Is it too late to teach my son to sign?

[iris0110]

My son has a speech delay (ASD) and we taught him to sign starting at 2. He picked it up very quickly and it helped him emensley with the furstration he was feeling at being unable to communicate. As an added bonus he learned every word he could sign more quickly than words he didn't have signs for. He speaks much better now, and doesnt' need the signs any more, but he still uses them some. And if he ever wants to learn ASL he already has a pretty good base in it.

[CMamma]

It's never too late! And if you haven't already, talk to the doc about that. DS didn't talk AT ALL not even mamma or anything & at about 15 mos I got real worried. I called my county board of MRDD (Mentally Retarded & Developmentally Disabled) & they came to my house & evaluated him. Turns out he was totally deaf in one ear. They set up speech lessons & we began to work w/signs & he picked up quick - especially the ones he really wanted things like milk, etc. Anyway, we went to an ENT & he was able to have surgery & mostly correct the problem. Now he is back on track with other kids & just over a year later no long needs speech.

[2lilmonkeys]

Our daughter started using basic signs at 2 years at the recommendation of her speech therapist due to apraxia. She picked it up easily and it really relieved her frustration.

So I don't think its ever too late to learn. In fact the high school I went to was where all the deaf students in the area were sent so we had interpreters at the front of most of our class rooms...The hearing students picked up tons of ASL just from the exposure. So its definitely something people can pick up easily at any point in their lives. I've already started using a few signs with my newborn just in case she developes the same speech disorder my daughter has.

Amy