UCLA Language and Cognitive Development Lab

The UCLA Language and Cognitive Development Lab needs your help! We are looking for volunteers to participate in a study investigating how the use of sign language influences language development. The study is for hearing children 15-27 months of age, who are monolingual English speakers (i.e. speak/hear English more than 70% of the time), but have had experience learning and using signs to communicate (ASL or modified ASL).

You will get a book as a gesture of our appreciation for participation! The study takes place in our lab at UCLA. We provide parking. For the study, we will play a fun label-learning game with your child. You will remain with your child at all times. Visits usually last about an hour. Our lab schedule is very flexible, we should be able to find a time to visit that is convenient for you and your family.

Please contact Emily at 310-206-8286 or emilyt0623@ucla.edu

We would be very grateful for your participation!

Emily Thom, MA, C.Phil,
Research Coordinator, LCD Lab, UCLA Psychology

Kind words for The Baby Signing Book

Just came across these recent kinds words about The Baby Signing Book from P. Matthews who lives in Northern California and I am truly humbled.

This book is fantastic because it clearly gives you movement and location of hands when signing. Memory aids are an added plus. I recently started taking care of my grandson of 4 months and have already started signing words. He watches attentively to my surprise. I also teach his parents so we are learning together. We started with four signs for mama, dada, grandma and aunt. We use the first letter of the grandmas names to distinguish between grandmothers.

I decided to teach my grandson signing because of my concern about him being able to communicate with his parents if he doesn't like a babysitter or something that makes him sad. So many babies are in the hands of daycare, nannies or babysitters without a means to communicate their experience. I know there are many superb daycare providers! I just want my grandson to participate in the choice for him. It will be a while before he can sign so I will babysit him until then. It is such a joy! Picking the rights words to teach first is key. The book gives excellent suggestions on how to give meaning to the words you choose.

Teach in the Moment

This is a quote from one of my favourite speech-language pathologists, Dr. Libby Kumin. She is practical in all she does and is such an inspirational teacher and therapist.

Often we go through the day with our to-do list and we want to check off everything and get it done. If we want to help a child learn, we cannot do that. We have to focus really on the here and now. We need to think about the opportunities for learning that are inherent in what’s going on in the moment. What’s going on may be a rainstorm. Talk about the rain, or comment about the sun coming out. There may be a puddle, or there may be oil on the puddle where you see colours. You may want to talk about a rainbow and the colours in it. Ask yourself, “How can I help my child learn in this moment?”

I encourage parents to 'narrate' their child's world and day through signs and speech. You can do this by being in the moment. I think Dr. Kumin's example about talking about what is going on after a rainstorm is perfect. Label what both you and your child are seeing, hearing and feeling using signs and speech. Talk about the rainbow, the sunshine, the wet grass and the growing flowers and trees with your signs! What a beautiful story it will be!

Vote for WeeHands!

WeeHands has been nominated for an award! Help us grow and reach more families!

Winning would allow WeeHands to reach more families in more areas and ways. I've got lots of ideas for more classes and our first children's sign language products to help families communicate with their children. I'm also very interested in creating a foundation that will help families with speech and language difficulties...there's so much to do and so many ways that WeeHands wants to both grow and to help!

Please read more about WeeHands and vote for WeeHands for the SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Award on this webpage:

http://momentrepreneuraward.ca/MomBio.aspx?momID=49

Please encourage all your friends to do so as well!

WeeHands on BT Edmonton!

Baby's Sensory Experiences

I'm watching a wonderful DVD for a class I'm teaching tomorrow (within the Communicative Disorders Assistant program at Durham College) and have come across a line I now love:

"Children learn from sensory experiences and as we interact with children we need to help the child experience sensory input and attach language to it."

I'll add to this...for our babies, toddlers and preschool children, let them experience lots of varied and numerous sensory experiences and narrate these experiences with words and signs. Love it! This is how we learn language!

WeeHands on BT Edmonton!

One of the wonderful WeeHands Instructors that we have in Edmonton, Alberta appeared on Breakfast Television Edmonton this morning! Congratulations Sherrilee!

Sherrilee is an instructor with WeeHands, a sign language and language development program for babies, toddlers and preschool children. Baby sign language encourages communication and bonding between family members and allows parents to find out their child’s wants and needs.

There was definitely a sign language "taste" to the show this morning with Kirk Ferguson-Uhrich who is the chair of Sign Language and Deaf Studies programs, Lakeland College appearing today in addition to Sherrilee! Great information for so many individuals and families!

Next week, watch for WeeHands on Breakfast Television in Vancouver!

WeeHands Pilot Shoot Pics

Thank you to Markus, Liandrea Productions, Chapters, Monica (WeeHands Instructor) and all the moms and babies who helped out with the very first WeeHands DVD shoot! What a fantastic morning! The pilot video will be posted soon...stay tuned!

Watch and then Sign With Your Baby!

Watch your child for their facial expressions, body language and where their attention is focused. When you turn off everything else and sit with them and just watch, it will help you recognize their feelings and interests. Then you’ll be able to label their feeling and interests using signs and words.

For signs for feelings and for other items your baby is interested have a look at this wonderful website, one of my new favourites!

http://www.signingsavvy.com/

Watch your child and narrate their world using animated words, signs and facial expressions. Watch your child and then they’ll watch you!

WeeHands is the world's leading children's sign language and language development program for babies, toddlers and preschool children. Founded in 2001, by Sara Bingham, author of The Baby Signing Book, WeeHands currently trains and licenses instructors across North America to teach thousands of families and caregivers to sign with their children.

A WeeHands baby sign language class consists of American Sign Language signs, songs and language development strategies to help encourage communication and bonding between family members.

For more information on WeeHands classes across North America, to train to become a certified instructor of to order your copy of The Baby Signing Book visit www.weehands.com.

WeeHands Pilot DVD Shoot!

We're looking for 2-3 moms with young babies (9 months or younger) to join us for a fun hour of signing and singing with WeeHands and Markus!

Why? We're taping a 2 minute WeeHands DVD pilot and will be signing and singing (a musician will be singing) Itsy Bitsy Spider. We'll teach you the song (and a few other signs) then we'll have a sing a long! Please join us! If you are interested in joining us click here for more information.

Parents and children will be in the background while we are talking, signing and singing. Parents and children should arrive at 10 am.

The WeeHands DVD sample will be available on the WeeHands.com website 2-3 weeks after the shoot! I'll post photos from the shoot here next week though!