Sometimes asking a question can unearth beautiful stories worth sharing. A few days ago we received a video submission featuring a beautiful little girl signing her heart away with great enthusiasm. Her mom forwarded her video as part of our popular Summer of Signing Challenge. In response to her submission we asked a few questions to get a better idea of what worked for her and her babies. Her reply to our questions absolutely melted our hearts.

Sophia, words cannot express how precious you are and how much we admire all that you do  to make your brother’s life awesome.

We are sharing Sophia’s mom responses verbatim. We hope this story encourages and fills your heart with happiness and hope.

1. What is Sophia’s favorite food?

Sophia loves macaroni and cheese. However she is not picky, she will pretty much eat anything!

2. Is Sophia speaking now?

Yes but she prefers to sign.

If so what was her first spoken word?

She initially babbled mama and dada but her first spoken word was hat!

3. Does Sophia have siblings?

Yes one brother, his name is Kalob

4.Does she sign with her siblings?

Yes she does! Sophia is such a jewel. She is charismatic, caring, funny, and lovable. Sophia’s brother Kalob is special needs. He has CHARGE Syndrome along with other impairments like hearing loss and vision loss. He understands sign but does not communicate back with sign or speech yet. Our goal was not only to get Sophia to communicate her wants and needs with sign, but to get her to communicate with her brother! The sweetest thing is that Sophia signs with him all the time. If we go to the aquarium, she makes sure she goes up to her brother and signs “fish” so he knows that there are fish in EVERY SINGLE tank! She is the perfect sister for Kalob.

5. What is next? What are you working on at the moment in terms of developing her skills and abilities?

We will continue to sign and we have no plans to ever stop. Sign language is very important to us since we will always need it to communicate with our son. I feel like it has opened up a whole new world for Sophia. At such a young age, she can tell me when she wants to eat, nap, go outside, play, take a bath and more! Her first sign was “milk” at 7 months of age. I know she is a hearing child and will use verbal communication for her primary language, but our family will make sure that she will always know sign language.

Sophia Learned to Sign Using Our Premium Baby Sign Language Kit. You Can Buy Yours Here

This collection of clips is absolutely refreshing, and a wonderful way to encourage moms & dads who have just started signing with their babies. James is a Baby Sign Language Super Star. Words cannot describe how proud we are of his achievements. His parents Stephen and Lesah are a fantastic example of what happens when you engage in the teaching and learning process and give your little ones the attention they deserve.

This video captures his first months of signing. Lucky for us we have another video coming up that captures his progress and shows how he began to integrate verbalization as he transitioned from signing into speech. At his peak of baby sign language sign acquisition, James was able to sign over 200 words! 

In Lesah’s own words:

“It is hard to imagine how different it would be raising our son James without baby sign language.   When he is thirsty, he tells us he wants water, and when he sees a dog, he excitedly does the sign for dog.  One thing that really stands out to me is how perceptive and aware he really is.  I know that adults often tend to disregard the thoughts and interests of 12-18 month olds because they can’t communicate verbally, but by using baby sign language James has really shown me how aware he is.  Many times, he will sign “baby”, “dog”, “tree”, or “leaf” even before I have spotted what he is referring to.  It has also enabled us to better meet his needs.  When he wants milk, he is able to ask for it.  When he wants more to eat, he can say so.  When he gets excited, we usually know why because he will sign what he is excited about.  Although it takes a little bit of discipline to remember to do the right signs when saying words, I would say the process of teaching him signs has been fairly easy.  At this age, children learn so quickly that sometimes we have only done a sign once or twice and he will use it on his own within the next couple of days.  Other words we’ve been signing for months and he still hasn’t picked them up – or gets them confused with other words. The baby sign language flash cards and website have been helpful to teach us vocabulary and provide a reference when we don’t know the word for something.  I find the videos especially useful. I am confident saying that James is happier and we are happier having used baby sign language.  He is even beginning to link some words together into “sign sentences” such as “dog – nap” when he saw his stuffed dog lying on its side.  Our aim now is to provide him with more vocabulary.  I look forward to him picking up even more words so that we can get to know our son better”.

If you are ready to take your baby to the next level of pre-verbal communication take a look at the resources available in our shop, particularly the Premium Baby Sign Language Kit. This kit contains everything you need to teach your baby how to sign from birth to three years of age. The videos, songs and flash cards will become an integral part of helping your child develop communication and social skills that will impact the rest of their lives.

Have a baby sign language video or story you want to share? Send it to [email protected]