General Introductions [Archive] - Signing Time Forums - Sign Language, ASL, and Baby Signs

dmmetler

11-08-2005, 11:03 AM

I kept dmmetler for both Yahoo and here, just because that's what I've been on quite a few groups for quite awhile.

Anyway, I'm Donna. I've signed on and off most of my life, because I was taught SE in school to assist with my dyspraxia, then mostly stopped using it as my speech improved, then took ASL in college, and have used ASL mostly with my students as an adjunct to teaching music since. This last year, after having my daughter, I moved to teaching Early childhood music classes at a local university, and got the chance this fall to start teaching Sign and Sing classes, which focus on using music to teach basic, functional signs and strategies parents can use with their babies.

I have one living child, Alli, who is currently 11 months, with motor skills about 3-4 months behind and verbal/communicative skills several months ahead. She started signing at 7 1/2 months, and currently seems to pick up new signs almost daily, and is now really beginning to pick up spoken words and to go back and forth between them. And given as frustrated as she gets when she's trying to say something verbally and I don't understand her, I'm VERY glad she can sign!!

She loves ST 1-6. We just got BST, and she's starting to get more into that. I'm looking forward to 7-9!

froggy

11-08-2005, 11:43 AM

My name is Tammy Georgeson. I am the mother of Kayla (almost 3), Caden (19 months) and Camren (3 months). We are all hearing and are learning sign to become multi-lingual and for fun.

I was froghighness on the yahoo groups, but changed to froggy cause it's easier. :)

I live in Salt Lake City in the sugar house area and I am a full-time mom and I work at home doing data entry part time.

Kayla picked up on the signs really quickly and it has come in very handy. Caden however, is just now starting to realize how handy it can be to sign because mommy just didn't understand what he wanted! Yay. Now, we will work with Camren and hopefully she will pick up on it quickly as well.

lookwhossigning

11-08-2005, 09:38 PM

Hi all!! I am Kim, Mom to Emma and Seth and a new little one coming this summer! I am married to Jeremy and we currently live in Salt Lake City, UT.

I teach Sign with your Baby classes and LOVE watching little ones and their parents learn the signs together! This is just so much fun and such a fabulous gift to give our children.

andrealynnj

11-09-2005, 12:41 AM

Here I am andrealynnj.

In case no one is figured it out yet, I am determined to see the new avatars before the weeks out. And I am almost there!

ajberchielli

11-09-2005, 08:52 AM

my yahoo id is the same as here: ajberchielli

I'm Janel, living in Northern California. My kids are Tyler (2.4 yrs) & Isabella (10 yrs).

taylorcamel

11-09-2005, 03:11 PM

I was taylorcamkidz on yahoo because my kids names are Taylor and Cameron. We have a new baby on the way so I wanted to include her in my username. Wouldn't want the 3rd child to feel left out. We have not decided on a 1st name for her yet but the middle name is picked already. She will be named after my grandmother, Electa so my new username became taylorcamel. We live in central Oklahoma. I run a small childcare center so I spend lots of time with kids. And we do a lot of signing. Taylor and Cameron are in the latest edition of the signing time coloring book and Cameron is in volumes 1 and 2 of baby signing time. Hope to be able to make another trip to Utah after the baby is born so she can meet all of the wonderful signing time family as well.

My email is snoopypup so you may know me by that name as well.

Kei_as_in_K

11-10-2005, 08:15 AM

wanted to give my other internet names as well.

Kei_as_in_K
nagitora
bubsma

rmorrow

11-11-2005, 07:19 PM

I was rdmorrowtx on yahoo, but since I've moved to Kansas, I dropped the Tx and since this list is young, I didn't have to use my middle initial, so now I'm just rmorrow. :)

amiller

11-14-2005, 07:10 PM

You left Texas? How horrible for you! LOL

kimberly

11-15-2005, 11:04 PM

I'm originally from TX too (my parents still live there - north of Houston). Texas is pretty awesome, huh? Funny thing is San Antonio has always been my favorite Texas city. I'm a little jealous...

amiller

11-16-2005, 05:06 AM

I'm originally from TX too (my parents still live there - north of Houston). Texas is pretty awesome, huh? Funny thing is San Antonio has always been my favorite Texas city. I'm a little jealous...

Well, you should be! It's awesome here (though REALLY cold this AM!)

I am Aly Miller, obviously from San Antonio. My girls are Jessalyn Grace (8, 2nd grade) and Anyka Hope (3, preschool). Anyka had a cleft palate and some other structural defects of her jaw, sinuses and eustachian tubes (and her trachea) that are known to cause speech and hearing problems among other things. Desperate to avoid what we call the "point and shriek" syndrome, we jumped at the chance when out Speech Therapist recommended Signing Time! and we have never looked back!

rmorrow

11-17-2005, 08:47 PM

Yes, I left Texas to get back to my family. My husband travels 4 days a week most of the time, so I wanted to be around other people who would drop everything if I truly needed help. Plus, my mother was having financial issues and she's supposed to move in with us when we get a house. We're actually all living together now in her small quadplex and it's more than cozy! My house sale fell through, so we're stuck here until someone buys it. If you guys know anyone moving to McKinney, let me know! :)

But, I did love it there. I especially missed it yesterday and today when the weather turned SO cold here!

Robyn

amiller

11-17-2005, 08:58 PM

It certainly makes sense why you left, but remember you're a Texan at heart!

Lisa

11-28-2005, 06:56 PM

Hi all,

I was/am a member of the yahoo group and my user name there was Lisalsholliday - my full name. When I joined here I just used Lisa cause it was easier.

I'm the mom of 2 girls - Rachel who is 6 and Rebekah who will be 3 at Christmastime. Rebekah has developmental delays and was late in speaking which is how we discovered ST. I also have a child on the way, due May 24th.

I've only posted a few times on the new forum. I'm still trying to figure it out and between the two kids and the morning sickness (which is finally starting to end) I haven't had a lot of time to spend on it. Hopefully that will change. :)

Lisa

mirjill

12-01-2005, 07:17 AM

Hi! I'm a SAHM to two girls Jillian (3) & Miranda (6 months) in the great state of Texas. We started with Signing Time about six weeks ago. Jill has picked it up so quickly! At first, I would say, "Jill, how do you sign ...?" but now she walks around saying, "Look, Mom, apple, look, Mom, happy, look, Mom, bird," and just signs all the time. She always wants me to see her sign, so in the car she'll say, "Look, Mom, sister, Mom?????" until I try to turn a bit and see her signing about her little sister. So fun! At the library the other day, I was checking out every ST DVD they had because Jill always asks for them and the people asked why I wanted them, like for a class or just my daughter. Jill proceeded to show them the entire sign alphabet and they were totally surprised she knew it all and could do it correctly. I'm hoping Miranda will start picking some of it up in the next few months. Glad to be here! :)

amiller

12-01-2005, 06:57 PM

Hi! I'm a SAHM to two girls Jillian (3) & Miranda (6 months) in the great state of Texas. :)

Where in Texas? We're in San Antonio

fairejour

12-05-2005, 05:53 PM

My name is Melissa and my DD is Katrina. She is 2 1/2 and she is Deaf. We live in Utah and I am a SAHM. Katrina knows 200+ signs and loves Signing Time.

