Testimonials
SIGNING HAS BROUGHT US CLOSER TOGETHER
Teaching our son to sign, and learning to sign myself, has really been a game changer for us, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Tiny Talkers. Our son (about 18 months) is not much of a talker yet, and I was having a hard time seeing his grunting and hollering as anything other than frustration and demands. It was wearing on me and made it hard for me to meet him where he was at. We signed up for Sign, Sing and Play when he was just a few months over a year old. He had just started signing for “milk” based on my haphazard methods of teaching him at home. But Sign, Sing and Play got us both in the habit of signing and taught me a ton about how to teach him to sign, so from he started to sign more and more. Since he has started signing, it feels like our dynamic has changed a lot, especially in the last few weeks as he has added a few signs every week to what he knows.
There’s so much less frustration between us because he has a way to clearly tell me exactly what he wants. There’s so much less yelling from both of us because we have this bridge to communicate now, whether that’s for me to tell him we’re all done with the toys at library story time or him to tell me he wants me to read the same book again. It has really cut down on both of our stress levels. And teaching him new signs has been really fun! It’s given me a go to way to talk to him about what I’m seeing and know that we are seeing the same things and connecting over them.
Seeing him sign pumpkin when we watched the squishing of the squash at the zoo or spider when we stopped on a walk to watch one weave its web has really helped me know that we are sharing experiences. But, perhaps most of all, learning to sign together has taught me to really watch our son as he interacts with the word in a different way than I did before. Because I know he can tell me what he sees — but that he often signs things imperfectly as little ones do — I feel like I am more observant and tuned into him as I watch his movements to see if he is trying to sign. I feel like I am able to listen to him in a way that wasn’t possible before. We have Tiny Talkers thank for these changes in our lives. I can’t overstate how much of a difference it has made. – Rachel
Shira! You’re amazing. The class was such a gift to H and I. I’m so glad our friends recommended the class. At first it seemed impossible to take Thursday mornings off from work, etc. etc.—I’m so glad I made it work.
What H was able to learn, and getting her out of the house and engaged in a class—that’s all been fantastic and fun.
But your classes—personally—were so enriching for ME. To have a special space to work on communication with my girl who was so frustrated. To have a path forward that felt constructive and enriching, when I didn’t have much time or space elsewhere to know how to help develop her language skills and communication. To get to spend some really fun connecting time with H where it was just me and her. Those things for me, were exactly what I needed over the 15 weeks of classes that we took. I felt good knowing we’d have that time together and we had a special thing to work on over the course of that week.
And then of course, as her speech continued to move forward (what we were supposed to ‘look for’—to make sure her speech delay wasn’t an issue) it just helped me feel more and more at ease and she’s been less and less frustrated the more communication she’s developed.
So again—just a note of appreciation and gratitude for the enthusiasm, warmth, energy, positivity, and love that you infuse into your classes. Keeping a group of wobblers engaged is no joke! But you do an amazing job because you’re a total pro.
I just think you and your class is so beautiful—it’s powerful and important work and I’m glad I got to enjoy it. -Jen
HELPED MY LATE TALKER
We love Tiny Talkers! My husband and I took the “Baby Sign Language 101” Workshop and it gave us the perfect foundation to start signing with our baby at home. Our son has also taken several session of the Sign, Sing and Play class (from age 14-24 months). Shira is an amazing teacher and the classes are so much fun! We always leave with new inspiration on how to incorporate signing into our daily routine, and have also learned a lot about how to support our baby’s language/movement/emotional development. Our son knows more than 70 signs now and its been such a rewarding way to bond and communicate together. We highly recommend Tiny Talkers! -Olivia
MORE TIME TOGETHER UNDERSTANDING EACH OTHER
The difference between just learning signs to teach your baby on your own and taking the Tiny Talker’s workshop, is that you actually learn how to teach signs to your baby! Shira role plays and gives great ways to help both babies and moms and dads learn together. Even though I already knew the signs she was teaching, I learned so much! – Karen (ASL Interpreter and mother of 3)
GAVE US A FOUNDATION
I took the Tiny Talker’s parent workshop after a behavioral therapist recommended sign language for my 19 month old. I was a little skeptical of sign language helping since he had already began talking. After the class, I picked 3 signs which I knew my son was having a hard time communicating to me. I did the signs with him for the first 2 days afterwards, as I was very excited with my new found skill. On the third day, I slipped back into my normal routine and forgot completely about using the signs with him. That evening, after dinner, I asked my son if he wanted a bath and he signed “more” back to me!! Now, it was the wrong sign, but I knew he meant “yes” (the other one I had been working on).
