Sign Language Questions

[smilee1079]

1. DS is 10 mths old.  I have inconsistently tried teaching more and milk.  Is it too late to really try to get him to learn it?  I think daycare has worked with him on "more" too.

2. How necessary is it to use the videos?  I was originally trying to not let him watch any tv till after 2 but maybe 30 min of this a day is a good idea.  I don't even know if he would sit still long enough to watch and I don't want him getting used to watching tv whenever he sees it on.

3. At this age, how long should it take for him to catch on?

[havarti]

I'm a super lazy sign person. He learned "more" at about 12 months. It's definitely not too late. I don't see a reason to show videos. At this age kids learn from actual interaction with people.

[osulori]

1. Definitely not, but the more consistent you can be with it the better.
2. The videos help, but he's likely going to get more out of you doing it with him during regular daily activities.
3. It's hard to say since all kids are different.

[undecidedowl]

1. Definitely not too late.
2. Not necessary at all. We never did videos and used quite a few signs.
3. Depends on how often you use them with him. Every baby is different. DS started signing around a year.

[catbus]

1. DS is 10 mths old.  I have inconsistently tried teaching more and milk.  Is it too late to really try to get him to learn it?  I think daycare has worked with him on "more" too. Not too late at all. We're still introducing signs to DS. He picked up "help" a month or so ago because we used it every time we asked him if he needed help; now he does that sign instead of (or sometimes in addition to) whining for what he wants help with. I want to say 9-10 months is when he started actually doing some of the signs we and daycare had been doing for months. Since then, his signing vocabulary has continued to expand. 

2. How necessary is it to use the videos?  I was originally trying to not let him watch any tv till after 2 but maybe 30 min of this a day is a good idea.  I don't even know if he would sit still long enough to watch and I don't want him getting used to watching tv whenever he sees it on. We have never used videos. For my own benefit, I've looked up signs online and then watched YouTube videos of the sign in action just to make sure we're doing it correctly, but I'm not having DS watch. 

3. At this age, how long should it take for him to catch on? I think this will vary a lot depending on the kid and the word. In my experience, DS has picked up on signs very quickly when it's something he realizes will benefit him; e.g., signing "please," "help," "milk," "eat," and "more" all get him things he wants. He thus far has not picked up on "thank you," even though we do it regularly, probably because he doesn't see a direct reaction to that sign. It's a little more abstract, you know? For the ones that "benefit" him, he seemed to catch on after just a couple days of consistent use. 

[smilee1079]

OK so I just do the sign and then do the action right? So if I give him food, I say more and do the hand sign and then give him food. Then repeat.

When I bring him to the boob or give a bottle, I do the sign for milk, right?

[Deleted]

Definitely not too late. DS is 20 mo tomorrow and I am still teaching him new signs. He just learned music the other day. The more consistent you are though the better.

I think at 10 mo I was doing a lot of signing and J was only occasionally doing it back. I think he may have had "more" at that point but nothing else.

[Deleted]

Jan 29, 2014 13:21:46 GMT -5 smilee1079 said:

OK so I just do the sign and then do the action right? So if I give him food, I say more and do the hand sign and then give him food. Then repeat.

When I bring him to the boob or give a bottle, I do the sign for milk, right?

This is what I do/did.

[sometimesrunner]

We started signing with M around 8 months and I don't think he did a sign himself until he was 12 months. So, definitely not too late.

[shellbear09]

I definitely don't think it's too late. I haven't seen the videos. We have been signing milk, more and all done for awhile but she has never signed (9 months). I know she gets milk but that is about it. We need to be more consistent and learn more signs ourselves. Her dc sends home a weekly sheet of a couple signs they are learning which is nice.

[smilee1079]

What sign do you use for help? I saw a you tube video for it and it looked like they used the sign for please instead and the help one does seem harder.

[osulori]

Jan 29, 2014 13:50:27 GMT -5 smilee1079 said:

What sign do you use for help? I saw a you tube video for it and it looked like they used the sign for please instead and the help one does seem harder.

