Does My Baby Have to Physically Produce the Sign Perfectly to Use Sign Language?
As I sat with my eight month old nephew Matthias as he was sitting with me while I gave him a cheerio. As he sat there waiting for me to give him more cheerios I then asked him if he wanted more and at the same time showed him the sign for more. His mother had been working with him for two months now on using sign language to communicate. As he I waited for him to use the sign for “more” I noticed that he wasn’t placing his hands and fingers in the correct place for the sign “more”, but I knew what he wanted and gave him a cheerio and praised him for using his signs. What was made clear with this communication exchange was that although Matthias was unable to produce the sign for “more” perfectly I still knew what he was attempting to convey. A parent or caregiver that is teaching their baby sign language will usually observe their child not being able to produce each sign that they have taught perfectly. This is very normal and expected for children who are learning how to use sign. S
