May 07 2008
About Signing Time
OUR STORY
One Mother’s Journey From Adversity to Opportunity
In December of 1996 Rachel Coleman and her husband Aaron welcomed their first daughter Leah into the world. At the time, Rachel was writing music and performing with her folk rock band. They would take young Leah to band practices and concerts and were amazed that she was able to sleep in spite of the loud music. When she was fourteen months old, they discovered why: Leah was profoundly deaf.
To say the least, their world turned upside down. Rachel’s priorities instantly changed: she put down her guitar and picked up sign language. She and her husband immediately started teaching American Sign Language (ASL) to Leah as fast as they could learn it. Something remarkable happened: by the time Leah was 18 months old, her sign language vocabulary far surpassed the spoken vocabulary of hearing children her same age. While Leah’s little friends could only point and whine for something they wanted, Leah found it much more effective to sign “Juice, not milk” – or “cheese and crackers please”. Other parents took notice, including Rachel’s sister Emilie, who started teaching sign language to her infant son Alex, so that he would be able to communicate with Leah. Emilie was thrilled one morning when baby Alex, then only ten months old, found his own use for sign language: he stopped fussing, looked up at her, and signed “milk”.
A few years later, Rachel’s second daughter Lucy was born. After dealing with Leah’s deafness, she thought she was prepared for anything. However, Lucy arrived eight weeks premature with spina bifida and cerebral palsy. Doctors worried that Lucy would never be able to speak, let alone use her rigid fingers to sign with her deaf sister.
In the midst of all of this, Rachel and her sister Emilie decided to team up to create a captivating, entertaining video to teach sign language to hearing children. Their plan was to make a short DVD that gave their friends and family a fun and easy way to learn a second language, but most importantly to sign with Leah. In May of 2002 the first volume of Signing Time! was completed, starring Rachel, 3-year-old Alex and 5-year-old Leah. The response was overwhelming. Word spread from mom to mom and family to family. Before long, the small community of people learning to sign with Leah grew into an expansive community of parents, educators and health professionals using Signing Time to introduce the benefits of sign language to children everywhere. Testimonials poured in with touching stories about how Signing Time had been instrumental in dissolving communication barriers and giving a ‘voice’ to children who previously had no way to express themselves. Everyone wanted more Signing Time. Rachel and Emilie’s company, Two Little Hands Productions, was born.
It is said that what goes around comes around and shortly after the release of volume 1, the Coleman family experienced a miracle of their own making: after two years of no communication, Rachel’s second daughter Lucy began to sign along with Signing Time, despite her physical challenges. Shortly thereafter, Lucy started talking. At age five, Lucy attended mainstream Kindergarten, something Rachel never imagined possible.
It’s Time for Signing Time
Around the time Signing Time was being developed, the media began to pick up on the benefits of signing with hearing infants. While most people at the time still thought sign language was only for the deaf, scores of parents everywhere began to pay attention and joined Rachel, Emilie and a handful of other proponents of “baby sign language” in perpetuating it as a powerful means of teaching babies and toddlers to communicate pre-verbally.
Scientific studies show that ‘typical’ children who learn to sign:
• have higher IQ scores
• are better adjusted
• read at an earlier age
Many parents observe that by learning to communicate earlier, the “terrible twos” are not so terrible - children can use a sign instead of throwing a tantrum to express their needs.
In the 2004 sequel to “Meet the Parents”, Robert DeNiro’s character was teaching his baby grandson “Little Jack” to sign so that he would be smarter. (Little Jack was played by twins Spencer and Bradley Pickren, who actually did learn sign language from Signing Time.) While the movie was comedic in nature, it marked the point of mainstream awareness of signing as a revolutionary parenting tool.
For All Children…Everywhere
In only a few years, the Signing Time program has spread by word of mouth to all 50 states and over 20 countries. Signing Time is used widely by educators, pediatricians, home-schoolers, speech therapists, public schools, daycare centers, libraries and families as the most fun and easy way to introduce children to sign language.
In addition to 26 Volumes of Signing Time available on DVD, Two Little Hands Productions also offers Baby Signing Time - a series developed for children ages three months to three years old; Signing Time Songs - CDs featuring the much-loved music for the series; children’s board books, flash cards, and other DVDs developed to reinforce the use of sign language in everyday life.
