Signing

StrawberryAlarmClock

If you sign with LO, could you answer a couple questions please...

1. Do you stick to only ASL signs or do you have some made up ones?

2.  When did he start signing back to you?

3. Do you sign the whole sentence or just key words?

4. Did you just jump in feet first or did you pick a half dozen signs to teach LO and slowly add on to those?

TIA!!! 

sunnyday016

1. Stuck with ASL

2. I started showing her signs around 4 mo. and she did her first sign (milk) at about 7 mo.

3. Key words only. We only do a handful of signs. Milk, more, please, change (diaper), bird, and sometimes Mama and Daddy.

4. Just did a few.

I just picked up a basic baby sign book and started out with "milk" and "change" really early on. I was VERY consistent in showing her the sign each time we nursed or did a diaper change. Consistency is key! Good luck. 

ErinMSB

1. ASL (but the way DD does them, they don't always look like ASL).

2. We started signing to her at about 6-7 months. She started signing back about 11 months, but we could tell she understood our signs before that.

3. Just key words.

4. We started with just one or two, more and all done, I think. Once we knew she understood those (even though she wasn't doing them back), we'd introduce a new one every once in a while. Now, she picks them up and signs them back to us almost overnight!

htomeo

1. We stick with ASL, because we use sign language in our extended family, and do not want to confuse DS with signs that do not mean anything.

2. He started signing back around 11-12 months.

3. We start with key words, and once he gets them down, we will add more in there.

4. (see above answer)

shainababygirl

1. ASL

2. She started signing around 6 1/2 months. We started around 5 months.  I would ask her if she wanted to nurse, and show her the milk sign. She now does the milk sign anytime she wants to nurse, and started around 6 1/2 months. I was so shocked she was doing it that the first few days I didn't pick up on it!

3. We do nurse(milk), bath, Mommy, Daddy, cat, bed, more, and all done. So far the only one she's picked up on is nurse.

 

EcoBaby

1. I taught him ASL signs because that's all I know, but he has created many of his own signs in order to communicate with me. He has a different sign for basketball and football (very important things in his life, obviously. lol). He altered the milk sign. He made up his own sign for bath.

2. Probably around 8 or 9 months, but that is when I started with him.

3. Key words. ASL sentence structure is different from English sentence structure, so I think it would be confusing. Then again, I guess you could sign ASL signs and use English sentence structure. That would have confused me though.

4. I just jumped in and started with 1 sign. Our first sign was milk. I have only taught him a few important words like milk, all done, more.. and then like I said, he created his own. I took ASL in college, so I've only taught him things that I can remember.