When Tbomb was a baby, I taught him a handful of signs when he first started trying to talk. I taught more, food, drink, and love. With snapper, things were a little different. I didn't teach her in the beginning like I had intended to. I had one I was homeschooling and I had my plate full. I wish I had done it anyway.
Well, when she still wasn't making any noises at 2, we were getting concerned. We realized then how quiet of a baby she really was. While we were doing testing and trying to figure out what was going on with her, I started teaching her sign language. I felt like this would give her a way of communicating and it really did help not only ease her frustration and mine, but I feel like it allowed us to bond in a unique way.
When we decided to teach her, I put a lot of thought into which ones to teach her first. They needed to be simple, be useful, and be fun. She picked them up easily and even started teaching family members so they could communicate with her. It felt good.
Here are the signs we settled with for her first five.
Each word is linked to a video showing the proper way to sign it.
1. EAT
2. DRINK
3. MORE
4. PLEASE
5. GIRAFFE (Giraffes are her favorite animal and have been since she was about 3 months old so we thought it would be fun if she learned the sign for something she loved!)
She picked up sign language really easily and that is actually why she was not diagnosed with Autism by her developmental pediatrician. She wanted to communicate and showed that the ability was there- just not yet for speaking.
Here are some free resources to help teach your children to sign.
- Handspeak (dictionary)
- LifePrint (free courses)
- Sign Language 101 (learn sign language online for free)
- ASL App
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