ST! LeeAnn

12-06-2005, 07:58 AM

Where in UT are you? I would love to have you Join our Playgroup in West Valley. We will be starting back up in January.
LeeAnn

My name is Melissa and my DD is Katrina. She is 2 1/2 and she is Deaf. We live in Utah and I am a SAHM. Katrina knows 200+ signs and loves Signing Time.

earthdaymommy

12-06-2005, 07:01 PM

I'm Marla, known as earthdaymommy also on the yahoo group but didnt' post much. My daughter Katrina is 19mo and loves BST and ST. I don't think I watch much else...lol

My husband is in the military and currently deployed, I am thinking about buying him his own BST/ST videos so he can work on his sign while he's gone...lol

devoefamily

12-11-2005, 09:00 PM

Hi Everyone,
I won't leave a long post this time.
I posted on another thread and didn't realize I typed so much.
My name is Lori DeVoe. I am married to a wonderful man, Scott and we have been together for 10 years. :)
We have 5 children. Robert 16, Zachary 11, Kristy 9, Harley (Boy) 7, and Thomas 2.
We live in PA, Bohemia. Some call is Upper Lackawaxen. We are 30 minutes up the mountain from Hawley. The neighbors are skunks, bear, deer, and the occassional cougar. :eek:
We started to use signs for Thomas and he is doing great with them.
Take care Lori

SJCSue

12-19-2005, 08:21 AM

I am Susan. I am twenty years old who is in her third year of college. I was born with a mild hearing loss, which was not discovered until I was three years old. I was raised oral by my hearing parents. :( They started to teach me how to sign but quickly stopped and I forgot the signs. :mad: My high school had an elective course in ASL, which I took in my final semester of high school. Since graduating from high school, I have been trying to keep my signing skills up to par.

HanaHhouProductions

12-29-2005, 11:08 PM

Hi -

My name is Melissa and I am brand new to forums, so I'm not too sure what everyone is talking about in reference to yahoo names and such - oh well, guess I'll catch on.

I'm a mom of two - one boy and one girl. Pono was just 4 - Pono is actualyl his middle name. He was born in Hawaii, and so we chose a Hawaiian middle name for him. My husband never called him by his first name, so he's always been Pono. Our daughter, Katie, is 18 months old and was born in Illinois (poor kid!).

Both of our children can hear, etc, so we're learning sign for fun - we also though it would be great for Katie so we could hopefully avoid the terrible 2's. Her first signs were airplane and bird - she loves sitting in the kitchen sink and watching the birds at the bird feeded. Pono LOVES signing his ABCs. If he's getting a bit rambunctious, I ask him, "how do you sign" and he completely stops and tries to figure out how to sign what I'm asking - I LOVE IT!

I happened upon the Signing Time DVDs on Amazon.com one night in September, and we're hooked. We got Vol 7-9 for Katie for X-Mas and that's all both kids want to watch during their TV time.

Think that's about it...

emtpooh35

12-30-2005, 07:36 PM

My name is Jennifer, I live in Erie,PA. I have 2 year old triplets 2 boys, Jacob and Jason and 1 girl Jamie. I found signing time through a Triplet forum and we love it. My kids are speech delayed, for various reasons. Signing Time has made our lives so much easier making communication with our little ones possible.

Jennifer

amiller

12-31-2005, 06:23 AM

Nice to meet you! How blessed you are with those triplets!

zoemama

01-01-2006, 07:12 AM

My name is Dana. I'm 29, Mom to Zoe (20 months), wife to Alastair. I live in southern Delaware.

I am currently struggling to balance motherhood and housekeeping with my career as a Civil Engineer. I got off the heart-attack track when Zoe was born, but my little "part time" side gig has blossomed into something entirely different so I am trying to figure out how to spend more time at home, still make lots of money :) and stay sane- maybe even have another kid.

I am new here, never joined the yahoo group. I've had Signing Time in the house for almost 2 years now, and ever since I heard about signing with babies when I was in college I knew I wanted to do it with Zoe.

Lately she has really blossomed with signing and speech, and I look forward even more episodes.

Shawillowheart

01-03-2006, 02:06 PM

Our Family was introduced to SigningTime by LeAnn in 2002. We knew a few signs to start with before we started and our vocabulary in sign grew fast. We Loved SigningTime from the start and it never gets old.

My husband Mike and I have been married for almost 16 years and have three wonderful children. Lauren (7 1/2) Brianna (almost 5) and Isaac (almost 3). Isaac signs the most then comes Brianna, then me (jeannie), Lauren and Last my husband Mike. My husband loves to sign, however he is busy studying Criminal Justice in college (SLCC), and working full time. My Yahoo name is Shawillowheart also. Athough I didn't post much. All of our family is hearing and we sign as a hobby. :cool: I hope to be an interpreter for sign some day, but I have a long way to go.

We met the SigningTime cast for the first ime at Leah's 8th Birthday party in 2004, and enjoyed it very much. We don't have much time to spend on the Forum, but we will be here ocasionally. Sometimes we will play with the West Valley Playgroup when it's good weather and we are healthy.

We live in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah

I am new to this internet forum so please forgive me if I make mistakes, I have never posted on a forum before or done any chat. I still have to figure out how to add fun pics and animations. :rolleyes:

ST! LeeAnn

01-03-2006, 02:38 PM

It was good to see you join. I hope you will join us for play group.
LeeAnn

jenml

01-03-2006, 06:16 PM

Hi... I'm Jen, and my yahoo name was Monahan17. I switched to JenML here at the new forum. It took me a while to figure out this forum since we were having such computer problems, but I think it's all fixed now (firewalls, pop-ups, and freezing...).

I am a special ed teacher, with a focus on early childhood, and a special interest in Deafness. I completed an ITP in May of 1998. I began signing in 1990/1991 as I worked in an elementary school in CT with special ed kids, one of whom is non-verbal/Autistic and used signs to supplement his picture system. I learned signs to work with him... went to ASL classes with Deaf instructors... picked up on the language pretty quickly and I have been involved in the Deaf community ever since. I learned way more sign than I needed to to work with that boy, but he was the "reason" why I immersed myself.

I interpret part time just for extra money (and to get out of the house... haha), but my true love of teaching will keep me in the classroom. Right now, I am in a public school that believes in full inclusion (not that I do... it DOES WORK for some kids, and my job is to try to make it work for all... tough job), and I work with grades K-5 (though right this minute I have 1, 2, and 5). Almost every year is different (caseload-wise, depending on who comes and goes). I have worked with mainly the most needy kids (there is another sped teacher that works with the kids you think of as "resource room kids").

Before my public school experience, I worked in a rehab center that had a (self-contained model) education program. As part of that program (for my first 6 years teaching), I had the opportunity to work side by side ST, OT, PT, doctors, Tchr of VI, aquatherapists... I was on a committe to develop and test toys for special needs children ("Toys for Special Children, based out of Hastings, NY). Being in that facility, I have worked with so many children with so many diverse and intense needs including children with degrees of Deafness or hearing loss, such as children who have been labeled Deaf/Blind, CP/Deaf, CP/Deaf/Blind, Deaf/LD, Autistic/Deaf... on and on...

My husband, Nicky, is Deaf. We met during a ski trip back in 1995 (a mutual friend and I stayed at the condo he was hosting with eight other Deaf friends...). We were just friends for a few years before we started dating, and then marriage, (getting OUT of Queens) :) , a house, and then Henry (our three and a half year old son). :) Henry is learning both ASL and English simultaneously as his first languages. [We have been unsuccessful at adding to our family at this time, not for lack of trying, and with episodes of great sadness...] :(
Oh, how can I forget... we have a dog, too! (He also knows sign language!)

Sorry to go on and on. One thing makes me think of something else.... :) I enjoy being part of this group and connecting with other parents (as I am a parent) and hearing about your stories (making me a better teacher...).
I have enjoyed meeting some of you at Charlemont.

Wow, long... sorry!!

LuvBeingAMom

01-04-2006, 08:35 AM

Hi, my name is Karen and I am Mom to triplet girls. They are almost 2. We found out about ST from our Speech and Developmental therapists and have never looked back.

ImJAZZed14

01-04-2006, 10:49 AM

Hi, my name is Karen and I am Mom to triplet girls. They are almost 2. We found out about ST from our Speech and Developmental therapists and have never looked back.

