Iain just finally did his first sign for the word "more" and what is so fantastic is that he SAID the word "mo" at the same time as he put his hands together! Yeah! He is also saying "peas" for please. Hey, it was even for his current favourite treat the ritz wheat cracker. :iconbigg: (which can be smeared with pea butter and butter! lol)

He has his first official speech and language assessement on this coming Monday. I think he is doing so very well and am proud of him starting to cotton on to the signs. Personally, I am an absolute spaz with the signs but I count this as a success! I can hardly wait until shrieking is no longer a necessity for his communication.

**off to learn "mo" signs**

That's fabulous! :iconbigg: It's great when they can communicate! And, to communicate about wanting more food?!?!! That's even better, Leigh. Iain has come a long way! :iconbigg:

Emma has several signs, but no words to accompany. I say the word as I'm signing it, but she just signs it without attempting to say anything. Is that normal? :doh:

I say the word as I'm signing it, but she just signs it without attempting to say anything. Is that normal? :doh:

Darned if I know. This is all new to me. Iain usually will either shriek or just shake his head back and forth. It is like speech on, speech off. Weird. Can you do some silly sounds to get her attention and see if she will vocalize at all with you? It would be a start. I will have to ask our speech consultant about this on Monday as Iain does this at times too. Remind me, ok?!

The irony that he used his very first sign for food was not lost on DH and I. LOL

I do have to ask you though, how long did it take Emma to learn or use a sign? We have been doing this for a couple of months and only now have had success with this ONE word. Is THAT normal? I know he is older but I really have wondered about that.

Leigh, that is SOOOO exciting! We are working with signing with Max too with not much success yet. Though when I'm doing the signs sometimes Max will take my hands like he wants me to do the sign again. He thinks the signs are funny - although he thinks lots of things are funny!

I can't WAIT till he catches on like your little one is starting to.

Way to go Iain!!

-Vicky

How absolutely wonderful, Leigh!!!!!! I'm so excited for Iain!

Vicky it was like time stood still for a moment when I realized he said it and did the sign. I tried to get him to repeat it but he refused and just shook his head, the little turkey. So, I gave him only one cracker and he did it again when he came back for a second one. Ain't I sneaky to make him work like that? Hee hee.

Iain will push our hands away for the signing so I try to do it facing him now. He will tolerate some of it but it is tough going. It is just at this rate I think we will know only a dozen words by the time he is able to go to school and learn how to write!:laughing:

I hope you will be posting soon for your success with Max. It is a good feeling.:iconbigg:

Thats great Leigh!!!!!
That is a huge step for Iain. Our middle child uses his signs all the time now. He started everynow and then and then it got to the point where we kinda kept encouraging him and then he kept up with it. I am so excited that you were able to catch what he was saying to you. The first time Evan did more for us my husband and I were at the table and we couldnt figure it out and then he was screaming and we were flipping out...it was now very funny to look back on. He was trying to talk and us older people couldnt get it :) The sneakiness is the way to go look at how far you got with him doing it again. Thats great!!! Good luck. I know that there are plenty of books out there to buy but on the internet you can find alot of the basic signs also for free. Good luck!!

That is great news Leigh, WTG Iain. Owen is signing more too and it's the cutest thing but lately since he has been sick he won't do it anymore:confused: . He understands the signs that I do, like "cat", he'll start looking around the room until he found the cat. Now he even says it, it sounds more like "at" but I know he means that word. He also says hot, that is a funny one because lately everything has been hot for him. And yes since Daddy is home I constantly hear "Dada", it's the cutest thing ever.
I hope Iain continues and picks up some more words.

Shae took awhile to sign back to me. Her first sign was please. And it was probably a year or more before she started trying to put words with them. Once she did though, the words really took off and the signs began to fade out. She just started using less and less signs as she started being able to say the words. She awhile she was putting sentences together with half signs and half words, cute.

Anyway, congrats on the new sign!! It's so exciting to see them getting it and to be able to communicate! And Shae loved it too, if she didn't know the sign for something she'd get out the sign book and pass it to me, wanting me to show her the sign for what she wanted to say.

Anyway, one of the BEST free sources for signs is here: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/Sites/aslweb/browser.htm

It's got a million signs and shows video of how they are done. I used that one a lot.

WTG Iain!! That is great Leigh.

I talked to Andrew's doc at his check up earlier this week, as I remember Zachary was speaking in full sentences by the time he was 2, and the only things Andrew say are, Mommy, Ches(our dog chestnut), cheese(when he sees a camera), hi, cool (learned from Zachary), he has said Ouch a few times, but that is all he uses on a consistent basis. He used to say Nana, papa, daddy and one day he just never said it anymore.
He said to wait until he is two, because he follows direction very well until you tell him no, then he looks at you like your from another planet! He points and says "ah,ah,ah" when he wants something....which gets so frustrating because if you can't figure out what he wants he starts shrieking louder and louder!

Anyhow, just wanted to share, thought maybe the master here had some advice for me:)

So excited that Iain is picking up on the signing!!

That's so great, Leigh! I'm thrilled for you!

Amanda, it's normal for kids to sign only and eventually with encouragement, they get the oral part too.

That's wonderful, Leigh! I'm so proud of him!

That is Wonderful!!!! Eli can't use is Rs either and he sounds like that when talks, so cute!

He definately has "more" pretty much down pat. It is not 100% correct as he does not have the pincher grasp yet but it is clear what he is "saying". Add on an attempt at "Mommy" today and a good shot at "no" complete with the word! Figures one of the first signs would be the word "NO". Lol

Stacey, the frustration is incredible when they can not convey what they want. In order to try and stem the shrieking just tell him calmly that you need him to use his words. (yeah, in time it DOES work ) and then get him to point to what he wants even if it means you have to lift him up to show you what it is. Otherwise you have to play detective.

As far as looking at you like you are from another planet when you say no, that is the mark of a normal child. Congratulations. My kids all look at me like I am growing a bonsai from my third eyeball when I tell them no. It is not like they never hear the word so I KNOW they are processing how they can get around it! lol

I am far from a master here with sign. We have been doing it for a couple of months and are just now seeing the payoff. It is hard though as not everyone signs at daycare so he does get frustrated still. At least one who is with him a lot does sign and this reinforces his language of communication anyway. He was ready to pitch a fit tonight for more crackers and did his sign instead and said "mo" so I rewarded him and made a fuss. He loved it and I hope this will teach him that he needs to use his "words" in order to be dealt with as Mommy does not respond to screaming nowdays.

I missed this post, Leigh! So, sorry! I am so pround of Iain! What a big boy! I can't imagine how great that felt to see him make that gesture and say "mo" at the same time!