Thanks in large part to Signing Time, sign language is now gaining recognition as an all-encompassing tool for communication that anyone can use. Whether used by a pre-verbal infant, a non-verbal child with disabilities, or a family who simply wants to learn ASL as a second language, signing has become an important part of American culture. Evidence is also mounting that children with special needs, such as apraxia of speech, autism, or down syndrome who have difficulty with speech can make great strides in their communication development when Signing Time is part of their regimen. The multi-sensory approach of Signing Time engages visual learners, kinesthetic learners, and auditory learners of all ages and abilities, while making sign language easy and fun.
26 Episodes of Signing Time Available on Public Television Stations
In 2006, Two Little Hands Productions made the Signing Time series available for broadcast on public television stations across the country. It is remarkably the first television show that is all-inclusive and makes sign language accessible to all children. Combined with outreach materials designed to support families, communities and schools in their efforts to help all children reach their fullest potential, Signing Time is an important and timely addition to public television programming.
While sign language is beneficial for every child, Rachel confesses a more personal goal. She says, “My hope is that everyone will know a little sign, just as most people know a little Spanish – so when your child sees my child at the park, there would be no awkwardness, no communication barrier - just three signs… ‘Hi ~ friend ~ play’…that is all it would take to change her world.”
After years of musical silence, Rachel found a reason to pick up that guitar again, writing and performing over 70 songs for the entire Signing Time Series. She used to sing for herself; now she sings and signs for Leah, Lucy and children everywhere.
I love Signing Time! My daughter is 20 months old and we love watching! She has about 30 signs that she uses and her older sisters, ages 7 and 9, also love the show! Thanks for providing such a great product and service! I have a cousin who is deaf so I knew a little bit before. But Signing Time has taught me so much more! Thank you!
My four and six year old (and children I babysit) love the Signing Time DVDs and I recommend them to everyone I know! Even my 14 year old likes to sit and watch them with the younger children! I am thankful for this educational series on American Sign Language.
Kindest regards,
Brook
http://www.Matt5verse6.blogspot.com
I really enjoy watching Signing time. I found out that I have hearing loss so I am trying to learn sign language. So I am glad that I am able to watch Rachael and Leah and Alex. I really enjoy it. Thanks for having a show like this.
Well done Rachel and Aaron! You are my inspiration.
What you’ve been through, and how you look things in positive ways, that was excellent. Please give your self a BIG pat. You’ve done great!
I don’t have children yet, but when I do, I’ll definitely introduce ’singing time’. Well done! and Thank you!
Hey Rachel,
I love watching your show!
I am only 11, but you still enspire me.
Since i have been watching your show, i have wanted to learn more each day.
I would absolutely love to became a signing teacher one day. What ever it takes I will always try. Even though I am not even close to being that old to decide that. And tell your daughters they are very pretty. I barly even know you but I would love to get to know your family. My mom and I love watching your show.
And thanks for enspiring me.
What an encouraging story you have, Rachel! And what wonderful resources the Signing Time series and the web site are! My five-year old daughter, who was diagnosed with a speech delay upon entering preschool but is now entering Kindergarten as a “typical”, loves watching Signing Time. She will randomly ask for things or say things using sign language. As a Spanish teacher, I was trying to teach her some Spanish, but she seems more interested in signing! Far be it for me to discourage her! :o)
I was wondering if you have seen the movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus” - it is one of my favorite “feel good” inspirational movies as a teacher, but is also a movie to which parents of deaf children can relate. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it!
Anyway, thanks for the inspiration that you and your story and your show give to me and my daughter and to many others… keep up the good work!
Hi! I love Leah your daughter. She is so cute. I didn’t know she was deaf. She is such a good dancer! I also love your movies. I am teaching my neighbor to sign to her last born child. She is going to love your movies!
My son was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder at age 2. He is now two and a half and has learned nearly 75 signs since he started watching your show about three months ago. It’s his favorite thing to watch. He absolutely loves it! He is communicating more verbally and the signing allows him to share with us the things he finds interesting as well as his wants and needs. Thank you so much for doing what you do. You are truly an inspiration to all parents who have children with a disability. You have really made an impact on our lives and from the bottom of my heart I thank you for that.
Hi Mike, thank you for your message. I am trying to find out where I may find the song “SHINE”, which Rachel sang on one of the shows. I think it is so beautiful & significant for ALL children to hear, see, sign & learn! I would love to purchase it so I might learn it & sign & sing it to my darling grandangel,little boy! I’d be so gratefull if you could let me know how to get it. Thank You! Love, love, love the show! Where I live it’s on @5:30 Sunday mornings, is there another time it’s on? I live in Cave Creek A.Z. & my cable provider is Quest. I would appreciate any info you could provide. Sincerely, Phyllis Bradley
I cannot find Signing Time on our local PBS station this fall and I miss it.
