Sign Language - ASL versus Auslan

We made the decision to teach BC sign language before he was born. As an audiologist, it is my job to support the auditory/verbal mode of communication through devices such as hearing aids and cochlear implants, but in the case of hearing babies, I do believe that it is a fantastic complement to their auditory/verbal communication. Research has shown that hearing babies of deaf parents started to communicate well before the hearing babies of hearing parents as they were learning both speech and sign language. Children have the ability and the intent to communicate long before they can appropriately verbalise their wants and needs in a way that the parents can understand. Therefore the introduction of some basic sign language can bridge the gap between wanting to communicate and being able to vocalise.

We purchased the kit made up by Australian Baby Hands group at an expo here in Melbourne but have only recently started to sign. BC is now 4 1/2 months so it's the perfect time to start. (we've been doing 'milk' for some time now). I've heard so much about the wonderful DVD's available for baby signing on the Brill Kids Forum but haven't seen much for Australian Sign Language (Auslan) but didn't worry. It wasn't until we watched our Baby Einstein See and Sign DVD that I realised how valuable and important this type of media was for BC as he absolutely LOVED it and was laughing and chatting to the people and babies on the TV screen! I also loved it as I learnt so many signs so quickly. More research ensued and I realised there really wasn't much available for Auslan. This helped me make the decision to switch from Auslan to ASL.

I figure that as we are teaching BC sign language purely so he can communicate with us and our family, (none of whom know any signs) that it doesn't really matter if we aren't teaching him the 'native' language. I'm an audiologist and work with hearing impaired people every day but haven't yet come across anyone who communicates through sign language so I feel there is little chance BC will have a need for Auslan specifically at this point. Given the multicultural nature of Australia, there is far more chance that he will come across someone with Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Maltese, Japanese, Italian, Vietnamese, French, Greek, Arabic or Sinhalese than Auslan and I'm certainly not teaching him all of these!

So I have ordered the four Baby Signing Time DVD's from America and am excitedly awaiting their arrival, I've heard great things about them. We have watched the See and Sign DVD twice now and I downloaded 6-7 iPhone apps for ASL . This has all been finalised in the last few days and so far I've learnt the alphabet, numbers 1-10, mummy, daddy, girl, boy, good, bad, up, down, bath, milk, hungry, eat, food, drink, cup, friend, help, blanket, tired, bed, baby, kiss, more, finished, cat, dog and more! So far so good. Now we just have to see how BC goes learning all this!

Today we are heading out with Daddy for a swim! Fun, fun, fun. So far BC loves the water and is happy to splash and play. He doesn't mind if we tip water over his face after first preparing him by tipping it on his arms and head and then saying 1,2,3 and pouring it on his face. He just holds his breath and blinks it away and then smiles! We are also doing quick immersions as set out in 'Your Baby Can Swim' by Douglas Doman. More about Doman later!