not have the manual dexterity needed to lift only the thumb and pinkie. However, that won’t stop your baby from making the sign to the best of her ability. Generally, babies will make this sign some time around ten to fourteen months old.

Bath Signs:BATH, ALL DONE

Bedtime Signs: BOOK, SLEEP or BED, MUSIC, BEAR

What About Name Signs?
One thing that many parents ask about is how to sign a person’s name. Specific name signs are given only by someone in the Deaf community—kind of like an Indian name. Hearing people should not create their own name signs because the sign could stand for something else—sometimes something offensive. You might not need a name sign if you can use a generic sign like MOM, DAD, or GRANDMA. However, when you need to differentiate between people or animals you can use a name indicator. Sign the first letter of the person’s name over the heart. This is not an actual name sign, but is like calling someone by their initials. If you have more than one person with the same first letter, try a combination of both letters or sign the first letter next to the head for a male or next to the jaw for a female.
GETTING A TEACHER: If you are the type of person who likes learning from a teacher, you might want to consider taking a baby sign language class. There are instructors across the country that teach classes and can help you learn the signs. Just make sure that the instructor you choose teaches ASL signs. There is no need to learn “baby signs” suggested by some instructors because all babies can sign ASL signs. A great place to start looking for instructors is the Sign Babies Web Site (www.signbabies.com).
SIGNING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?
Don’t “converse” with your baby in the middle of the night. Sleep is too precious and your baby needs to learn that nighttime feedings are not a time for conversations or else she may wake up and look for your company even when she is not hungry.

Incorporate Sign into Life
Incorporate signing in to your life and don’t make it an activity separate from your daily interactions. You might feel a bit strange having conversations with your baby before she can speak, but it is very important to do this and you will soon find it enjoyable. You can incorporate signing in to your reading time. Say and sign to her that you are going to read a book and then sign whatever pictures you know the signs for. Go beyond just reading the story. Even the simple act of labeling the pictures in the story—telling what each object on the page is while pointing to it—helps to develop your baby’s linguistic abilities.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 29th, 2007 at 8:07 pm and is filed under Stop Tantrums, Start Conversations, Podcasts/Shows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.