Just be very careful with hearing aids. Some causes migraines in deaf children, regular headaches in others, and for me – it literally rattles my eyeballs when I hear anything louder than conversational volumes. “Silence is golden” and people who like working in silence – I never take those two for granted, and battering what auditory nerves your kids have left with hearing aids or cochlear implants only results in permanent damage. I had aids in both ears for most of my life, and just 6 years ago discovered that the left ear has gone down the drain so much that the only hope I have is a cochlear implant operation that has the huge risk of leaving half my face paralyzed. The cold fact hit me… hearing aids do damage rather than good. So I only wear them when the children are present.

Thanks again for sharing.

DaveMo: I’m sorry to hear that your partner wasn’t willing to try it out—that sort of disconnect is never fun, no matter what the situation. As you say, it’s a lot tougher when only one parent is making the effort.

Ryan: yeah, go figure! (And it’s 200+ now.)

Ken: that is completely awesome; thank you so much for sharing it! We haven’t had to face anything close to those kinds of challenges, but we’ve definitely seen a low level of frustration in Carolyn, so I can add our anecdotal evidence to yours. It’s also interesting to me that his frustration was largely based on an inability to communicate. That, for me, illuminates the nature of autism (at least your son’s autism) in some pretty profound ways, indicating that there is intelligence behind the ‘mask’, and the problem lies in communicating with the outside world. So thanks again for sharing your experience.

And to everyone else who’s contributed their experiences, interest, and insight, thank you! I’ve read all your comments and really appreciate your taking the time to contribute. It’s great to know that there are others signing with their babies, and still more who plan to do so.

Nancy and I taught Lex ASL using “Sign With Your Baby.” Worst case, we figured we were all having fun together as a family. Never did we think our child would be hindered as a result of learning another language.

Not only did Lex emerge unscathed once he could speak, but the degree to which he could express himself (via signing or speaking), tell stories or understand multistep directions never ceased to amaze us. Even our friends, family and neighbors took notice, and not with the “ooh, isn’t that cute” kind of comment. More like the jaw dropping, “I can’t believe I’m actually seeing/hearing this” variety. (Most of them didn’t realize we were teaching him ASL either.)

I realize that each child develops differently, not everyone who tries ASL will get the same results, and Lex certainly did not reach 200+ signs like Carolyn has (a remarkable achievement in my book, kudos to the three of you). Regardless, I still think ASL is worth a shot if anyone’s considering trying it – no question.

Remember, it’s the journey, not the destination.

Though we never really explored the sign language option, we only talked about it, my wife and I have been fortunate that my daughter had a strong vocabulary very early on. It certainly prevented some frustration on her part as well as ours. I will certainly explore the ASL option if we have another.

For other parents/commentors who have struggled to get their kids to sign or expand their signing vocabularies…all I can say is just remain consistent with signs. At least, be satisfied that your baby/child can respond when you sign to them. It shows that they understand you. There are ways to get your child to sign…it just takes creativity.

Again, wonderful blog entry!!!

I am completely deaf (no measurable hearing at all) and have been since 18 months old. But because I was exposed to spoken language in the first 18 months of my life AND my parents switched to sign language almost immediately after I lost my hearing, I did not suffer the language delays often seen in people deaf from birth or from an early age. Many times, people like me suffer language delays because they were not given adequate exposure to ANY language, either because their deafness went undiagnosed for a long time, or because their parents were against sign language or simply didn’t know what to do.

My partner (hearing) is working on a PhD in deaf education with a focus in bilingual education and literacy. We plan to use full-fledged ASL with our children from birth and also expose them to English, regardless of whether they are hearing or deaf. I am thrilled to read of your successes in using baby sign and some ASL. Kudos to you and Kat! :)

When I have kids (hopefully a long time from now- I’m just a Junior in High School) this will definatly be of intrest to me- to not only teach a kid to talk to other students, but other students with hearing disabilities is so cool.

First off, check out Eric Meyer’s take on children and sign language he calls Reading the Signs. He’s referencing his two-year old daughter, Carolyn, an [...]

my brother just sent me a link to your site….I guess he figured I could relate. See, my wife and I have also been teaching our young daughter ASL, just like you. My daughter is just about to turn 18 months old and she seems to be making the same progress as your daughter in both speech and sign. In fact, you could probably take your entry and replace Carolyn with Ella and you have our situation.

I am a firm believer that ASL has helped my child in so many ways. I would strongly recommend that every parent teach their child some sort of sign (be it baby sign or ASL) to help lower both the parents and the childs frustration levels. It is so much easier when the child can just tell you they want milk, if they’re all done, if they want more….never mind the fact that later on 14-18 months) they can form sentences like asking to write (or draw) at the table.

As far as stunting the development of the child, I have to say this…
every child learns and grows in their own manner and at their own rate. For some, speech (language skills) comes early. For others, somersaulting (balance) comes early. Then there are others who grow (in size and weight) before developing other skills. (As an aside: most children will reach approximately the same level in each skill by the time they reach 5 years of age).

my point is that not all babies develop the same skills at the same time. Language skills are tricky at best….sometimes they don”t develop until the child is well over 2. There is no way of knowing when your child will develop those skills….all ASL does is gives them a means to communicate well before language is ever learned.

Other than that, good luck with potty training.

Phil

He picked it up quickly. Within a month, he even began to joke with my wife at feeding time. When she’d ask him if he wanted more, he’d bring his hands together, fingers bunched up getting ready to tap them together for “more”, then he’d fake her out and pass his hands by each other and make the sign for “all done”. Then, he’d giggle. It was quite an improvement.

Now, after hours and hours of therapy and enrollment in a pre-K PDD classroom, he can not only speak, but converse (with adults primarily), read at a 2nd grade level and do simple math.

But it all started with signing.