Welcome! I love your "name!" Wish I'd thought of something that cute! :)

ImJAZZed14

01-04-2006, 11:02 AM

Well, since I've been on here since November I figured it was time to finally introduce myself. :o

My name is Erica and I have a beautiful little girl that will be 1 in a week and a half. We live in Utah. I've had an interest in signing since I was a kid and attended a Deaf Branch of our church for awhile when we lived in Michigan, even though I didn't understand much (I was about 15.) When my family moved out here I decided I wanted to become an interpreter...so that's what I did. I got married just after I graduated and then worked in an elementary school for 4 years before finding out I was pregnant and deciding to stay home with our baby.

We've been signing with Karissa since she was born but it wasn't until about 10 months that she started signing back. Since then she's gotten about 10 signs which she uses all the time.

It's been fun reading everybody's posts and getting to know people! :)

tyandsophiesmom

01-04-2006, 04:56 PM

Hi,
My name is Antoinette. I have been married for 9 years to my amazing husband John. We have 2 children. Tyler who is 7 1/2 years old and Sophia who is 4 1/2. Sophia has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome III, mild bilateral hearing loss, and does not speak. She has gross/fine motor delays, dev. delays and poor motor planning. She has been our "mystery girl" since she was born. Every diagnosis is up for debate and none of her docs can figure out why she can't/doesn't speak. Thus the mystery. We have been signing with her since 2, and it has been a God sent. I found Signing Time on the internet, and have been hooked since. Up until this past summer it was the only thing she would sit down and watch. (Pros and Cons to that, LOL) Since we started she has over 150 signs. Many she has altered due to poor fine motor skills. But the ability for her to communicate to others is priceless! She has really come out of her "shell" lately and it's thrilling to watch.

geckodiva

01-12-2006, 03:33 PM

Hello all! I am Gina and have 2 girls 33mo and 16mo. We are all of hearing and speaking ability but I have always had alove for signing. My love for it recently has been so strong, I am wondering if our third is going to have a disability (no, not even prego yet.) I ran across ST on PBS the other day and have been completely addicted since. My girls seem to pick up quick and love it as well. Anyway, here I am, happy to be a part of this group.

Gina

Rachel

01-12-2006, 05:53 PM

Jamie

01-13-2006, 01:57 PM

I am inkspots on Yahoo, but have been away for several months. We moved in August to CO from CA and still don't have internet. I can't believe how much this has grown and will be finding more time at the library to check out the forums.

We are a hearing family. I have two boys 1 and 6. It's the six year old that got us all signing and now the 1 year old has picked up so much! We joke that if number 3 ever comes along, signing will probably be his first language. We are all very impressed at how well ST is tell everyone we know with young children all about it.

Jenn

01-19-2006, 02:32 PM

Hi everyone! http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-030.gif I recognize some of you from other sites...it's fun to meet up in another common area of our lives :D

I'm Jenn, mom to 18 month old Ryan. I used to be on the Yahoo group, but haven't visited there in quite a while. I like this forum setup better anyway, so I'm glad I found it!

A little about me.....I'm a former special ed preschool teacher, which is where my first exposure to ASL comes from (well, I guess the class I took in college was my first exposure, but preschool was where I really started using what I had learned). I had students with varying degrees of disabilities and we used signing quite a bit in the classroom. I loved seeing kids who might have been trapped by their disabilities be able to break out and communicate!

We started signing with Ryan when he was 9 or 10 months old. I was a little rusty on my signs, and not very consistent, so it took almost 5 months before he finally imitated a sign. What a fun day that was! We started watching Signing Time with him and he slowly picked up a few more signs. He got Baby Signing time for Christmas and absolutely loves it. His signing has really taken off! We bought a new humidifier that looks like a frog a couple of days ago...I had never done the sign "frog" with him, but he knew exactly what it was thanks to Baby Hopkins! He's been driving me nuts for the last two days signing frog over and over, begging me to let him touch the frog!

Anyway, that's a little about me! Can't wait to get to know you all better!

lovemy6sweeties

01-19-2006, 03:31 PM

..I'm a former special ed preschool teacher

Glad you're here Jenn :) Would you be willing to check in at the special needs forum occasionally and impart your preschool wisdom :) I'm getting ready to ask for some modifications in my son Brady's IEP, to include signing, and I'm not sure how that's going to go over with his teacher! But - I'm tired of watching him trying to "talk" to his teachers and aides and them not understanding or even reinforcing that he's attempting to communicate with them. I would love to hear your experiences :)

Sooo happy that Ryan is loving signing and Baby Signing Time :)

Jenn

01-19-2006, 04:18 PM

You bet! Thanks for the welcome!

Mellykat

01-22-2006, 03:45 PM

Hallo all! First timer here... I'm Mel, mommy to Jack (2 1/2) and Tobin (3 months). We were introduced to ST by a friend last fall, and got Jack the first 3 DVD's for Christmas. In the past 3 weeks, Signing Time has beat out Dora, Blue's Clues, and any of the other learning shows Jack used to love -- now he just asks for Signing Time ALL the time... Can't say I'm sorry, either, since I took a semester of ASL in college and had forgotten more than I learned in the first place.

I'm absolutely astounded at how quickly Jack is picking up the signs -- he already has about 90% of them down from the first 3 videos, and uses them with his verbal communication. I never would have believed it possible, and strangers have already approached us in public to comment on it when he is signing to me while we run errands.

We're happily addicted here. As a SAHM, I'm also finding it's a way for me to interact with Jack and have quality time where I also feel I'm developing my own brain. (As opposed to some other shows which, while cute, get very quickly mind-numbing...)

I'm soo grateful to have found such a quality educational tool that is also a lot of fun for both child and parent... and I can't wait to start working with Jack's baby brother in a few months as well. :)

-MeL

Tali

01-26-2006, 08:51 PM

Hi! I am so excited to be here! Let's see, my name is LeeAnna and I have been happily married to my husband for almost 6 years now. We have 1 daughter, Irrissa who will be 2 in February. Before our daughter was born I had done a lot of reading on sign language and after talking with my husband we had decided that we would like to teach our children sign language. My husband has taken sign language as his foreign language in high school and college so he was very familiar with it.

I, on the otherhand, had no sign Language experience what-so-ever. I stumbled onto the Signing Time site one day and after reading some fantastic recommendations from some women I knew on-line my husband and I decided to buy the first ST DVD for my daughter who was just about 10 months old at the time.

She watched it and LOVED it! Next thing we knew we were buying her the next 3 DVD's. She started picking up and using the new signs faster than I could, but we learned them together and now I am proud to say she and I can both sign well over 100 signs thanks to Signing time alone.

We love Signing Time and it has really influenced our lives and made us a closer family because of the extra time we have taken to learn together, sign together, and ultimately be together to enjoy the Dvd's and the music as a family. :)

life_is_beautiful1983

01-29-2006, 07:16 PM

Hi, I just wanted to introduced myself. My name is Kristie and I am a single stay at home mom to Nicholas (6 months old) I have just started trying to teach sign language to my son. I live in a rural northern town in Canada so there is no signing classes or anything here. On Yahoo my screen name is life_is_beautiful1983 and MSN it is KristieVyse@hotmail.com so if anyone has any tips please let me know.

