Sign With Your Baby: How to Communicate With Infants Before They Can Speak [Paperback]

Dr. Joseph Garcia (Author), Sign2Me Early Learning (Author), Sign2Me Early Learning/Northlight Communications Inc. (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0966836774 | ISBN-13: 978-0966836776 | Edition: 0002-

Trusted by more than 1,000,000 parents, medical professionals, teachers, childcare professionals . . . and babies . . . worldwide! The Best Seller, "Sign with your Baby" is truly the Grandfather of all ASL Baby Sign Language programs! This is the program that launched the ASL Baby Sign Language revolution. This book teaches hearing parents how to use simple sign language gestures to communicate with their hearing infants before their infants can speak. Joseph Garcia uses anecdotes, practical guidelines and humor to explain the benefits and method for taking advantage of this unique form of early communication. He will help you recognize when your child is receptive to learning. He recommends which signs to teach first and shares ideas for games that can be fun and useful when introducing new signs. The book is also a useful reference with 145 clearly illustrated signs, enabling you to choose and teach the signs that will be most beneficial to you and your child. This book is also included in a separate "package" edition called the SIGN with your BABY Complete Learning Kit - which is comprised of the book, 60 minute training video and quick reference guide.

Editorial Reviews

Review

". . . An amazing new world of communication." ". . . An astonishing tool for parents." --abc News, "20/20"

Parents looking for a new way to communicate and bond with their infant and/or toddler now have one - this book teaches elementary ASL signing. Eye contact, interaction and language development all get a boost from the book, which is aimed at parents of babies age 6 months to 3 years. Plus, with a few of the simple signs in hand, the little ones can actually help mom and dad figure out what they need. (Eat? Up? More?) Parents who stick with it may also see a broader social advantage: bridging that communication barrier between deaf and hearing people of all ages. A Parents' Choice® Recommendation! --Parents' Choice Awards®

Parents looking for a new way to communicate and bond with their infant and/or toddler now have one - this book teaches elementary ASL signing. Eye contact, interaction and language development all get a boost from the book, which is aimed at parents of babies age 6 months to 3 years. Plus, with a few of the simple signs in hand, the little ones can actually help mom and dad figure out what they need. (Eat? Up? More?) Parents who stick with it may also see a broader social advantage: bridging that communication barrier between deaf and hearing people of all ages. A Parents' Choice® Recommendation! --Parents' Choice Awards®

Parents looking for a new way to communicate and bond with their infant and/or toddler now have one - this book teaches elementary ASL signing. Eye contact, interaction and language development all get a boost from the book, which is aimed at parents of babies age 6 months to 3 years. Plus, with a few of the simple signs in hand, the little ones can actually help mom and dad figure out what they need. (Eat? Up? More?) Parents who stick with it may also see a broader social advantage: bridging that communication barrier between deaf and hearing people of all ages. A Parents' Choice® Recommendation! --Parents' Choice Awards®

Parents looking for a new way to communicate and bond with their infant and/or toddler now have one - this book teaches elementary ASL signing. Eye contact, interaction and language development all get a boost from the book, which is aimed at parents of babies age 6 months to 3 years. Plus, with a few of the simple signs in hand, the little ones can actually help mom and dad figure out what they need. (Eat? Up? More?) Parents who stick with it may also see a broader social advantage: bridging that communication barrier between deaf and hearing people of all ages. A Parents' Choice® Recommendation! --Parents' Choice Awards®

Parents looking for a new way to communicate and bond with their infant and/or toddler now have one - this book teaches elementary ASL signing. Eye contact, interaction and language development all get a boost from the book, which is aimed at parents of babies age 6 months to 3 years. Plus, with a few of the simple signs in hand, the little ones can actually help mom and dad figure out what they need. (Eat? Up? More?) Parents who stick with it may also see a broader social advantage: bridging that communication barrier between deaf and hearing people of all ages. A Parents' Choice® Recommendation! --Parents' Choice Awards®

Parents looking for a new way to communicate and bond with their infant and/or toddler now have one - this book teaches elementary ASL signing. Eye contact, interaction and language development all get a boost from the book, which is aimed at parents of babies age 6 months to 3 years. Plus, with a few of the simple signs in hand, the little ones can actually help mom and dad figure out what they need. (Eat? Up? More?) Parents who stick with it may also see a broader social advantage: bridging that communication barrier between deaf and hearing people of all ages. A Parents' Choice® Recommendation! --Parents' Choice Awards®