My daughter teaches ASL, so she started teaching her son (now 4) when he was an infant. He never went through the “terrible 2s” because he could express what he wanted.
He LOVES signing times. She has all the episodes, and plays them in the car during their 1 1/2 hr drive to work. My grandson loves to sing and dance with Leah and Alex.
My other grandchildren (twins) now 15 months old are learning the signs through your videos, too.
The music is fun and the kids stop whatever they are doing to watch and try the signs.
Thanks so much, Sincerey, Jeanne Beckom
I was going to watch Signing Time the other day and I could not find it on the PBS station. I’ve noticed that you don’t have your t.v schedule on your website anymore.
Rachel you are an insperation. I am 15 andmy sister is 10 and we loved watching Signing Time everyday at 3:30. I love the show. Your daughters are so cute. When I get older I would love to go into something with signing. You enspire me and I know a lot of other people!!
One Sunday we watched signing time on TV and I have not
been able to find it since. Please tell me when it is shown on
Public Television East Coast South Florida.
Thank you.
dale@dirmarkusa.com
Hello Everyone,
Thank you for your comments. If you are wondering why you cannot find Rachel on PBS anymore, Rachel has answered that questions in one of our blog posts, which you can find at: http://www.signingtime.com/blog/2008/09/letter-from-rachel/.
Thank you all for your continued support.
Lindsey Blau
Communications Manager
My husband and I have 13 children between us. We found out the benifits of teaching infants and children sign language about seven years ago. We used some signs with both of our seven year old boys and saw the difference between their ability to communicate with us compared to their older siblings when they were toddlers. Unfortunately, we didn’t know about the Signing Time videos until recently, so they didn’t have the wide variety of words that you learn from the videos. Now we have a two year old and we use the videos with him. He signs wonderfully and can let us know what he wants or needs so much more easily. Our older children watch them too and they sign all the time. They go to school and teach their friends and teachers signs that they have learned from your videos. I recently went to their school for our sons’ birthday celebration. We brought apples picked fresh from the trees. We taught the class the signs for “apple”, “thank you”,”play”, and “sit”. We also have a son who is almost 19 years old and has a form of autism called Aspergers Syndrome. Even at 18 years old he has picked up signs from the videos. Thank you all for the time and hard work that you have put into teaching the rest of us a very important language. Communication is the key to understanding.
I learned about Signing Time when I attended a support group meeting for parents of children with Down syndrome. My daughter, Mia, was born with DS in May 2006. We started watching the DVDs right away…beyond the educational aspect, she found them very entertaining…she had no interest in Baby Einstein! She is now 2 and a half and LOVES to watch her DVDs. We have the whole collection. We are amazed at how quickly she picks them up! We even make up songs of our own. Like many other parents, we are not having a big problem with the terrible twos since we can communicate pretty clearly. Mia does have some language delay, but she does use many words. The words in conjunction with the signs make what she is trying to convey that much clearer. One of the many things that I have found useful is that I can prompt her to say something using a tool other than a picture or an item…If she doesn’t guess correctly, I say, “Look at mommy” and I sign it; more often then not a look of complete recognition comes to her beautiful face and she says AND signs the correct word. Bless you for your passion and vision. It has allowed us to connect with our daughter in a very special way.
By the way, we now also have a 7 month old who will be signing any day now!
Dear Rachel,
I wish I had some fun, entertaining and musical way to express my appreciation to you and your family! Being that I can’t dance, sing or play a musical instrument, my simple words of gratitude will just have to do.
From my family to yours, we would like to thank you for giving us that gift that just seems to keep on giving…giving us joy, hope, laughter, encouragement, pride and hours of entertainment! Signing Time has become a central focus of our daily family life in recent months. Our 23 month old has oral and verbal apraxia. She clearly has always had a lot to say, but her disorder prevents her from being able to express herself using words. About 4 months ago the Singing Time series was recommended to me by a former co-worker (word of mouth is the greatest advertising!). And I am happy and proud to report that our daughter has made such great strides using sign language to communicate not just her needs or wants, but she’s now starting to tell me stories. Today she told me she saw a frog, and as I asked her more questions about that frog she was able to share with me that it was a big blue frog who was eating crackers in a tree! Clearly she knew she was being silly, but she was getting a kick out of the fact that I was understanding what she was telling me!! She was beaming with pride!! I was half laughing and half crying. That moment is actually what inspired me to write you this little (actually quite long now…sorry) note.