Thanks

Kristie

fia's mom

02-19-2006, 04:29 PM

Hi... I'm Bridget Eaton, originally of Newark, DE. My husband, Chris and I live in Elkton, MD. Between the two of us we have four daughters. Shiori is 9, Emily, my stepdaughter, is 6, Sabrina is 2 1/2, and Sophia, nicknamed "Fia" by Sabrina, is a few days shy of 9 months. Fia is the reason we got into signing as she has mild to moderate hearing loss in her left ear with the possibility that her right ear could be affected. ASL seemed like the most logical second language for her, so we have all taken to signing. I will be picking up ASL classes shortly as they reopen. I love languages and have always wanted to learn ASL, and my husband has previously taken signing classes. We are loving the BST DVDs and are currently awaiting the arrival of ST 1-9. :p

mommyto1

02-21-2006, 10:00 AM

Hello Everyone, My name is Dianna I'm married to my wonderful husband Kelly and we have a precious 21 month old daughter Kassidy,We reside in Kearns, UT and are all of hearing and speaking ability. I learned of Signing Times through a member on another site in which I am a moderator. Shortly after, I checked-out a couple dvds from the local library and was hooked. This is such a great program, my daughter LOVES to watch them, she asks for "signs" almost daily. I'm so excited to see her interest in this it is soo much fun to watch her sign. I'm amazed at how quickly she is learning the signs and also at how it has increased her vocabulary skills, at 21 months she is now speaking well over 100 words. We have been watching for a couple months now and she is signing over 20 signs, her first and favorite signs were cookie and ice cream. I'm glad to have found this group and look forward to hopefully meeting some of you in the future.

michele

03-01-2006, 02:39 PM

Hi! :)

My name is Michele, I am a 28 year old mommy of 4 and a wife to my DH Steve.

We started signing just a little over a month ago and all 4 of our children have done WONDERFULLY learning it. Our daughter who just turned 18 months old *was* a terror, but signing has totally turned her around.

Anyhow, before I go on and on I just want to say hi. :)

juliza_c

05-05-2006, 04:38 PM

Hello All,
My name is Juliza Rocha. I am a stay at home mom to two girls Jenna 2 1/2 and Yadira (YaYa) 17 months. My husband and I have been in Mexico for the last 6 years taking care of his mother. My daughters and I can back to the states in Feb. of this year. I found ST on our PBS Station one day and both my girls were loving it. They started to pick up the signs on that day. I had been teaching them a few signs that I knew from working with special needs children before I left. I was translating them into spanish, now they are learning their English along with their Signing (We speak to them in Spanish). I love ST and I think it the greatest.

Juliza R.

c01dunlap

06-10-2006, 06:19 PM

I think I'm a little late for introductions, but it just occurred to me that I don't think I posted an intro on this forum....

Shanci
Hi Shanci! After over 50 posts, it's about time you introduced yourself! ;) Glad to know a little more about you. Sounds like you're migrating east -- Columbus, Ohio is a fun town... Just kidding!!

CAmommy2KJ

06-11-2006, 09:01 PM

Hello everyone!
I was in a signing time chat week before last and met a few of you then, but I haven't had a chance to post on the forums yet! My name is Renee... I'm married to Frank... I'm a SAHM, he's in the Army currently in Iraq. We live in Tennessee.
We have 3 kids, our daughter Kassidy is 6 1/2, our son Kameron is 4 1/2 and our daughter Kennedy just turned 2. We started buying ST! for Kennedy, who has Down syndrome, last Winter. We own 1-9 but have only opened 1-3 LOL. Kennedy knows about 20 signs and Kass and Kam know them all! Their very favorite is the pizza song! They sign with Kennedy all the time, it's so neat to see!

Let's see... there are pictures of all my family here http://www.ourkjkids.com and Kennedy's story here: http://www.caringbridge.org/tn/kennedyjean . You'll know more than you ever wanted to about us! LOL
Anyway, I can't wait to get to know you all!

fia's mom

06-11-2006, 09:09 PM

Welcome! We're glad you're here and so happy to meet you. Your family is just beautiful!

c01dunlap

06-12-2006, 03:31 AM

Welcome! We're glad you're here and so happy to meet you. Your family is just beautiful!
Same here! And I love the Easter pics in your Journal History (http://www.caringbridge.org/tn/kennedyjean/history.htm) on the CaringBridge site. Especially the "in a box" ones. How cute is that? Look forward to getting to know you.

Oceanlily

06-14-2006, 06:13 PM

here I am from the SOUTH of SC.. deaf parent with a hearing girl named Lily...shes learning alot of sign language not only from us but also from signing times and shes in love with Leah and Alex! hope someday Lily would get to meet them...

I'm a stay-home mom ..working as a photographer on my free time..

just wanted to introduce myself in here :) look forward to get to know you all mamas/dadas :)

ImJAZZed14

06-15-2006, 12:00 AM

kfsd1122

09-10-2006, 06:09 PM

fia's mom

09-10-2006, 06:20 PM

[QUOTE=kfsd1122]My name is Kimberly Frances Scholastica Dimeo and I live in Aberdeen, MD. [QUOTE]

Welcome aboard!! You're right down the road from me. My family is in Elkton and my FIL works at APG. Nice to see someone so close joining the forum!

kfsd1122

09-10-2006, 06:53 PM

I recently found out that there are several in the general area. Maybe we could find a way to get together and study and practice together.

Rachel

09-10-2006, 11:24 PM

If you haven't introduced yourself, please do! I love reading your stories and hearing how you found Signing Time as well as the impact signing has had in your lives!

Just this week, a member on this forum sent me a note saying they had no idea I actually read the posts and even respond sometimes! LOL - yes I do - I read just about all of them.

To those who have introduced themselves - it is such a pleasure to meet you and have you sharing with us here!

Sally6473

09-11-2006, 09:46 AM

Ok I thought that I had introduced myself, but I think I just thought about it and actually never did it.

My son and I have been watching ST since he was about 7 months old. I heard about ST from my sister in law who has a 3 yeard old son who is pretty much non verbal but is learning speech and sign. I saw it on PBS/UEN and realized it was the same show and instantly fell in love with it.

My son is now 15 months old and his signing and speech have exploded. Baby ST is his favorite show and I always know when he wants to watch it because he'll walk around the house saying and signing "baby". He knows about 35 words and 21 signs. Just this morning he told me he wanted a cracker by signing it and his face just lit up when I understood what he wanted and got him a cracker.

Thanks to Rachel I am now going to be taking free ASL classes at the Sanderson Community Center down the street from me. I just sent in my registration today and I am so excited. Classes start on the 19th. Thanks for getting me the information about it Rachel! (The classes are in Utah) I am so excited and my husband is too. He's looking forward to the daddy time with our son.

Anyways, I am so excited to be a part of this forum. At first I was hesitant because it seemed like everybody already knew each other but as I post more I am getting to know more about people and it's been great. I know my sister in law comes to the forum sometimes and I am trying to talk her into joining us here.

Thank you so much for such a wonderful show and for the opportunity to teach my son different ways to communicate. His doctor thinks it is wonderful and loves to see him sign when we come visit.

~Sally

amybordelon

09-11-2006, 06:53 PM

Beachbum

09-15-2006, 10:30 PM

joolee

09-18-2006, 03:09 AM

Julie, Mike and baby Conrad here from Maui, Hawaii. We discovered ST on our local PBS station by pure luck. We had heard about teaching babies to sign, and we were interested in finding out more because our son is "speech delayed."

Our pediatrician hooked us up with some speech therapists, recommended teaching sign language to Conrad, and he finally agreed to help us find a treatment for Conrad's head deformity known as Plagiocephaly. These head deformities affect 1 out of 30 births, and the idea of correcting the head shape is fairly new. Many doctors tell parents that the condition will resolve itself, but after about 6 months of age, this is completely untrue. Additionally, these orthotic helmets are only effective up to two years of age - a very short window of time to correct the problem.

Apparently, the medical community is finding links between Plagiocephaly and speech delay, but I have no research or links to cite. If anyone is interested in Conrad's head band, it's a DOC Band, and you can read up about it, Plagiocephaly and a similar condition called Brachycephaly at these two web sites:
http://www.cranialtech.com
http://www.cranialtherapies.com

ST is so amazing on so many levels. Conrad uses many of the signs and it's great to be able to understand what he's thinking or wants. We love the music and it isn't bothersome to listen to repeatedly. We're so glad to hear songs that aren't horrid condescending regurgitations of out of copyright music like we hear on so many other kids shows. We also love the humanity in the songs - there have been a few that bring tears to our eyes - yes, hubby tears up, too!