Help is one hand flat with palm up, the other hand in a fist on top (pinky side of the fist against the palm of the open hand).  Move the whole thing in an upward motion   Please is open hand palm down on your chest, moving in a circular motion.

[indifferentstars]

We had been inconsistently doing "more", "milk", and "all done" since about 6 months. My DS started speech therapy a few weeks ago (at 11 months) and the SLP encouraged us to really be consistent about it and do as much hand over hand modeling as he would allow. I really think hand over hand is what finally clicked for him as he started signing "more" within the week and "milk" the next week. I'm hoping he'll pick up another soon!

I used the Baby Signing Time videos for myself to learn the signs but don't plan to watch them with him. I just borrowed them and will look up a sign online in the future if I need to remember a new one.

[catbus]

Jan 29, 2014 13:55:22 GMT -5 osulori said:

Jan 29, 2014 13:50:27 GMT -5 smilee1079 said:

What sign do you use for help? I saw a you tube video for it and it looked like they used the sign for please instead and the help one does seem harder.

Help is one hand flat with palm up, the other hand in a fist on top (pinky side of the fist against the palm of the open hand).  Move the whole thing in an upward motion   Please is open hand palm down on your chest, moving in a circular motion.

Yes, this is what we do. Apparently another family in E's class taught their kid a different sign for "help" that is similar to "please," but since that kid did his "help" sign first, the teachers didn't initially realize E was also asking for help (*cough* with the correct sign). We just found this out the other day, and I was a little bummed thinking about times he might have been asking for help and not being acknowledged.

Edit: "help" looks like this

[smilee1079]

Jan 29, 2014 14:16:19 GMT -5 indifferentstars said:

We had been inconsistently doing "more", "milk", and "all done" since about 6 months. My DS started speech therapy a few weeks ago (at 11 months) and the SLP encouraged us to really be consistent about it and do as much hand over hand modeling as he would allow. I really think hand over hand is what finally clicked for him as he started signing "more" within the week and "milk" the next week. I'm hoping he'll pick up another soon!

I used the Baby Signing Time videos for myself to learn the signs but don't plan to watch them with him. I just borrowed them and will look up a sign online in the future if I need to remember a new one.

What do you mean by hand over hand?  Also, how did you know your child needed SLP services at such a young age?

[MadamePresident]

We did a sign language class at the library when my daughter was under a year and nothing stuck. She is 15 months old and I got tired of her pulling my shirt down when she wanted to nurse, so I showed her the sign for milk. She picked it up immediately. She even used it in the middle of the night when she woke up the day she learned it.

She says words, but I've found that showing her the signs also, make communication easier for both of us.

[curbsideprophet]

I don't think it is too late. I am not sure if a child would benefit from a video that young. I think the video could help you learn more signs though. I would just try to use the sign every time you say the word. Eventually he will catch on.

[stephm0188]

We started signing at 18 months along with speech therapy. We modeled it whenever we talked to him, but he responded better to Baby Signing Time videos.

[indifferentstars]

Jan 29, 2014 18:49:12 GMT -5 smilee1079 said:

Jan 29, 2014 14:16:19 GMT -5 indifferentstars said:

We had been inconsistently doing "more", "milk", and "all done" since about 6 months. My DS started speech therapy a few weeks ago (at 11 months) and the SLP encouraged us to really be consistent about it and do as much hand over hand modeling as he would allow. I really think hand over hand is what finally clicked for him as he started signing "more" within the week and "milk" the next week. I'm hoping he'll pick up another soon!

I used the Baby Signing Time videos for myself to learn the signs but don't plan to watch them with him. I just borrowed them and will look up a sign online in the future if I need to remember a new one.

What do you mean by hand over hand?  Also, how did you know your child needed SLP services at such a young age?

Putting my hand over his hand to show him how to do the sign with his own hand rather than just doing it with my hands in front of him.

He wasn't babbling at 9 months, which concerned me, so we got an Early Intervention evaluation and he qualified for services.

[niq]

Jan 29, 2014 13:21:46 GMT -5 smilee1079 said:

OK so I just do the sign and then do the action right? So if I give him food, I say more and do the hand sign and then give him food. Then repeat.