While I still have to admit that I occasionally get teary-eyed during speech therapy because my heart breaks on those unsuccessful attempts, I share countless more laughs with her as she signs and dances to those DVDs. She’s a signing sponge!
Caterpillar Dreams in one of my favorite songs….I love the sense of freedom and liberation that the little butterfly feels at the end of the song…I imagine that’s what it must feel like for my daughter to finally have a way to communicate. You all gave her wings to fly!!
So, as I let you get back to your family, please thank each and everyone of them for sharing your combined passions, talents, stories, knowledge, and humor through Signing Time. You’ve given us something invaluable, and in return I give you our most heartfelt thanks.
Best of everything to all of you,
Monika
Hello,
I am a Polish teacher of English and found your materials on You Tube while looking for nice exercises and songs for young teenagers. They’ve been starting to communicate in English just as toddlers do in sign language… The butterfly videoclip will be used - I hope with your permission - as a material for speaking practice in preparation for secondary school leaving exam. This way one whole lesson will be devoted to you. Apart from that, I will share the idea of using sign language with babies whenever I can. It is a pity Poland is too small a country to make such films in Polish - too small audience before parents of “normal children” recognize the value of sign language in early education. But it could be translated…
The photos of the children in the Butterfly video touched my heart and I think they will my students’ too and it will get them talking. You have provided me with an interesting subject to talk about during my classes and at the same time I will be
able to spread the word.
The praise you got from Monika is well deserved. You a r e doing a good job with all those smiles, happiness in the show and changing parents’consciousness: “the only thing your child can’t do is… hear”. Moving. And makes you think.
Rachel, I love your voice, you a r e a singer. I was so surprised to hear a real singer singing for children. It’s a pleasure. Good voice, good melody, words that make sense.
Thank you for the Butterfly. I played it all night while looking for new sources of fun with English for “my” kids on the net. I am sure they will love it too. I’ve put down the lyric for them to sing along with you.
And… would you be so kind and show the whole song about the days of the week on You Tube?…
Love,
Anes
Just wanted to add it was a GREAT idea you started putting subtitles in your films. Thank you.
My family loves Signing Time. Why isn’t it on PBS any longer? It’s a show we looked forward to every Sunday morning.
Hey Rachel,
I was first introduced to your videotapes when my niece had ner first baby in 2005.
We had never suspected he would be premature, but he was 2 months early. My background is as a teacher of the deaf/hard-of-hearing so I was very familiar with sign language and its benefits. I gave her the Baby Signing tapes and she played them for him when he was very young. When he was old enough to start signing he did that also. Now he talks a mile a minute, but still uses some signs.
The tapes gave my niece something to focus on during those early years when they were not sure of his development. Thank God he is doing fine and seems to have caught up with his peers.
I am now working with a child who has SLO and is also hearing impaired, who has had a cochlear implant. He has a cognitive delay but is very good on the computer. We often view your online resources. I use the videos as times to tune him in and slow him down and focus. He loves the brightly colored videos and loves to watch the kids sign. He is higher receptively than expressive, part of his condition with SLO, but I know he is totally engaged in a meaninful activity when we view your Sigining Time videos.
His mother has quite a collection as well at home and sent many to school. His teacher used them to instruct the class in sign language. They were very motivated and enjoyed the colorful and lively and realistic videos.
Also I found your other resources on the website and printed a few games and coloring activities for my student. Your resources are wonderful and I appreciate the fact that they are so readily available.
Thanks for all your help and God Bless you in your efforts in trying to bring sign language to the general public. You have done a marvelous job.
Sincerely,
Jean Hilkin
former Teacher of the Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing
presently working as an Interpreter/Facilitator for a child with multiple disabilities
If you know of any Curriculum for children with cochlear Implants and Cogonitive Delays, please share that information with me. I know that Kendall Demonstration Elementary School in Maryland or DC accepts children with hearing loss and other disabilities. I wonder if there is a special curriculum for these children. I know we adapt most any curriculum we use to make it more meaningful for deaf and Hard-of-hearing students, but if there was a basic cuirriuculum for kids with hearing loss and coginitive delay to help us guide our instruction, I feel educators in special ed and parents and administrators woudl feel as if we are helping our studetns meet their full potentail and not selling them short.
With respect and admiration for your work,
Sincerely, Jean Hilkin