From there, I was hooked. We are now only about a month in and he can confidently communicate 4 signs. He tries to speak the words while using the signs, but his speech is on the slow side, so knowing what he is signing to me is such a blessing. We are seeing a great improvement in his frustration level and it’s a sense of pride for him to be able to tell me what he wants. Every time he uses a sign we cheer him on and we can see how happy it makes him. I went to sign language for better communication, but have realized that with successful communication, there is so much more to gain from it. -Lora
IT’S FUN TO LEARN SIGNING TOGETHER
Thank you for your baby sign language seminar. It was the kick we needed to get started with sign language with our 6 month old. It was significantly easier to start than I expected – the signs we hoped to teach our kiddo were all fairly intuitive.
Now, at 15 months, our daughter has a few spoken words. She can say, “mama,” “dada,” and a small handful syllable-combinations that we identify as the names of her sisters, banana, “buh” for ball, “puh” for puppy, “mnnnn” for moon, etc. But there aren’t many.
Because of sign language, her operating vocabulary is much larger. She can get excited about something outside, and we will know if it’s birds, or rain, or wind. She can sign “sister,” “puppy,” and “kitty.” We likely wouldn’t have identified her sounds for her sisters without help from the sign at the same time (or at least not nearly as quickly). She tell us that she wants to read a book, and she expresses her excitement over hats, and bears, and elephants she sees there.
Best of all, she can share more abstract thoughts. She can tell us when she’s hot or cold. She points to the oven and signs “hot” and knows to back away. She can tell us if she’s hungry, or if she wants milk. One of the best, she can tell us that something hurts, and she can show us where.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the sign language encourages her use of her hands to communicate in general, too. She often points to one of us, then pats where she wants us to go (which usually has an implied action, going outside, playing with blocks, etc). Or she’ll pat herself, and point at something else, for something she wants to do. She understands very well that she can communicate with her hands.
Thank you, for the gift of communication with my daughter. I feel privileged to have this language with her in this time while I wait for her spoken words to catch up. –Sonja
MY BABY IS CONFIDENTLY COMMUNICATING WITH ME!
WE LOVE YOU!! NO MORE SCREECHING!! My partner and I woke up about a week ago, and he said “You know what I just realized? Our daughter hasn’t screamed in about three days.” It was quite the lovely epiphany. We began working with her as soon as we got back from the workshop. After a full week of consistently using a few signs it was as if a light bulb went off. She got it! She began signing “more” not just for food, but for everything she enjoyed. It was so cute–and such a GIFT! We are talking with our girl!! About two or three days after really getting “more” she started signing for “milk” perfectly and is now doing several more signs.
We are now going through the class materials again to brush up on all the other signs you taught us. We truly can’t thank you enough. The workshop was possibly the best money we’ve spent on our sweet daughter since her arrival! Again, tremendous gratitude for your fantastic work in the world. –Camille M.
HER OPERATING LANGUAGE IS MUCH LARGER
We have taken lots of classes since my son has been in our lives (gymnastics, Music, book babies, etc) and Tiny Talkers has been by far our favorite! Shira not only has signing… but singing and games and toys and helpful parenting tidbits. We started when he was about 18 months and my son really picked up the signing. We were already doing some at home (i used to teach preschool) but taking these classes not only taught us more signs- but reminded us to use them! And this is what really helped my son learn- the consistency. He was a bit delayed with verbalizing communication but signing helped reduce his communication frustration (as he started to have more complex thoughts but couldn’t yet tell us) and the words he signed the most- were the ones he ended up saying first! And now at 2 years old- he is a real talker… but he still signs. He signs words that he verbalizes and words that he doesn’t. The singing and games and toys really make the class engaging for the kids- and fun- and make the signs easier to remember. It just felt like this class had everything I was looking for in a class. Fun, engaging, educational, signing, playing, (even balls!) and… Furthermore- we built relationships in this class because of the many returning families. Since I work full time (which is why the late time on Thursdays worked so well!) I have not had a lot of time to make friends with other parents but now we have people to invite to my son’s birthday party! He was more engaged in your class than in any other class- i think partly because he has a slow to warm temperament- and seeing Shira and the same other kids and parents week after week- as well as the bear and other engaging activities- really brought him out! When I tell him we are going to Tiny Talkers, he signs “friends.” I just can’t say enough great things about this class. I highly recommend it to anyone! –Abby
WE ARE SO GRATEFUL!