About the Author

Though no one in his family is Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Dr. Joseph Garcia has always been interested in gestural language and began studying American Sign Language (ASL) in 1975. He soon began using it extensively in his personal and professional life, and eventually became a Certified Interpreter. As he became more involved with the Deaf community, he soon noticed that hearing children of deaf parents started communicating with sign language at an earlier age than hearing children did with spoken language. Intrigued by this observation, he decided to research early childhood language acquisition and the part that sign language might be able to play in the process. He chose this topic for his graduate thesis in 1986. As his research proceeded, he uncovered a great deal of information about deaf children and their language development, but could find little on hearing children using ASL signs (i.e. hearing children of deaf parents, children with deaf siblings, etc..) He began investigating the results of using ASL signs as a method of early communication between hearing children and their hearing parents, and how signing affected the onset of expressive language in preverbal infants. What he learned was that babies who are exposed to ASL signs regularly and consistently, starting at six to seven months of age, can begin using signs effectively for meaningful two-way communication by the eighth or ninth month. They will also clearly understand the meaning of the signs quite some time before they actually initiate them on their own. During the last 30 years, Joseph was principal investigator for 109 private research grants. He has developed teaching and training materials for youth-related projects in the health care industry. He was appointed to and served two years on the Alaska Governor's Committee on Employment of The Disabled. He has continued to be active in the Deaf community. Dr. Joseph Garcia is the author of the definitive book on signing with your baby and baby sign language using ASL signs, called, "Sign with your Baby."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Sign2Me Early Learning/Northlight Communications Inc.; 0002- edition (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966836774
• ISBN-13: 978-0966836776
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.3 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Study & Reference

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

157 of 162 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great idea and better than Baby Signs October 12, 2000

By Reader14

Format:Paperback

I have to disagree with Proudparent's review. I first bought the book Baby Signs and found it to be the equivalent of a long article about why teaching your baby to communicate non-verbally is a good thing with some examples of signs that parents had made up on their own. I was already convinced that signing was a good thing and so while I found the book interesting I didn't find it useful. When I ran across Garcia's Sign With Your Baby, is was much more of a "How-To" that helped me get started.

I really like that he advocates use of American Sign Language, it took some of the pressure off us trying to think up appropriate signs. Plus it's a bonafide, beautiful language. We were even able to take out children's books at the library that had the ASL signs along with the English text. Our baby didn't have a problem with the basic signs, we did adapt some ASL signs to make it easier and on occasion made up our own signs. Like Baby Signs, the Garcia book is a bit light, I would have preferred something more comprehensive, but of the two books about signing with your baby, I found it to be the more useful. Our playgroup all taught our babies how to sign in ASL and it's made babysitting each other's children so much easier.

Whichever book you use (or neither, you don't really need a book), do try signing with your baby. It's so much fun for parents, grandparents and babies. Our daughter is talking now, but still uses her signs sometimes. It opened up her world to us so much earlier than we would have thought possible.

132 of 138 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for reducing the frustration of the toddler years December 11, 1999

By A less frustrated mom

Format:Paperback

This book is a wonderful tool for parents wishing to teach their baby to sign. Much of the frustration of the toddler years results from a child's inability to communicate with others. I only wish that I had started earlier with my children. I began teaching my twins to sign at 16 months. Within 3 weeks, my son was signing "more" spontaneously. My daughter was resistant to signing at first and then finally would sign when she thought no one was looking. Now she does it openly and with a big smile since she realizes the power of communication! At 18 months now, they both sign "more", "milk", "please" and "mama". We have also made up a few signs like "blankie" that they are learning to use. It has really reduced some of the frustration in my home, and I plan to continue to use sign with them for as long as it remains useful. I do have a background in sign (I am an audiologist), but this book is simple enough for anyone without any knowledge of sign language to use. A must for every parent of an infant or toddler.

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sign With Your Baby August 9, 2001

By Thomas M Wiley

Format:Paperback

Amazing results. My wife and I started to sign to our daughter at 3 months, Milk, Dog, Mom, Dad, Bright Light, and sleep. At 6 months old she was asking to be nursed without crying, at 8 months old she was communicting with us for food, drink, play, naps, diaper change, dog etc.. At one year she was using over 50 signs. Now that she is two, she speaks like a 6 year old, complete sentences, coherent conversations about a single topic, and is beginning to work out written words.

Stick with the signing in the book for 3-4 months and watch your child's vocabulary explode before she's one.

We also believe we avoided a very frustrating time for both us and our daughter by being able to communicate with her so early and telling us her needs and wants.

Invest the $15, and stick with the program, it will amaze you and your family.