ST really encourages every kid to do their best no matter what their abilities - it is so sincere - not like other kid shows that throw in a kid in a wheelchair and then pretend like their disability doesn't exist. ST is realistic - maybe every kid can't make the signs perfectly, but they're trying and succeeding at communication. That's beautiful.

Conrad asks to watch Signing Time every day. He's getting better at signing, but for quite a while he was walking around waving his arms up and down then slapping his wrist to ask for ST!

He's 20 months now and ST has also been helping him learn to speak in addition to teaching him how to communicate. He's started to associate some of the signs with words. He'll sign "hot" when we bring him dinner, and say "OT!" He's started to say "boww" for "ball" in addition to making the sign.

He will even string signs together such as SHOES WALK CAR BYE-BYE when he wants to go somewhere or CAR BYE-BYE when he hears a siren or another car sound going by outside.

We travel to Los Angeles every few weeks to have Conrad's DOC Band adjusted, and the last time we were there, Rachel was performing that night! He had a fantastic time at the show and his little mind was completely blown. Mike had said to me "it's a shame he isn't a little bit older" because members of the audience were being recruited to go up on stage and show their signs while Rachel was singing.

By the time they got to the song about emotions, Conrad was making the sign for surprised and was invited up on stage. He made the surprise sign all the way up to the stage. He was signing surprise while standing on stage... and then the moment came when Rachel was singing the part of the song for him to sign surprise... she was standing right in front of him in the flesh, and he stood there staring in complete amazement, totally overwhelmed... and then signed "grumpy." It was incredibly cute.

Attached is a photo of Conrad watching Rachel as she's signing "try" - you know, like "don't keep it bottled up inside - try, try, try... try to tell me what's inside, side, side..."

Thank you to all of the Signing Time crew for all you do. We'll try to make it to one of the Honolulu shows. And for any ST staff reading this: make sure to find Rachel some cooler clothes to wear in Hawaii. If she tries to wear her yellow sweaters, she's going to die from the heat!

c01dunlap

09-19-2006, 12:05 PM

My name is Kimberly Frances Scholastica Dimeo and I live in Aberdeen, MD. I found ST through our public library and I'm glad I did. It did help me at least break the ice with a handicapped individual when they discovered we could communicate with each other. I spent 25 years plus as a secular franciscan and then became a Benedictine Oblate. No I am NOT a nun. I have over twenty years of public service helping poeple. I desire to go on to mentor children and would like to become a counselor in the GLBT community. I feel that ASL should be taught at an early age so that all children can communicate with others and that there won't be too many cases like J25lovesSTtoo spoke of where a man could not order food and no one could help him.
Kimberly,

It has been great to get to know you through the ASL Study group (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1673) chats. I had to laugh at the "NOT a nun" part - how many of us have asked you that in chat? ;) I am glad that you are such a great proponent of children learning ASL across the board - I agree! And I'm also glad about your goal for counseling in the GLBT community; that can be a tough place to be.

c01dunlap

09-19-2006, 12:12 PM

My name is Amy and I live in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I have a 15 mnth old hearing daughter. We found signing time when I did an online search on how to learn signlanguage. I have fallen in love with the people on this forum. You all have been wonderful. I feel alone way down here b/c I do not know anyone who lives near me learning sign. My daughter Isabelle loves baby signing time. I just received all 13 vol. of ST today. We have begun watching them already.

Thank you ST for all the hard work you put in to make these videos. Your work has really paid off throughout the states. I love all that you guys do. Thank you. I hope to get to know all of you more.

Amy
Amy,

I'm so glad you joined (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1674) our ASL Study group too! We love having new people join the group, as you know. Hopefully you feel like you already know us by now. :) BTW, I have been doing some research on websites listing local events, and noticed that there is a Deaf Coffee Chat (http://www.deafcoffee.com/html/louisiana/lake_charles.html) right there in Lake Charles!! You HAVE to go next month -- it will be the same day as our local one in Columbus, so we can compare notes. :D

Welcome to the group, both ST! forums and ASL studies!

c01dunlap

09-19-2006, 12:20 PM

Hi! My name is Sheryl and I live in Alabama. I've been married to my dh for 14 years now and we have 2 y/o twins. I was on bedrest for most of my pregnancy so I did a lot of reading on the Internet.

I read some interesting articles about teaching your baby to sign and decided to give it a try once they were born. We started signing to them at about 4 months. I stumbled across ST by way of google. :)

My kids absolutely love ST and it is amazing to see how much they've learned. I look forward to getting to know all of you.
Well, then, bedrest was good for two things - twin babies and learning about signing! And yay google! I'm always so happy when people find the Signing Time DVDs because they help everyone in the household learn. We're even trying to teach our new kittens. :) We definitely have other parents of twins around (aligreat, j25lovesSTtoo, who just became foster dad to TWO sets of twins, and TwinMomma come to mind, right off the bat). Don't forget to check out the Playgroups forum (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6) to see if there is one in your area (or start one yourself!). If you want to learn more ASL yourself, we have an online ASL study group (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1673) here too, using a free curriculum at the ASL University (http://www.lifeprint.com).

c01dunlap

09-19-2006, 12:31 PM

Julie, Mike and baby Conrad here from Maui, Hawaii. We discovered ST on our local PBS station by pure luck. We had heard about teaching babies to sign, and we were interested in finding out more because our son is "speech delayed."
So glad you found ST! on the PBS station. With Conrad's speech delay and Plagiocephaly, you might want to check out and post to the "Children With Special Needs" forum (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=9). Many parents are surprised and grateful to find other kids with similar needs. Someone might be looking for you... :p

...By the time they got to the song about emotions, Conrad was making the sign for surprised and was invited up on stage. He made the surprise sign all the way up to the stage. He was signing surprise while standing on stage... and then the moment came when Rachel was singing the part of the song for him to sign surprise... she was standing right in front of him in the flesh, and he stood there staring in complete amazement, totally overwhelmed... and then signed "grumpy." It was incredibly cute.
Awww... how cute indeed!! Love the picture too, thanks for including it.

Thank you to all of the Signing Time crew for all you do. We'll try to make it to one of the Honolulu shows. And for any ST staff reading this: make sure to find Rachel some cooler clothes to wear in Hawaii. If she tries to wear her yellow sweaters, she's going to die from the heat!
In case you didn't realize it, Rachel herself (ra-ron on the forums and in chat) reads the forums regularly, and also attends a Wednesday chat in the ST! chatrooms. See here for the calendar entry (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=15&day=2006-9-20&c=1) (I'm horrible at time zone conversions - it's 9:00pm EST for me in Ohio). If you've set the time zone right in your profile, the time on the calendar entry will be accurate.

ruth_anne42

09-19-2006, 12:35 PM

Hi, I'm Ruth aka Granny aka Nee_nee as my oldest grandaughter calls me. We live in Glen Burnie Maryland. We started with signing time when little miss peeps was about a year old,now 28 months. I read an article about Rachel and her children in either Ladies home Journal or Womens World I honestly forget which. I then proceeded to the website and was interested and impressed with everything I read and right away ordered the first set of three. Since that time, we have ordered the complete set including BST. It has done wonders for Kalyssa and was a godsend as it turned out she was speech delayed but still able to communicate thanks to her good friend Rachel. We now have a second lovely little girl bundle born 7 Sept. She is about 2 hours old in the pic. I have already started a little signing with her never too soon to start right. I know we will enjoy just as much the learning experience with Miss Aubrey as we have with Miss Kalyssa. I look forward to meeting some of you wonderful folks next month in Virginia. My husband and I will be bringing Miss Peeps with us so that she may finally meet Rachel whom she loves dearly. My whole family is grateful for ALL the lessons we have learned through signing time and look forward to many more wonderful times to come. Thank You

c01dunlap

09-19-2006, 12:38 PM

Ok I thought that I had introduced myself, but I think I just thought about it and actually never did it.

..My son is now 15 months old and his signing and speech have exploded.... Just this morning he told me he wanted a cracker by signing it and his face just lit up when I understood what he wanted and got him a cracker.

