Mister X still isn’t talking well (he does say several words, but will only say half of the word).

This summer, I checked out several signing DVDs from the library.  His sisters love sign language, and even though X has good hearing, we are teaching him signs to help him communicate.  I have run into some problems, though, since a lot of ASL signs involve finger spelling or movements that a toddler is developmentally unable to perform (such as holding up a pinky, or crossing the midline).

I borrowed My Baby Can Talk: Sharing Signs with the hope that since it was geared for babies as young as 10 months old, the signs would be easy for little ones to learn.

This DVD was great!  It captured the attention of our 2, 3, and 5 year old, and at one point all of the children were watching.  X picked up several signs just from the program.  It is gently and clearly presented, and the producers obviously were very mindful of control of quality.  For example, when introducing the word “Monkey”, they showed a monkey (toy, then puppets, then actual footage).  They did NOT show a monkey at the zoo, a monkey asking for a banana, or a monkey with a hat until after the initial word, monkey, had been presented, avoiding confusion.  Later, signs are presented without this control but it didn’t seem to confuse my little ones.

Most signs were nouns, such as boat, hat, monkey, giraffe, apple, mommy. There were a few other useful words added, such as please, thank you, and sleep.

The show features a scene illustrating the word, then a mother making the sign clearly and carefully, then more footage of the word along with babies signing the word.  It finishes with the mother again signing the word, carefully and clearly while a mnemonic device to help remember.  (Giraffe. Like a giraffes long neck!)

We enjoyed this one so much – even after multiple viewings – that I’m considering making it a part of our DVD collection.  It’s a great intro to basic signs for small children.  I’m even more excited to learn that there is a whole series!

Tagged as: ASL, baby signs, DVD reviews, sign language, Special Needs, speech, speech therapy, teaching sign language