When I bring him to the boob or give a bottle, I do the sign for milk, right?

It can also help to do the sign for him. Like hold his wrists, maybe try to ball up his fingers a little, and then tap them together.

[niq]

Jan 29, 2014 14:21:53 GMT -5 catbus said:

Jan 29, 2014 13:55:22 GMT -5 osulori said:

Help is one hand flat with palm up, the other hand in a fist on top (pinky side of the fist against the palm of the open hand).  Move the whole thing in an upward motion   Please is open hand palm down on your chest, moving in a circular motion.

Yes, this is what we do. Apparently another family in E's class taught their kid a different sign for "help" that is similar to "please," but since that kid did his "help" sign first, the teachers didn't initially realize E was also asking for help (*cough* with the correct sign). We just found this out the other day, and I was a little bummed thinking about times he might have been asking for help and not being acknowledged.

Edit: "help" looks like this

We got the Sign With Your Baby DVD and it suggests just tapping your chest with both palms open, because the motion is easier for little ones. Maybe that's what E's classmate is doing.

"Change" as in "diaper change" also seems tough.

Pro tip if you let baby watch the DVDs, watch all four early on, outside baby might get attached and whine when you move to volume 2 (ht spunbutterfly)

[jena]

Not too late. At daycare they use signs throughout the toddler room, so until 2ish.

We use the milk sign for BFing and the drink sign for a cup of anything.

[niq]

Here's a video of the easier-for-babies version of "help"

[catbus]

Jan 30, 2014 0:06:46 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Jan 29, 2014 23:37:22 GMT -5 niq said:

Here's a video of the easier-for-babies version of "help"

Weird, that looks too similar to please.

That's what I think... and it's all falling into place. Over the last few weeks, sometimes E will pat his chest (kind of like "please") when he's clearly asking for help. But he already knows the sign for "help," and had been doing it well before. I think the other kid must be doing this modified "help" sign, and it was being reinforced at daycare. Sigh. Now his teachers know we're doing the traditional sign for "help," so they're going to use that. One teacher actually mentioned that it's the sign she knew, but she'd gone with the simplified version because that's what the other teacher was using. 

E also does the diaper change sign now, but that's only in the last couple months. The one we all do is like this: 

[nital]

We started signing at 15 months. Total ame changer for my barely verbal kid. The nice thing about starting "later" is that she picked it up so fast. Her enunciation is just nw getting better, but because she also signs what she needs/wants, I can figure out what she wants.

Videos were overwhelming to me because they covered so many signs in an episode. I ended up choosing one sign to learn and teach her at a time. At 22 months, I started letting her watch Signing Time a couple times a week, and her vocabulary and speech exploded.

[smilee1079]

Jan 30, 2014 0:06:46 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Jan 29, 2014 23:37:22 GMT -5 niq said:

Here's a video of the easier-for-babies version of "help"

Weird, that looks too similar to please.

That's the video I watched on you tube that made me question the help sign!

[AmyRI]

1. DS is 10 mths old.  I have inconsistently tried teaching more and milk.  Is it too late to really try to get him to learn it?  I think daycare has worked with him on "more" too.
Never too late. I didn't know these signs until DS was 6 months old ;-)

2. How necessary is it to use the videos?  I was originally trying to not let him watch any tv till after 2 but maybe 30 min of this a day is a good idea.  I don't even know if he would sit still long enough to watch and I don't want him getting used to watching tv whenever he sees it on.
We never used videos, and we have similar rules about TV so we avoid having DD watch it. He will learn through you and his other DCP doing it with him. Be as consistent as possible. Sign and say "more" before you put any more of anything on his tray. Sign milk before you hand him the milk every time.

3. At this age, how long should it take for him to catch on?
DS was signing more by 10 months for sure, but DD hasn't started signing much until now at 12 months. Every kid is different. DS was ravenously hungry, so he got the sign down for "more" really early on.
The other thing to watch for is the kid not doing the sign quite right, and that's ok. DD's version of "more" looks like "again," and "all done" looks like jazz hands. We copy back the right way to do it, and once in a while try to physically correct her motion, but if she's trying to sign we go with it.