Thanks to Rachel I am now going to be taking free ASL classes at the Sanderson Community Center down the street from me....

Anyways, I am so excited to be a part of this forum. At first I was hesitant because it seemed like everybody already knew each other but as I post more I am getting to know more about people and it's been great....

~Sally
Sally,

I thought you had done an intro already too! I feel like I already know you from your other posts. Isn't it so cool when they see you "get it" and the face lights up!!

I am so excited for you that you will be going to ASL classes. That should be great fun and a terrific learning experience. Be sure to take advantage of any opportunities they offer for you to get involved in Deaf community activities.

Oh, and DO drag.. er... invite your sister to the forums! We love new people and hearing all the things going on.

Breger3

09-20-2006, 06:32 AM

Hi! I'm Crystal, from Michigan. I happened to come across SigningTime! on PBS a couple months ago. I have to be honest, even if my daughter wasn't totally hooked on the show I would still watch it. I've been wanting to learn ASL For a long time. I used to work in the Restaurant business and ran into many deaf people. I so wanted to be able to communicate with them in ASL, I did learn to sign Thank You, so it was something.

Anyhow, I ran across ST! on PBS and started watching it, then I had to go ahead and TIVO it. Well in watching the first full episode my daughter Elizabeth was hooked. Elizabeth is 6 and has Autism. Her communication is almost at a 2 year old level. She is in Kindergarten this year, her academics are fine, it's just her social skills that are behind. She LOVES watching ST, we have all but 3 of the episodes saved on Tivo, and Beth watches at LEAST one episode a day. She has memorized MOST of the signs, and ALL of the songs. She LOVES music. She talks about Rachel, Leah, Lucy and Alex all the time. I'll be getting her at least one of the CD's For Christmas this year. I don't honestly know if learning signs will help her communtication or not, but it's something her and I love to do, my hubby has even learned some signs along the way just from us signing to each other.

I'm hoping to take ASL classes in the future, there is a place that just opened up in my neighborhood with ASL support services and once we have the money I'm going to see if they have classes, so I can teach Beth even more. She is often asking me what signs for things are, and I don't know any more than she does!

Anyhow, thank you Rachel, for doing this, and Beth thanks you too!

Orah

09-20-2006, 11:00 AM

Hi, I'm Deborah. I'm married to Phil and we have two beautiful children. They are both hearing. Emily is 19 months and Walter is 5 months, pretty close huh?
Emily started signing at 5 months old with "more", and has been adding more and more ever since. She has a huge vocabulary because of ST in both verbal and ASL. We are looking forward to Walter joining in here soon. :)

kfsd1122

10-19-2006, 06:29 PM

Kimberly,

It has been great to get to know you through the ASL Study group (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1673) chats. I had to laugh at the "NOT a nun" part - how many of us have asked you that in chat? ;) I am glad that you are such a great proponent of children learning ASL across the board - I agree! And I'm also glad about your goal for counseling in the GLBT community; that can be a tough place to be.

:) One of the things I like best about the ASL Study Group Chats and the Wednesday Chats is that those in the room are getting the signal that I am nearing time to sign out. I'm not permitted to use the traditional form of blessing, however, it seems that what I use is being well received. It goes also for those who have had to sign out before I did. :D :D

kfsd1122

10-27-2006, 01:59 PM

Kimberly,

It has been great to get to know you through the ASL Study group (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1673) chats. I had to laugh at the "NOT a nun" part - how many of us have asked you that in chat? ;)

I was on this afternoon and it just occurred to me that some people might wonder about the names in the closing I use when I get ready to leave. The reference Our Father, Benedict refers to St. Benedict the founder of the Benedictine Order within the church. St. Scholastica is his sister. St. Frances of Rome founded the Benedictine Oblates.

Scholastica was my first Name within the Benedictines. I added Frances when I resumed the family name.

ST! LeeAnn

10-27-2006, 03:04 PM

Please share a little bit about yourself and your family. Or just give us you yahoo handle so we know who is who.

I am FAILE2M !

My Names is LeeAnn and I am in West Valley, Utah. I am a SAHM of two hearing girils 4 and 1. I have used ST for 3 years and have been part of the yahoo Group from the beginning and I am one of the Forum Moderators. I Host the West Valley Playgroup and Love everything ST! :D

I look forward to getting to know as many as possible and Hope you will find friends, support and fun like I have.

Happy Signing!

I am now a WORK AT HOME MOM. :) I work for Two Little Hands Productions as an Administrative Assistant with responsibilities including Administrating this Forum and helping Karen and our Moderator. My paychecks know support my Signing Time Habit, which means that I own all thing Signing Time. :) I have been using them in my home since August of 2002. They have become my favorite gift for Birthday's and Baby Showers. My goal is to have Signing Time in very home in the USA through DVD or PBS!

ST! LeeAnn

marywyatt

10-28-2006, 10:55 PM

c01dunlap

10-31-2006, 02:37 AM

I'm new here, I am a single (divorced) hearing lady with no children but a huge interest in ASL... I love to praise and worship my Lord in sign. This interest is what brings me to you guys....... I am attempting to teach some of the children at my church the ASL alphabet and also how to sign a particular scripture from the Bible. I am looking for a single card or paper with the visual alphabet and also a single paper with visual representation of the words of the scripture..which happens to be Psalms 27:1-6...on it.... Can ANYBODY help me? Please reply as soon as possible. :confused:
Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give me.
Mary,

What a wonderful thing you're working on! I have posted your question (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2153) in the "How Do You Sign..." forums, where people with more expertise and knowledge than I can see and answer your specific question. :)

c01dunlap

10-31-2006, 03:46 AM

Hi! I'm Jenny and I have a daughter Victoria who has Cerebral Palsy. I also live in Port Charlotte, FL. I have never heard of Signing Time before and I ordered the Baby Signing Time and I thought it was so helpful for my little one. Victoria is six years old and she only says about 10 words. It can be really frustrating at times knowing what she wants and needs. She can do some signs but she needs to know more. She catches on pretty quickly so I hope this helps her. Well tomorrow is Halloween so I better get back to filling the treat bags. Take care and God bless everyone. Jenny!!
Jenny,

So glad to "meet" you here! I recently went to a BuddyWalk and ST! show up north (VA, & PA on the way home to OH!). Noticed your intro in the FL BuddyWalk post (did you go to that or the FL ST! show?), and thought I'd post my 'welcome' message where everyone else could "meet" you too.

I'm guessing you already know that Rachel's daughter, Lucy, has CP also. Lots of great news (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1769) with how she's been progressing - we'd love to hear any successes (or thoughts, questions, or even frustrations) here. We're one biiig family. :p You might also be interested in the Children with Special Needs (http://www.signingtime.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=9) forum.

Shell

12-13-2006, 08:40 AM

Gina,

I think you may be the first person on the forum to say you found Signing Time by seeing it on PBS!! This of course is very exciting for us.

WELCOME, I am glad your area is showing Signing Time and I am so glad you found it AND found all of us here!

WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME!!!

I wish I could say that, but it's not offered here in Georgia. So .... I just bought all 13 DVDs. LOL! We took them with us to Florida 2 weeks ago, and Jaydin was happy watching them the whole trip down. Thanks to ST for a peaceful trip.

Also - I wanted to share that sooooo many people asked us about Jaydin's signs while we were on vacation. I took so much pleasure in telling them exactly where they could find ST DVDs for their kids or grandkids.

brenkachika

12-14-2006, 12:17 AM

c01dunlap

12-15-2006, 03:49 AM

I wish I could say that, but it's not offered here in Georgia. So .... I just bought all 13 DVDs. LOL! We took them with us to Florida 2 weeks ago, and Jaydin was happy watching them the whole trip down. Thanks to ST for a peaceful trip.

