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