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Most children learn to wave and clap and point long before they are able to speak and it is this same method with baby signing that can teach your child to communicate at a much earlier stage.
We first started signing with Kayla, who has DS when she was around 6 months old and she started using them around 12 months. I found it was a great way for her to communicate and share her observations and 'read' books with us without having the use of words and I am so glad we started early. Her brother is now 10 months and although we haven't deliberately taught him signing, he is now asking for a drink or signing bird when he sees a toy or goes outside and started "twinlking" when we sing. Regardless if your child has a disbility or not, is just such a thrill when your kids to communicate with you. Good signs to start with are one's babies can ask for what they want, like 'food' or 'drink' or 'more'. I have never met a person with DS who doesn't like to sing and perform and Kayla is no excpetion. We found signing through song a great way for her to learn. You may want to start off simply with songs like "Twinkle Twinkle" or "Incy Wincy Spider" then move on to songs like the "Dingle Dangle Scarecrow" or "Everybody Clap" which can build their memory remembering the sequence also. Like most people learning to sign with hearing kids with speech delays like Down Syndrome, we worried she would not want to talk. By two and a half we found that Kayla was attempting many sounds and words and often signing at the same time as much as we would expect - signing or not - if anything it has made her more aware of how to label things. She now has around 50 signs and although not full words, certainly tries to say around 20 words now too. Most countries have their own style of signing so be careful when you purchase books or use the internet to look up signs. In Australia, we did a baby signing course through the "Hands Can Talk " program, developed by a speech therapist with a DS child. They are very practical and have a great reference chart available too. Auslan is the main method for deaf people and they have an online dictionary to get you started. Makaton is used in the UK and Australia and have great resource books available for purchase. In the US, American Sign Language is used and there is a great website you may wish to use with all the signs online - Lifeprint. |