Also - I wanted to share that sooooo many people asked us about Jaydin's signs while we were on vacation. I took so much pleasure in telling them exactly where they could find ST DVDs for their kids or grandkids.
Aw, that is great that you were able to share with so many Floridians! Also, if you are interested in helping get ST! on your local PBS station (for family, friends & neighbors ;) ), personal letters really DO have an impact.

Have a Happy Friday!

j_a_a_zavala

12-15-2006, 08:00 PM

My name is Ashley I live both in Michigan and Guanajuato, Mexico. I am the mother of a 3yr old boy Antonio. We discovered ST on PBS.

Antonio is hearing but has 2 aunts and 2 uncles in mexico that are deaf as well as a cousin who is hearing but does not speek. We have been learning some spanish signs but sadly there is no school for the deaf in that part of Mexico and they use mainly baby signs. I have given them some books on ASL and we have been able to communicate a little better with the signs they have learned from the book.

When we returned from Mexico this year in July we discoved that Antonio has a cousin (also 3 years) who does not speek and is learning ASL. That is when we started to practice ASL daily. There is some similarity between ASL and LSM (Lenguaje de Signos Mexicano) In other words Mexican sign language. I hope to become fluent in both forms of the language.

Signing time has also helped my son with english. We speek mainly spanish at home.

Rachel

12-16-2006, 07:01 PM

Ashley,
Welcome to you and Antonio! I have been hearing a lot lately of families who speak spanish at home and are using Signing Time to learn English and American Sign Language at the same time! This is fascinating to me, since it was not one of the uses we had originally intended for the series. But I LOVE it!

Thank you for introducing yourself here! It's nice to meet you.

joolee

12-17-2006, 12:19 AM

I fist encountered ST on PBS as well. I thought it was just amazing. Then my neighbor asked me if I had seen it and she emailed some info about it. We began to love watching it, then Rachel came to Hawaii and that how I found out about these forums!
-Kerry
We'd just seen the pediatrician and our 17 month old Conrad wasn't speaking any words at all. The doctor said "you should try baby signing. I've heard it's a worthwhile endeavor" and the very next day coincidentally PBS was on, and the very first episode of Signing Time was shown. We Tivoed it and were immediately hooked, and Conrad started signing "car" and "shoes" within days.

junethomp

04-25-2007, 09:45 AM

Hello
My name is June. My son Matieus is 4 and nonverbal...my daughter is 2 and very verbal....Matieus has had strep since the day he was born (I was given group b strep by the hospital and docs during delivery) He recently had his tonsils removed and has become a more cooperative child so we decided to start signing with him...now that we also have gotten rid of the little things (pacifer, bottles, sippies, ect )that the school district was making a big deal out of despite docs request to keep him on those we are going back to speech therapy as well. Hoping for a miracle
June

Jackile

05-10-2007, 08:27 PM

Hi,
I'm Jackie, mum of 2 year old Jayden and wife of James. We live in Australia and started teaching Jayden sign language from when he was 4 months old, so that he could communicate with us before he could speak. Thanks to Signing Time he was able to construct sentences by the time he was 1 and never had any trouble letting us know what he needed. All the positive things that baby sign language brings were brought to us by Signing Time. Although he can now speak very well, he still loves watching the DVDs and showing us all the words he can say in his second language.
This is my first post and the first time I've ever looked at a forum and I have no idea what I'm doing or what a forum is, but oh well!

j_a_a_zavala

05-11-2007, 01:22 PM

The forum is just a nice place to come and share you day. To get and give help and advice on the good the bad the wonderful and the awful things that happen in our live. We are a big group of friends who all have a different story to share.

ST! LeeAnn

05-11-2007, 02:49 PM

Jackie, Congratulations on your first post. I have enjoyed chatting with you on Wednesday Night.
LeeAnn

Elyianha

05-30-2007, 02:36 PM

Hi! :)
I'm new to the forum!
My girls and I are learning ASL :)
We love it! :)
My oldest already sign sometimes, and my youngest sign when I ask her to! lol :p
They are both hearing and very verbal, but we (husband and I) think that's ASL it's a great language to know! :)

hovism

06-01-2007, 09:48 AM

Hi, I have just joined your site. My name is Christine and I live in Southampton UK. I teach baby signing in the UK for 'Sing and Sign'.
I am very interested in finding out more about signing with pre-school ages because our programme stops with 2 year olds. I have learnt BSL to level 2 and love to sign! My son who is age 6 is also a very good signer.
Looking forward to getting to know some ASL users on this site.
I will be in USA in July and hope I can buy some Baby/preschool signing products while I am over. :)

ST! LeeAnn

06-01-2007, 10:13 AM

Hovism, welcome to our group. Check out our current line up at our online store. (http://www.signingtime.com/index.php) You can also sign up for our newsletter (http://www.signingtime.com/index.php) for special savings.
ST! LeeAnn

spchtx

06-01-2007, 03:26 PM

Hello all,

I just love this website. I've spend the last week exploring the different forums, Rachel's Blog, and all the other great info.

I am a mom to two beautiful girls 5 yo and 2 yo, and I live in Northern California. I'm also an SLP. I had used sign with my first kiddo until she started to talk. My second daughter was born 4 mos early, so that shot our lives off into a different direction. She was pretty quiet up unil Feb of this year when she had tubes put in. She did not really babble or vocalize much prior to the tubes, and she had ongoing issues with ear infections and failed hearing tests.

Given how difficult the first few months were, and the low chance she had to survive, a hearing loss was not a big concen for us. That said, I knew how important and effective early signing could be for any child much less a child with issues, so we started using sign very early with her. Another SLP recommended Baby Signing Times, and my mom purchased vol 1 and 2 as a gift. It was soon a huge hit with both the baby and Big Sister. My 2 yo now uses about 30 signs independently, and she'll use about another 20 if you show her a picture. Everytime she walks past the DVD stand, she signs and says "baby" and takes the DVD into the living roon. All ST DVDs are now "Baby" to her. :-) She's also talking more too.

We just got ST Vol 4-6, and we love those as well. The videos have helped refreshen my ASL skills from college days, and I'm spreading the word to all my friends and EI clients.

Thank you ST family for this great product. I look forward to conversing with all of you in the future.

Baby2youandme

06-03-2007, 08:12 AM

My name is Tammy and my husband is Mike. We have 2 beautiful girls. Candace - who will be 2 years old this July and Michelle who is 5 months old. We have been working with signing with Candace for 8 months as she showed us she was ready to learn. Has done extremely well - however biggest challenge right now is she is going on a school bus this Wednesday for 1 hour classes with 3 years olds. OH MY!!!

Tammy

TennisGirl

02-08-2008, 04:01 PM

Hi!

I am a teen learning Sign Language, as a second language, and I want to be a teacher of the deaf when I am older. I appreciate all the people on here who are so helpful! I have been on a couple of the chats and I am amazed at people's helpfullness! :D Thank you.

purplewowies

02-08-2008, 08:13 PM

I am also a teen learning sign language. I think that I'd want to be a kindergarten teacher, a special education teacher, or an ASL interpreter when I grow up/get a job that will require a degree. Anything that can involve ASL/Signing Time! I look forward to getting to know all of you.

mom2rhett

09-04-2008, 08:01 PM

Okay, I am way overdue for signing up to this forum...Kei keeps giving me ever so slight hints that I should.....HERE I AM KEI!!! ;)

Anyways, I am Pam mom 4 wonderful kids. I am a SAHM who wouldn't change it for anything. I have three boys and one girl. My oldest has Asperger Syndrome, and my youngest has Down syndrome. His name is Rhett.

It is because of Rhett that we have fallen in love with Signing Time, and Rachel. Because of Signing Time Rhett has over 350 signs, and 250 words and will be three years old on October 7th. His speech therapist is amazed at his progress in speech especially since Rhett has had a really rough road medically wise.

We are so grateful for everything that Signing Time has done for our family. Rachel, Alex, and Leah are superstars in our house.

I can't wait to get to know all of you!!

