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Will teaching my baby sign language delay his
speech?
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No, when you use
a sign you will say the word at the same time. It has been found in
studies that using sign language can encourage earlier speech in a child.
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Is it worth the trouble of learning how to sign
when my baby will probably be talking by the time she is two?
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Yes, baby signing
is very easy to learn. It is something that will enable your child to
communicate at an age when speech has not yet been acquired. This can
reduce the frustration a child feels and lead to fewer temper tantrums.
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How can sign language help my child once she can
speak?
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You will find
sign language is very useful. At a family occasion recently my daughter
signed to me across a crowded room that she was fed up and wanted to go home.
I was able to reassure her that we would be leaving shortly, all without anyone
else being aware of our conversation... a very useful skill. You may of
course find that your child completely drops signing once speech is firmly
established, which is fine. However, the earlier signing
communication between you could prove invaluable to you both.
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Isn't sign language for deaf children?
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Yes, but it was
noticed many years ago that deaf children acquired signing skills at a much
earlier stage than their hearing peers acquired speech. Once signing was
introduced to hearing children it was found that often their spoken vocabulary
was much larger than those not introduced to sign language.
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My baby is only four weeks old. Is that too young to start signing
classes?
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Although the
optimum age for starting to learn signing is 6 - 9 months of age, there is
absolutely no harm in starting at any age. You can just come and join in
the singing and use any signs that you feel will be helpful to you and your
baby.
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When will my baby start to sign?
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Now that is a difficult question. As
with babies learning to crawl or walk and talk, they all develop at different
stages. We have had varying ages of successful signers in class, the
earliest has been 6 months. Generally speaking, 10 - 12 months is the
average age. As with all stages in a baby's life, they will do it at their
own pace. I will say, however, that perseverance in using the signs can
reap rewards. When your baby first holds out her hands to ask you to read
a book to her you will know it was all worth it.
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