Signing
with
Emma
Emma, who is just over a year, is our first child. Everything seemed to
be a new adventure and experience for us: Most of the time it’s a
guessing game. Why is she crying? What does she want? What are we doing
wrong? It’s a frustrating situation for everyone involved, including
Emma.
The first signs we used with her were Milk, Eat, Finished and More.
When we first started signing to her we would sign Milk every time we
gave it to her and she would just stare blankly at us. Then we started
to notice her face light up ever time we signed milk or eat to her, you
could tell she understood what we were staying and associated the sign
with the item. Slowly you noticed her signing while she was eating or
drinking, then we noticed her signing to ask for things. We kept adding
new signs and incorporating them into our everyday life.
One night when Emma was about 11 months old we were all really tired
and skipped Emma’s bath routine before bed. We put her in her crib,
just like we do every night, and she cried and cried. We couldn’t
understand what was wrong with her; when we finally went up to check on
her she was standing in her crib signing “bath”. She was asking us for
a bath! We were amazed! She had never used this sign before but had
seen us signing bath every night when we gave her a bath. So we gave
her what she asked for, put her to bed and she fell asleep right away.
This is just one of the amazing stories about Emma communicating with
us. She now asks us for Cheese, Crackers, Apple, Juice, Water…the list
goes on and on. We don’t have to guess anymore…she tells us.
It has also helped Emma’s verbal and communication skills. She has an
extensive vocabulary for her age because she was taught at an early age
to associate items with words, signs and sounds. We can sign Duck to
her and she says Duck….we can point to a duck and she says duck…we can
say Duck and she signs duck. It has been a great way to teach her all
levels of communication. It has not hindered her speaking in any way,
only improved it and given her the confidence to ask for things.
The Smart Hands Class was a great tool to teach her these signs. I
don’t think a book or video would have given me the confidence to
constantly sign items to her. We not only learned signs but sang songs
and played games. It was a lot of fun for Emma and myself and gave us
an opportunity to get out of the house and have some fun! I would
recommend Smart Hands to everyone with a baby. It is such great
feelings to have your one year old communicate with you and ask for
anything from bed to bath or juice to Cheese. It’s amazing!! . The
outcome of these classes and the communication we have with our
daughter has far exceeded our expectations!
Melanie—London,
Ontario
April 9th, 2009
Signing with
James
I started using sign language with my son when he was just 5 months
old. He picked up a few signs, and I gained more interest in learning
further. It was when James was about 10 months old that I signed up for
Baby Signing Level 1 with Charlene. Ultimately this class was a great
reinforcement for both of us! I was teaching him the signs I knew; and
we learned several more signs; upwards of 100 in the manual only! The
My Smart Hands manual we received as a part of the course was a great
reference book. We have loaned the book out to family members so they
can know what James is saying to them. My son likes to flip through and
look at all the pictures too!
They say that signing works and primarily babies love movement and signing is just that. In the classes he seemed to really enjoy watching other people signing, whether it was the kids, the moms, or the teacher.
I would highly recommend that any parent should teach their child sign language. James now at 17 months is a happy child who rarely gets upset, as he can tell us what he wants or needs. He takes great joy in signing about the dogs, birds and cars he sees on our daily walks. He tells me when he is hungry or thirsty and even when his bottom is wet! He can also tell me he loves me, what better reward is there than that.
Jennifer-London,
Ontario
May 27th, 2009
Patrick
has
Aspergers
&
uses
ASL
My son Patrick is a very bright 11 year old that faces the daily
challenge of ADHD and a learning disability: Recently he has also been
diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome. Because of all of this he has a
great deal of anxiety. Due to the combination of Aspergers and ADHD he
is not able to go to regular group sessions to help him over come his
anxiety issues.
One recommendation given to me was to try to get him to focus on
something that would keep his mind challenged, re-focus his brain and
improve his eye contact such as sign language. The idea was to help him
communicate even in higher stress times when he had a tendency to
become non-verbal and withdrawn: Also it would allow him to “fidget” in
a more constructive manner. With this in mind Patrick started lessons
with Certified Sign Language Instructor, Charlene Slaats-Gray using the
“ My Smart
Hands” program.
Within 3 weeks of starting the “My Smart Hands” curriculum it was
noticed by his classroom teacher, and the resource teachers that work
with him, that Patrick was calmer and more focused on his lessons: That
he was not as anxious and was fidgeting less in class. Also another
important benefit is that It has helped him to feel more confident
about trying to socialize with his peers; children his own age.
As his mother I am finding it a great new way to communicate with him.
In his “teaching” me the signs it has helped his confidence grow and
has also given him a sense of achievement and therefore providing him
with a great tool to help redirect his stress and frustration.
After 4 years of trying to find help for Patrick we now have found the
perfect tool for him to use that will be benefit him throughout his
life in many different ways.
Jacqui-London,Ontario Canada
May 5th, 2009