I really can’t say enough about how much my son and I love and enjoy our classes with Tiny Talkers. All of the lessons are so thoughtful, well planned, and strategically reinforced. I really feel our knowledge of ASL growing in a very strong way. I tell people this all the time, but what has made ASL so special in my eyes is, like many moms, I didn’t really have much knowledge of it before my son and I started taking classes together, and it has been so special and humbling to learn something along side him. The director Shira does so much for the community of moms and everyone raising young children. I really value all of the research she include and emails with useful bits of information and recaps from the sessions. I find myself revisiting them all the time. We are bilingual at home, and I think undoubtedly that ASL has contributed to my son’s ability to switch between English and Hebrew without confusion (he is 19 months old). Though it may be an unconventional style to use ASL not with English, seeing the same signs associated with words in both languages has made the languages much more clear to him. It also helps me understand him when I’m unsure what language he is trying to use. So ASL has definitely curbed the frustration of language and bilingualism at home. I am so grateful for having found these classes and all of the effort put into them. It has positively impacted us in a big way. All of this really wouldn’t have been possible without Tiny Talkers. We have taken ASL classes elsewhere in town, and these are by far the best classes we have taken. –Rebekah
THIS CLASS HAD EVERYTHING I WAS LOOKING FOR
I’ve been taking my daughter to Shira’s classes for over three years now and will continue to go. We started in the “Sign, Sing & Play” class and eventually moved into the “Music, Movement & Signing” for preschoolers class. It’s not only a wonderful chance for socialization in a fun atmosphere, but the sign language instruction has been so helpful to us as a family. Although spoken language is in full force these days, we continue to sign and so does our daughter which is really great. My parents have even started to learn sign language because they want to be able to support us. If we could be lifer’s in this class, we would be, just because it is fun and teacher Shira is loving, kind, creative and fun!–Darla
SIGNING HAS HELPED OUR BILINGUAL FAMILY
We have been in Tiny Talkers classes for several years now. We attended the workshop first, followed by a year of “Sign, Sing & Play” classes (which my second child is now enrolled in) and have been in the preschool aged class for a year now as well. I love the diversity of the topics Shira teaches. It’s not just practical stuff like “eat” and “more.” It’s fun things like animals and weather and transportation which really got my child interested in language and eager to learn how to communicate either with his hands or vocally.
In the preschool class, our oldest is now learning SO many new signs as well as a large vocabulary. Recently we were watching Trolls and my son recognized a word that he had just learned in the preschool class and said “Mommy! Branch said camouflage!”
I am so grateful for the gift of language that Shira and her Tiny Talkers program has given to our children! –Shannon
WE’VE BEEN IN THE CLASS FOR OVER 3 YEARS
Thank God for Shira and Tiny Talkers!!! We started her Sing and Sign class with our daughter at 10 months and I’m so happy that we did. Being able to communicate with our daughter in this non verbal year has been essential! It turns out we have a very opinionated and strong willed kiddo and I don’t know how we would have survived without sign. It has been amazing being able to let her know what’s happening and even more amazing actually having her communicate back her wants, needs, and observations. She is 19 months old and will string together multiple signs to communicate sentences! It’s so incredible to watch her personality come out even though she can only say a few words verbally. She speaks volumes with her hands. Thank you Shira! –Kristen
MY PRESCHOOLER IS GAINING A LARGER VOCABULARY
My daughter and I have taken several Tiny Talkers classes. Shira, the instructor, is a master at keeping young minds engaged through play, songs and signs. Her methods make it easy and fun for parents to learn alongside, which is key! Because my daughter isn’t talking much, it has given us another avenue to communicate. Since taking the class, she seems less frustrated and her communication, both verbal and through signing has increased considerably. I can’t recommend this class highly enough.–Jen
SHE SPEAKS VOLUMES WITH HER HANDS
Wonderful! I cannot say enough about how much we enjoyed this class. My husband and I participated in three sessions of “Sign, Sing & Play” with my son from the ages of 11-17 months. It was incredible how quickly he picked up on the signs. We originally came to Shira and Tiny Talkers because we noticed he was getting very frustrated and began having tantrums. He was trying so hard to tell us what he wanted, but did not have the language or signs to do so. We noticed a HUGE change after the first session. He began to use basic signs after the first few classes and it was so nice to have a way to communicate with him at such a young age. The classes were relaxed and fun and he really enjoyed the creative activities that Shira incorporated into the class. I would recommend Tiny Talkers to anyone with small children. It was one of the best activities we have participated in. Our little one is talking quite a bit now but still using all of his signs. We will absolutely be back when we have another little one. Thank you, Shira! –Carrie
ENGAGED THROUGH PLAY, SONGS AND SIGNS
I love that my son went to your lap in Sign, Sing & Play class today – he has never done that with anyone outside of family before! He really does adore you AND learns from you! Last week we heard a train whistle a ways off and he signed (his version) of train. Shira, we have never modeled that for him. You signed it in class and he watches you so intently that he learned from that one class. I wasn’t sure, but the train sounded again four more times and each time he wiped one hand down over the back of the other hand. –Rachel
Thank you so much!
WE ARE EXPERIENCING SO MANY FEWER TANTRUMS
I am a speech-language pathologist who has worked with older children and adults. I took sign language as an undergraduate and had experience with Signing Exact English and ASL. As a new parent I needed help in using baby signs with my infant daughter because I was making it too complicated (e.g. confused about which program to use, introducing too many signs at once and signing complete phrases instead of words). I had a private consultation with Shira. She was extremely organized, caring, positive and knowledgeable. It is clear Shira loves being a parent and is committed to helping others. She assisted me in coming up with strategies to use with the baby and provided clear, easy to implement materials. I highly recommend Shira and her Tiny Talkers program! A workshop and/or consultation would be a meaningful gift for parents and children. –Lisa L.