We leave for Illinois in about 2 weeks and we will be meeting up with old friends that haven’t seen SJ in a while. This video is to prepare them and other loved ones to see first hand what signs she knows. Knowing just a few simple signs will help bridge the communication gap, but she is also in the middle of getting the kinks worked out with her hearing aids and starting speech therapy so it’s also important to clearly verbalize the word with the sign so that we can continue to encourage both ASL and english. This isn’t something I want to push on everybody, but I want to make sure SJ’s friends and family have a fair chance to know what she is signing or how to get a point across to her, although truth be told she is 2 and won’t even look at what you are signing half the time!  

It was hard for me to narrow it down because there are so many other signs that she can say, but I don’t think you will need to know cat, bath, or ice-cream while we are camping. Here are some personal notes about the 10 signs I decided on for the video

1. More- This is the one she uses the most and it usually just means she wants something even if she hasn’t had any to have any more of.

2. Eat- She understands and produces this sign.

3. Help- She uses this one usually if she is trying to get something open although it is a little hard to recognize so I show her variation in the video.

4. Please- She doesn’t do this one often, but she has known it since before she was diagnosed hearing impaired, so I try to encourage manners and remind her to sign PLEASE when she wants something.

5. Toilet- Sometimes she signs toilet sometimes she just grabs herself, ha ha.

6. Thank You- Same as please and sorry. We are working on our manners.

7. Careful- SJ does use this sign, but she understands it. Since it is a command that comes up often with her I thought it might come in handy.

8. Sorry- She does not produce this sign either, but much like please it is something we are working on to show respect. If you sign it make sure to be expressive! Facial expressions are an important part of sign language.

9. No- She sees this one a lot and uses it a lot, but it’s usually because she is being a stinker.

10. All done- This was one of her first signs. She also sometimes uses it as a way to express when she doesn’t want something. Similar to wanting more of something she hasn’t had sometimes she is all done with something she hasn’t begun.

If you have any questions just let me know!