Here are few recent developments. Dante is...
Exploring vocal sounds, including a wild scream
Laughing as a response (which always ends in coughing)
Staring into our eyes for minutes on end, exchanging expressions... truly, this is the most wonderful part of being mommy!
Responding to facial expressions
Carrying on conversations with his toys
Reaching out toward things
Responding to "No" when crying loudly (is able to calm himself down and wait to be picked up, etc.)
Studying his hands
TINY HAND TALK...
As you may know, I have worked for many years as a sign language interpreter for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. So naturally, I want to pass this amazing language (ASL) on to my little one. I imagine that one day we will have signing days where we use sign only (we'll see if that actually happens!) I also imagine how convenient it will be sometimes to be able to communicate in public without anyone knowing what we're saying.
I've always read that while babies use their mouths to babble in their baby language, babies with deaf parents also babble with their hands. I've been signing to Dante and noticing by his expressions that he receives it in the same way as when I talk to him. I can even get him to stop crying without uttering a word, just by signing and using the natural facial expressions that go along with it. I was delighted on the morning of April 20th to witness Dante's first hand babble! It was definitely different than his usual hand movements, with fingers raised or curled alternately and palms changing direction. I've read about this a thousand times, but there's nothing like seeing it for yourself. So now James is starting to brush up on his sign language so we can have more ways to interact with our baby. The best part is that Dante will be able to communicate with his hands long before he is able to form words with his mouth. As much as I love the oblivious tiny newborn bundle, progress is also soooo very fun!
LEARN BABY SIGN LANGUAGE...
If you also want to learn some signs to use with little ones, here is a set of lessons I found on YouTube to help you get started. For more lessons, click the link below.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LESSONS ON YOUTUBE (See additional lessons in the right column)
Here is a video of a 12 month old baby signing-- she attempts to spell "kiwi", wow!
My nephew is sooooooooo smart!!!
ReplyDeleteI love that you are already signing with him~I know that babies that can sign are typically less frustrated (and therefore less fussy) than those who can't when they reach that awkward stage where they want to communicate but can because the small motor skills in their tongue are lagging behind their desire to communicate. We all learned words in Signing Exact English (and kept the SEE dictionary around) when I taught preschool so we could help a non-vocal student learn to express himself. All the kids really got into it. It was a grand day when the student finally actually communicated to one of us (my most vocal student of course!)purposefully! There were tears, laughter,and lots more signing as this little boy broke through his wall of "silence" to reach out to the rest of his classmates. He wasn't deaf, but Down Syndrome and could understand language but literally didn't have the small motor coordination in his tongue to talk. So exciting.
What you are doing will be very empowering to Dante as he grows!
xoxo
Wonderful! We've thought about doing that with Luke.
ReplyDeleteJanelle...If Luke learns to sign, can you imagine how cute it would be to get our boys together and see how they communicate? I wish we could see you guys : (
ReplyDeleteMary...Sounds like your class had some amazing breakthroughs using signs. As an educator you can hardly ask for more. Do you have any interest in volunteering or subbing at an elementary school? You're so good with kids!
ReplyDeleteOMG, that is soo exciting!!!! What a dream, to be able to sign with him. That's wild!
ReplyDeleteI love hearing and reading about how he is growing! Muah! Keep the posts a comin'