Signing Time

For those of you that see Cole, you know this to be true...for those that do not know, Cole seriously has OCD with this show.

Signing Time is a show that used to be on PBS television. That is where Cole first fell in LOVE with Rachel Coleman co-creator of Signing Time. Rachel is the mother of Leah and Aunt of Alex and they are the teachers on this show. And, I can't leave out Hopkins (an animated frog) is part of the show too. Hopkins cracks Cole up with his dancing and when he plays the drums (yes, a frog that plays the drums). He also loves the ABC's song that Rachel signs and even anticipates getting to the Z (he gets so excited).

We originally decided to teach Cole to sign as a way for him to communicate with us since we don't know if he will ever be able to talk (this is common with CP as he has low muscle tone in his mouth). At this time there are only a few signs that he can 'kind of' do, like 'more', 'eat', 'milk', and 'ball'. He doesn't freely sign these yet but does with prompting and assistance. Most importantly though is that he KNOWS what we are saying when we sign it.

How do I know he knows? If he wants milk and I ask (and sign) him if he wants to eat he will turn his head away. He will fuss so I sign to ask if he wants milk. He will immediately stop fussing and start licking his lips. This small amount of communication may not seem like much but it is HUGE for us! There is nothing worse than your baby trying to tell you something and you can not even begin to 'guess' what they want.

I do have to admit that I would have to get a little jealous of Rachel if I didn't see and appreciate just how much she helps Cole. I am starting to develope a mommy complex....Cole truly loves her SO much! The minute we play a Signing Time DVD he sill start to giggle.

Bad news - Signing Time is no longer on PBS! (you can read the story why by going here) Good news - YOU could buy their DVD's (for yourself and/or Cole) anytime by going to their website!

On this website they have all kinds of awesome products! We also llike using the flash cards with Cole. Like I said, he can not speak yet and due to the spastisity in his hands I'm not sure he will be able to fluently sign. He CAN, however, point to pictures of what he wants. For example, if you open his book with a picture of a ball on one side and a picture of a bear on the other, and ask him (we sign while asking) where the ball is...he will point to the ball.

For any of our family or friends that would like a great Christmas gift for Cole....he would LOVE to receive more (click here ->) Signing Time DVD's! We already have all of the Baby Signing Time products (DVD's, CD's, and flash cards) for him along with the regular Signing Time Vol. 4,5, and 6 (DVD's, CD's, and flash cards). We are hoping to eventually have the whole library of DVD's and flash cards.