| As a parent, your baby’s “first sign”
is greeted with as much excitement as your baby’s “first
word”. For some parents though, the excitement is short lived
as parents wonder what their baby is trying to communicate to them
through baby sign language.
There are three steps to interpreting your baby’s signs and
these can be broken down as follows:
- Sign Introduction
- Your Baby’s Physical Capabilities
- Sign Generalisation
1. Sign Introduction
When parents introduce baby sign language into their home they generally
start with a small number of signs that are a combination of both
practical and motivational signs. To understand what your baby is
trying to communicate, the first step is to recall what are the
baby signs you have introduced into your home. By a process of elimination,
see if you can match your baby’s attempt at signing with one
of the baby signs that you are using consistently in your home.
It is important to remember that the sign language that your baby
has created may not 100% resemble the baby signs that you have been
using. The reasons for this are highlighted in step 2 and 3.
2. Your Baby’s Physical Capabilities
Your baby’s physical capabilities and motor skills will depend
on the age of your baby. When children begin to sign sometimes the
sign will be created in reverse. The reason for this is that each
time you sign to your baby, your baby actually sees the sign backwards.
An example of this was with my neighbour’s child who I taught
the baby sign for cat. When he finally signed back to me instead
of rubbing his right hand in an upward motion on his left hand (toward
his body), Luke was rubbing his right hand on the back of his left
away from his body. If you were to look at me demonstrating the
sign in a mirror it would look exactly like the way Luke had recreated
it. This is something to consider when interpreting your baby’s
signs, are they signing it backwards due to their perception of
the way the sign was created.
It is also important to note that younger babies may have difficulty
in crossing their arms (for signs such as koala bear) or may use
all fingers for signs that only involve one finger (for signs such
as Dad). For this reason it is important to notice the location
of your baby’s hand when illustrating the sign and be aware
of what is within your baby’s field of vision, these should
provide some clue into what your baby is trying to communicate.
This combined with a process of elimination should help identify
what your baby’s attempt means.
3. Sign Generalisation
As with spoken language, baby’s who are exposed to baby sign
language sometimes use one sign to symbolise many different objects
or may use the sign in reference to just one item. An example of
this was when Luke who knew the sign for cat, saw a dog in the park
one day. His response to this was to sign the word for cat. Luke
had identified the dog as a four-legged animal and had assumed that
it belonged to the same group as a cat. When a baby begins to speak
they may often use one word to represent many different objects.
In the case of Luke, it was important to encourage his attempts
but to also introduce the sign for dog and later to clarify the
differentiation between a dog and cat through stories, friend’s
pets and stuffed toys.
In summary, when the moment arrives and your baby begins to sign,
please remember to greet your baby’s attempt with enthusiasm
and encouragement. Through a process of elimination, you should
be able to clarify what your baby is trying to communicate and help
reduce frustration for you and your baby. And remember, have fun!
Happy Signing! |
