When my foster baby turned 7 months, I started teaching her sign language. I had heard that if you teach your child a few basic signs, the terrible two’s can turn into the terrific two’s and be full of joy instead of full of tantrums.  I didn’t know any sign language.  So I bought the book, Baby Signs and started from there.  Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn, the authors of the book Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk - have conducted over two decades of academic research on the use of signs with hearing babies. During one of the studies with the National Institute of Health, they found babies at age 24 months, were on average talking more like 27 or 28 month olds. This represents more than a three-month advantage over the non-signing babies. In addition, the 24 month old babies were putting together significantly longer sentences. Thirty six month old signers were talking at a forty seven month level  - almost a year ahead of non signing children. The conclusion is that signing children learn both language and cognitive skills, and show an increased interest in books and the world around them.

During my research on the internet I found a child can tell you what they are feeling or needing and therefore can communicate with signs rather than with tears and screams - even as early as one year old.  What did I have to loose?  Fewer tantrums sounded great!  I’ve had foster kids three years old who could barely talk and had major tantrums so I was willing to try anything.  We started with easy signs, the first ones were eat (fingers to the mouth),  more (finger tips touch and tap), drink (fingers showing drinking from a cup), rain (hands coming down in front of you).  I didn’t know how long I would have this baby, but even if I could use a few signs with her it might help both of us and even be fun. 

Over the next couple of months I continued to use a few signs, but I wasn’t getting a response and I wasn’t consistent.  It was fun, but I’d forget to sign something, and just did a sign now and again as I would remember to do it.  Then, during a rainy day visit to her birth mother, Kay suddenly started waiving her hand down in front of her.  She was almost frantic. Waiving up and down up and down as far as she could reach from her head to her toes. Up and down frantically.  Rain!  She was singing rain!  I had only used this sign a couple of times previously and yet she remembered and it was the first sign she choose to communicate with me. There was a sparkle in her eyes as I understood her. She was nine months old.

By one year old, Kay was signing rain, light, drink, and a whole lot of animals that I consistency signed as we went through a zoo book together.  Some of the signs were American Sign Language, (ASL) some Baby Signs and some made up signs that seemed to represent the animal in the book. (touching neck for giraffe, touching nose for pig).

I started to get excited by the results - Kay could actually communicate things she was seeing.   Soon I found a series of signing DVD’s made especially for kids. I purchased the first DVD called Signing Time, (www.signingtime.com) and popped it in.  There was a mom with her deaf girl and hearing nephew signing to other kids with catchy songs in the background.   I was not expecting much; after all, Kay was only just a year old and hadn’t been watching TV yet.  Immediately Kay stood transfixed in front of the TV.  Here were kids, some not much older than her, doing signs while playing!  This was the first time she had seen anyone besides me sign. From then on every morning she’d point to the TV and sign more (taping fingers together) indicating to me she wanted to watch the DVD.  After only a week she picked up about 5 new signs and started to use them to communicate her needs!  When she was hungry or thirsty she didn’t cry, she’d come to me, pull on my leg and do the sign over and over again. Eat, Drink Play, Swing, she’ll tell me what she wants.  She uses the sign for more every time she is having fun. When she goes down the slide she puts her fingers together again and again and laughing. More, more more!  I’ve bought the whole series of Signing Time DVD’s and we watch one every morning.  Sometimes I’ll do dishes while she watches, and she’ll come to me to demonstrate a new sign.  I have to rush back to the TV and learn the sign so she doesn’t get ahead of me!

Encouraged by how easy it was to learn a few some words, I decided to learn ASL thoroughly myself.  I had tried to learn other languages before, - French, Spanish, but it never occurred to me to learn as a child might!  I loved the simplicity of how children learn and  I went on another search on the net to find more resources to learn sign, not for Kay, but for me.  Quickly I found signbabies.com  -  with lots more research, articles and flash cards.  I bought all four sets and arranged them in small photo albums.  As I was sitting on the couch in the evening, I’d flip through them memorized the signs.  I did them to myself with the thought I’d teach Kay as learned.  Within a few evenings, Kay would point to the flashcard and then do the sign herself!  She had seen me do the sign a few times and picked them up just from watching me.  Now we go through the flash cards and she does the signs as I turn the pages.

Now adopted, Kay is 15 months old and has a signing vocabulary of over 60 signs.  She is also starting to talk and often says the word at the same time as doing the sign.  She has about 12 words already – some with signs, some without.  When she starts to fuss, I ask questions, using both the word and the sign, - eat, drink, tired, play, swing, slide, ball, diaper, until she recognizes the one she is crying about and then uses the sign back to me. She may not always know what she is upset about until I give her some choices, then she grabs the one that is most interesting to her.  I don’t care if she is communicating a real need, or just distracted from her crying by the sign.  I just know its working. I am optimistic about the ‘terrible two’s.  We can already ‘talk’ together and her verbal skills are ahead of others her age.  In her playgroup she is signing with non signing children aged 2 and 3, and somehow they all manage to communicate well.  When we are out in public, she points and does the sign for all kinds of things interesting to her.  She points to foods in the grocery store, and does the sign when she recognizes milk, cheese, grapes.  It’s so much fun to watch and share with her.

 Kids with all types of abilities and disabilities benefit from signing.  Other foster mom’s I know have started using sign to work with their kids.  If they are developmentally delayed or have speech delays they can learn to sign before speaking and it helps the frustration level for everyone.  I’ve had foster kids with all kinds of delays -you can bet I’ll use signs with all my foster kids in the future, and I hope you do to.

Michelle is a freelancer writer, workshop leader, artist, foster mother and now adoptive mother living in Colorado Springs Colorado.   She organizes a playgroup for parents teaching their kids to sign.  She and her husband have been married 22 years and helped raise his two children from a previous marriage.  You can reach Michelle at mav@usa.net, Her website is www.consciousdestiny.com