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Wednesday, March 3, 2004
Exeter Times Advocate
Little Hands Sign teaches mothers to sign with their babies
By Mary Simmons
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
EXETER — One of the most frustrat-
ing aspects of being a new parent can
be your inability to communicate with
your baby.
Lorianne Horan says there is a way to
ease this frustration — teaching parents
to use sign language with their hearing
babies.
Horan, a sign language interpreter,
began using the technique four years
ago when her oldest daughter was
born.
Since then she has taught all three of
her children to sign and also began
instructing other parents two years ago.
The six week course, Little Hands
Sign, consists of one-hour sessions
where mothers and babies come togeth-
er and learn to sign.
Horan incorporates music, flash cards
and books into her lessons, telling
mothers to become accustomed to
working the signs into everyday rou-
tines so their babies will pick them up
naturally.
Horan said babies usually start sign-
ing at about eight months old.
Horan says it can be as simple as
showing your baby the sign for milk
every time you give them their bottle
and cup. Since her classes are for par-
ents with hearing children, she said it's
important to say the word as well.
"Direct eye contact is ideal," she says
to the group of eight mothers and their
babies gathered at the home of Janine
Devree in Exeter.
During a session Feb. 24, the group
learns the signs for various animals.
"Animals are in so many kids books,"
Horan tells them. "Once your children
learn the signs, they'll be fmding them
in places you'd never even thought of
them."
Horan says signing as an early form of
communication can help parents know
what their young children are thinking.
The women participating in the Exeter
classes found out about the course
through the Mommy and Me program
by the health unit.
"We wanted to understand our babies
needs and thoughts," said Devree.
The babies in this particular course
range from three to nine months old,
but Horan says starting early is good
because it gives the mothers a chance
to learn the signs and work them into
their routines.
Horan says teaching babies sign lan-
guage does not inhibit them from devel-
oping verbal language.
She says it is a fun, easy and reward-
ing way for parents to communicate
with their children before they develop
verbal language skills.
The course is based on the Sign with
your Baby program, which was devel-
oped by Joseph Garcia in 1987 as part
of his Masters Program at Alaska
Pacific University. The concept came
from an experience he had while visit-
ing the family of a deaf friend and see-
ing a 10 -month-old child communicat-
ing with American Sign Language at a
level beyond that of most hearing chil-
dren of the same age.
For more information, contact Horan
at 519-345-2829.
Raymond Horan signs he wants more crackers at his mother Lorianne's Little
Hands Sign class in Exeter Feb. 24. Lorianne is a trained sign language interpreter
who has used sign language as an early communication tool with each of her
three children and has taught other mothers for the past two years in a six-week
course. (photo/Mary Simmons)
Two mothers practise their signs while their babies look on. On the left Janine Devree signs to her baby Ayla Hodgins while at right Pam Hodgins signs to her baby,
Meredith. (photos/ Mary Simmons)