Cooperation with my 18-month old deaf boy
- Thread starter kat05
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Consider donating it to your local school for the deaf. Kids often lose these things and parents often cannot afford to replace them. They just need to be reprogrammed for the individual. Of course the individual must have an existing comparable AB implant to use the external processor.
Grayma
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Some baby signs materials may be different, but the baby sign materials I have seen do use ASL, although sometimes simplified signs I haven't usually seen in classes or other books. The sign for Mother, for example, is the thumb of the closed a hand on the chin, or the index finger on the chin.
The main difference about baby sign materials that I know of is that they focus on words babies will want to sign and that will be easy for them to sign.
I don't know if I'm telling somebody's grandmother how to suck eggs or not, so forgive me if I am, but there's a progression of developmental ability that goes along with sign- as I recall, signs using only one hand are easier, signs that come towards the body easier than signs that go away, two handed signs where the hands both do the same motion are easier than signs where the two hands are doing something different (work is easier than kitchen, for example).
A native signer wouldn't need to worry about that- if you just sign all the time, the baby's first signs will be just like a hearing child's first words- the things that he wants to communicate most and are easiest for him to say, or a 'home' version.
Hearing parents who do not sign all the time and who are signing for hearing babies prefer to focus on specific signs.
messymama
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You know, it's not easy for hearing parents to find a way to mix sign and words in everyday life, especially when you still have no feedback from the child! I guess when he'll grow up and be able to use sign in a conversation, it'll come more natural for us to use them, too.
Me and my husband talked yesterday, and just realized how many times during the day we just leave him cut out from what's happening, because we only talk. We just forget, many times, if we are not talking directly to him.
I'm trying to use more SL everyday, I'm also writing a little illustrated book for him with drawings of a small signing Elf, just to make it IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to read them without copying the signs (because that Elf I created is soooo cute
). It's pretty hard to draw the signs though, but I feel books are very important and he loves to look at them by hisself, so I think it's worth trying.
If we started this process from his first day, everything would be different now!
As for CI, who knows, we may end up having one for him one day, but still I have no regrets. Early implanted AVT kids around us do sooo great until 8-9 years old but many have to work harder from then on, so...
You know.
There's NO way to make this all easy going, I tell you :roll:
Me and my husband talked yesterday, and just realized how many times during the day we just leave him cut out from what's happening, because we only talk. We just forget, many times, if we are not talking directly to him.
I'm trying to use more SL everyday, I'm also writing a little illustrated book for him with drawings of a small signing Elf, just to make it IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to read them without copying the signs (because that Elf I created is soooo cute
). It's pretty hard to draw the signs though, but I feel books are very important and he loves to look at them by hisself, so I think it's worth trying.If we started this process from his first day, everything would be different now!
As for CI, who knows, we may end up having one for him one day, but still I have no regrets. Early implanted AVT kids around us do sooo great until 8-9 years old but many have to work harder from then on, so...
You know.
There's NO way to make this all easy going, I tell you :roll:
frankiesmom
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if he is doing well with the hearing aids, i would just go with that for now..frankie is slowly getting used to his, and its really enhanced his life, i think. he likes music now and he seems more aware of certain things. you dont want to do something that cant be reversed..they told me that if we had it done, it would possibly take away what hearing he does have.
frankie rips his off too when hes mad! and his glasses too.
Beach girl
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How very interesting.
You know, it's not easy for hearing parents to find a way to mix sign and words in everyday life, especially when you still have no feedback from the child! I guess when he'll grow up and be able to use sign in a conversation, it'll come more natural for us to use them, too.
Me and my husband talked yesterday, and just realized how many times during the day we just leave him cut out from what's happening, because we only talk. We just forget, many times, if we are not talking directly to him.
I'm trying to use more SL everyday, I'm also writing a little illustrated book for him with drawings of a small signing Elf, just to make it IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to read them without copying the signs (because that Elf I created is soooo cute
If we started this process from his first day, everything would be different now!