Mammatalk

09-18-2008, 03:19 PM

My user name is Mammatalk. I chose that username b/c ever since I became a Mamma, I just can't keep quiet...Blah, Blah, Blah...especially when it comes to signing with babies.

I am the mother of two signing girls...a one year old and a three year old. What a fantastic experience it has been. I blog about it here...

http://mammatalk.blogspot.com

Good luck to you all!
mammatalk

momtojesse

10-13-2008, 03:41 PM

I'm Erin (momtojesse). I'm a SAHM to a wonderful 3 year old son Jesse who has ds. We've been using Signing Time for about a year now.

Jera372

10-21-2008, 07:17 AM

Hello everyone, my name is Melinda, but I go by my nickname Nijera. I am a mother of 4 and my youngest son was diagnosed with a temporary hearing loss and severe speech delay. I have been signing with my three year old for almost a year now. My son has shown great improvement with his speech ever since I introduced him to Signing Time!.:)

jzayara

10-28-2008, 02:43 PM

I'm a WAHM with an almost 13 month old. We've had signing times for about 6 weeks, everyone in the family loves it!

Sophie_Dad

02-11-2009, 02:00 PM

Hi! I'm Paul and father of a 12 month old named Sophie....

Sophie has watched Signing Time since she was around 8 months old. She absolutely loves ST! Her face lights up and she giggles every time she sees Rachel hehe. She did her first sign (other then wave bye-bye) in November which was "Dog" (we have two small dogs).

Here she is last November:

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/paul_v1973_photo/villalbap_L1VD5-MPA67KM_1_09Custom.jpg

Here's a video of her being goofy at 9 months old:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxnYeZyvuLo&feature=PlayList&p=DD2F2F4ED284C77C&index=15

5TAL55

02-11-2009, 04:40 PM

OMG! She is adorable! Welcome to our forum and please come join us for Chat on Wednesday nights!

catybarra

02-14-2009, 02:22 PM

Sophie is a doll! Welcome to the forums :)

Nanci

03-31-2009, 08:05 PM

I am very excited about signing time. I am a grandmother and a speech therapist. I do evaluations for autism eligibility. Professionally signing for autistic children enhances their communication and amy be their best form of communication. However signing is also more quickly learned and it ernhances the language center of the brain from the other side of the mid line. I had hoped my grand daughters would be learning sign. Their wonderful parents found out about signing time and this became paart of their lives. One grandaughter is 4. She knows about 500 signs and when to use them. It has been a stepping stone to wonderful language skills. In fact she now is reading the written word. She is also teaching her 1 year old sister to sign and speak. I have long wanted a signing application for my ipod. I am so excited about this. thank you.
Nanci

trisomy21mom

04-01-2009, 02:52 PM

My name is Anna, I live in Maryland. I am a proud mother of 2 children, 1 boy, age 14, and a little girl 6 1/2 with Down Syndrome. We starting Signing Time when she was about 8 months old for communication purposes. What a difference it has made.:D

catybarra

04-03-2009, 10:31 PM

Welcome to the forums, Nanci and Anna! I hope you can join us for our weekly chats on Wednesday nights (7 pm MST)!

lo8lita

04-10-2009, 03:04 PM

Hi!
My name is Heather and I have a sweet little boy named Dante who is 15 months old. He started signing around 8 months and we love it! I've actually been coming here reading posts for quite awhile but never posted :o
I'm super excited (ok, actually so happy I started to cry lol) when I just read that Rachel is coming to town (I live in Las Vegas) because Dante loves her SOOOO much ... it's going to be great!

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a101/lo8lita/Dante/CIMG2995.jpg
15 months old!
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a101/lo8lita/Dante/CIMG2932.jpg
With..you guess it, his Daddy!

Matthew's Mom

04-21-2009, 04:57 PM

Hi. I just joined the group. My name is Ria and I have a loving husband and a wonderful 18-month old son, Matthew, who has Down syndrome. We live in Missouri. Matthew just absolutely LOVES watching Baby Signing Time Vol. 1. And he's just warming up to Baby Signing Time, Vol. 2. He's also signing back now. Most of his signs look like the sign for "more" (except for "book") but I usually get what he means.
I look forward to meeting people on this forum and sharing ideas and stories.
Regards,
Ria
http://billandria.blogspot.com

Andre Sonne

06-03-2009, 11:37 PM

Hello My name is Andre and my daughter Felicity was diagnosed deaf at 20 months old during my first deployment to Iraq. Signing time was our first real emmersion with ASL and was a huge tool in helping my wife learn and teach our daughter sign. My daughter turns 5 this year and has learned so much. She has attended three different schools for the deaf and everyone comments on how well she has learned sign and how well my wife has done. Her evaluations and IEP at the schools for the deaf our always stellar and state how well she is progressing. Though we have recently run into some difficulties at her current school where she is mainstreamed due to my being in Iraq for my second tour. I was wondering if anyone else has tried both main stream and schools for deaf and seen any inconsistencies? Thankfully when she starts school again in the fall it will be at a school for the deaf where she can be fully emersed in ASL and of course so she can teach me, I am a little rusty being gone so long.

Tinysmom

03-04-2010, 08:56 PM

Hi I'm Amanda Mommy to my 16 month old daughter Teagan who we call Tiny! Tiny was diagnosed with bilateral sensorinueral hearing loss a few days after birth.Her initial loss was mild sloping to moderate in her left ear and moderate - severe in right ear. After numerous test we were told there was no reason for her loss and that most likely it would not get any worse. A couple simple sign would be good for her to learn but she should be able to communicate with spoken language.
A few days later we went out to dinner and seen a family who was speaking perfectly when they were outside but once they were in the crowded noisy restaurant they started signing. We got to talking and they said their son was born with a conductive hearing loss. They learned ASL through a program called Signing Time. After numerous surgery their sons hearing was fully restored but they still use ASL on a regular basis.
I was intrigued and looked up Signing Time on the internet. I ended up purchasing the Baby Signing Time DVD's
We have been doing Baby Signing Time since Tiny received her first pair of hearing aid at 2 months old. Around a year she started using her first sign. "Milk" In the last 4 months she has picked up "all done", "mom", "thank you", "more", "eat", "water" and just this morning I seen her trying to sign bug. Tiny does say a couple words Mama, Hello (ErO) and Night Night (Nih-Nih). Her audiologist became concerned that Teagan was not saying more. After an ABR last week we found she had lost more hearing. Her left ear is now moderate sloping to severe and she has gone profoundly deaf in her right ear.
We don't know if Tiny will go completely deaf or not but we found it more important then ever to learn as much ASL as possible. Tiny is not big on TV but she gets very engaged with the Signing Time videos. I am so grateful for these videos its amazing how much we have learned in such a short period of time!http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb47/ALR521/teagans1-1.jpg

AmyLovings

08-10-2010, 04:06 PM

Hello to all. My name is Amy Lovings. I am the mother of four children ages 4, 3, almost 2 and 6 months. At least the oldest three all have severe delays in speech, communication skills and some other categories. We are trying to get them tested for Autism, but finding a doctor and getting the appointment seems to be difficult. My three year old is a little girl the others are all boys. All four of my children watch the signing time DVDs we have regularly. My oldest loves them and will many times a day sign the "Signing time with Alex and Leah" sentence. I assume he wants to watch signing time at those times, though I do not always let him. However his vocabulary in signs has so greatly improved since we discovered these. He is still not communicating really, but he is talking now, using the signs he learned through these shows along with the verbal words, as best as he can say them. It has made a tremendous difference in him and my almost two year old is also making great use of many of these signs. We unfortunately do not have any of series 2 videos, hoping to be able to do that soon. I have been amazed at the progress they have made and was grateful to discover these to assist during the summer when they cannot attend their special needs preschool class. The oldest two just started that this week, it is going well so far I think. I am very glad to find this in order to assist my learning how to help them more. I am glad to meet everyone here.