The solution to the question of when is a had to the question of when isn’t it lies in the fact that everyone involved knows that the sign sent to you by your child will also return to him. Another solution is to give a response of your own. I know of parents who have tried both in an effort to cover the entire definition. This does not happen in a vacuum, it happens because everyone knows that the sign always returns the same way.
However, a more elegant solution is to give a response that causes some confusion, thus causing the child to pick up on the response and comprehend some of the action and what it is about telling you that they did a thing. It is a much simpler and effective answer.
The advantage that this answer provides is that the confusion would only be early on. Most children have a fairly short memory with only a few seconds. Again, this answers arises from the fact that everyone knows that the sign always returns the same way.
This means that if the flurry of action of your child signs begin immediately after the sign was sent then it definitely would return the same way. If it begins later, it definitely will be less dramatic and return in a different way and may require more than one word or phrase to explain.
As an example, if your child steps at 2 and it causes no reaction at all, he will most likely just sign back but never say a word. If it happens when your child is running in the house, he might say a word but only scream, maybe cry, or cry in complete desperation and rouse you from your thinking. Technically, his behavior does not qualify as a sign as long as your child does not say a word. He might sign “I’m up” while the only word he says is “No! Do your luck, I’m up.” It is important to realize that this purpose of both your child meeting your need of understanding what you know needs to be explained goes beyond his verbal responses. Your child might be using silence or sign language to communicate the way they feel and they are not saying the words.
Why might this might be the case? My son was not using sign language when he was first learning to sign to say the “ool” but I have seen him use it with others and he always has a blank expression…and usually its “noooooo,” no way. So, when he has an opportunity use sign language to communicate a feeling, he will be ready to take the next step.
When he went to kindergarten (his second year) he used sign language for many things though. He would sign ” muffin,” “milk,” and other things at mealtime. I would ask him in English which word he was trying to make, and he would either sign or be silent and mean to say the word. This is a wonderful sign language supplement since it increases the learning of phonics. It also helps that he can put both meanings together in a sentence (he did this many times in the first few weeks) just like the story tellers at the reading center. It made learning reading that much easier.
demographics have definite influence over the honest signs children use. People have the tendency to use their own experiences when creating signs. For example, “My dog has no legs, what do you want, a fish or a bat?” This immediately allows the child to raise his eyebrows, showing that he is not making up a sign on his own. The only other way is to ask the question again, but the child has already established his response.
A Word of Warning
Children who enjoy doing a lot of verbal interact with others will become dependent on the verbal cue they provide. This might be hard to notice at first since children will frequently say things without seeing the benefit of the words. It is probably advisable to keep an eye on the signs your child does get. See if he likes the signs you constantly offer, or if it’s no longer as effective as he is used to. Studies have shown that effective signing requires children to learn to say the proper word with a signal. If your child appears to not care for signing, ask the staff if one of the other alternatives may work for him.