As for CI, who knows, we may end up having one for him one day, but still I have no regrets. Early implanted AVT kids around us do sooo great until 8-9 years old but many have to work harder from then on, so...
You know.
There's NO way to make this all easy going, I tell you :roll:
It's never easy, I know.
I made communication books for my son when he was young. I made the books for when we went to McDonalds, grocery shopping, the zoo and other places. I copied the signs and placed them around the house. You can always go to the bookstore and find sign nursery books and other books. They are pretty neat. I know making the decision to have your child CI, but like I said before, my son told me that it was the right decision for him. I made it when he was five years old. At that time I met the right doctor. Well, if there is anything I can do for you please let me know. I also have two children, one hearing and one who is deaf.
Kathleen Rocha
Texas
Kathleen Rocha
Texas
Anij
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Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )
GarlicPress has a number of ASL baby board books - you should be able to request them through any bookstore - including amazon.com.
Also I'd strongly recommend against bothering with "baby signs" - just use the correct ASL sign and your child will start repeating an approximation of that sign back. As their motor skills improve they will form the sign more and more accurately. When they reproduce an approximation of the sign (eg MILK), you should repeat the sign correctly and say something like "that's right, that's MILK"
(Signing and saying MILK).
As for signing and speaking - try using the pattern of "sign,then speak,the sign". For example "YOU WANT MILK?" - "do you want some milk?" "YOU WANT MILK?". This allows them to not only to learn the langauage correctly, it also allows them to focus on one thing or the other.
To learn more signs, places like aslpro.com are excellent because they have video of the signs.
There are also some great signed kids stories online - including "Llama Llama Red Pajama" done by Keith Wann - try watching these together
BTW if you are physically too far away for a Hoh/Deaf memtor to visit the house ... Consider seeing if there's a way to set up a video conference with them weekly - as well as getting some online ASL instruction.
The most importnant thing you can do right now is surround hi with signs ... It doesn't matter that you aren't fluent yet - learn and use as many signs as possible. Get the Random House dictionary of ASL (Elaine Costello) and copy the picture to post all over everything as reminders both of what the sign is and to use it.
Picture how confusing it is if out of thousands of words spoken in your home daily, you only know and can see/access a handful of signs or gestures. The more you sign (even if you make mistakes) the more you are allowing your child to connect to a language and way of expressing things.
kat05 said:
GarlicPress has a number of ASL baby board books - you should be able to request them through any bookstore - including amazon.com.
Also I'd strongly recommend against bothering with "baby signs" - just use the correct ASL sign and your child will start repeating an approximation of that sign back. As their motor skills improve they will form the sign more and more accurately. When they reproduce an approximation of the sign (eg MILK), you should repeat the sign correctly and say something like "that's right, that's MILK"
(Signing and saying MILK).
As for signing and speaking - try using the pattern of "sign,then speak,the sign". For example "YOU WANT MILK?" - "do you want some milk?" "YOU WANT MILK?". This allows them to not only to learn the langauage correctly, it also allows them to focus on one thing or the other.
To learn more signs, places like aslpro.com are excellent because they have video of the signs.
There are also some great signed kids stories online - including "Llama Llama Red Pajama" done by Keith Wann - try watching these together
BTW if you are physically too far away for a Hoh/Deaf memtor to visit the house ... Consider seeing if there's a way to set up a video conference with them weekly - as well as getting some online ASL instruction.
The most importnant thing you can do right now is surround hi with signs ... It doesn't matter that you aren't fluent yet - learn and use as many signs as possible. Get the Random House dictionary of ASL (Elaine Costello) and copy the picture to post all over everything as reminders both of what the sign is and to use it.
Picture how confusing it is if out of thousands of words spoken in your home daily, you only know and can see/access a handful of signs or gestures. The more you sign (even if you make mistakes) the more you are allowing your child to connect to a language and way of expressing things.