Understand the needs of your baby, before it can speak!
About Us
BabySignLanguage.com is a project for parents teaching infants and toddlers early communication skills. We believe that early communication sets the foundation for accelerated learning, reduced frustration, and a closer relationship between parent and child.
Our website contains baby sign language resources designed around the pedagogical needs of infants and toddlers. In everything we do we take into account the daily challenges confronted by new parents as they attempt to equip their babies with the tools to thrive.
This site was founded when we started teaching our own children how to sign. Our kids loved signing and we loved being able to share in their lives. After hundreds of shared secrets and averted tantrums we can’t understand how any parent could live without Baby Sign Language. We told everyone, and so our friends laid down the challenge, “why don’t you teach every parent Baby Sign Language?”
We are constantly evolving and appreciate all feedback. We want to be a resource for every parent who wants to start communicating with their pre-verbal child through sign language. So send us your questions, comments, and concerns. We love hearing from you!
[email protected]
Mey Lau Lila Retnasaba
Brooke Parker
We are constantly evolving and appreciate all feedback. We want to be a resource for every parent who wants to start communicating with their pre-verbal child through sign language. So send us your questions, comments, and concerns. We love hearing from you!
Lila Retnasaba
Brooke Parker
Lila Retnasaba
Brooke Parker questions?
80 Responses to “About Us”
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Hi, thank you so much for this resource. Is there a reason why you do not state clearly that the signs are American Sign Language (ASL)? I feel like your resource would be so helpful for parents of both hearing and deaf children, and yet parents of deaf children may not come across it as you are marketing only to parents of hearing children.
I also wonder, could you add a page referencing ways to continue to learn sign/ASL? I found your website helpful when my child was a baby but when he became a toddler, I wanted to continue but didn’t know how. Could you share some reliable links to resources for continuing to learn ASL, ideally from the Deaf community or other fluent speakers?
Thanks for your kind words, Catherine! Glad we can be of help to you. As to your question, we really wanted to focus on helping parents of babies (hearing or deaf), so that they would know from the get-go that the earlier they start signing with their baby, the earlier they could not only assuage the baby’s frustration but also help (inadvertently) in their child’s overall brain development. Hence, we focused on labeling our products under the Baby Sign Language “subset”, if you will, of American Sign Language. As for continuing learning ASL as your child grows up, there are plenty of resources on the web. We are happy to share with you our very own partners’ – K&L Family Time’s – YouTube page, “Learn How to Sign”. If you have seen our revamped Dictionary pages, you might recognize Meredith of K&L Family Time in our videos. If you don’t know where to start on K&L Family Time’s site, you can watch Meredith’s orientation video here for the fundamentals of learning ASL (hint: it’s more than just about learning hand signs!) Enjoy!
Hello! I was wondering if the content and resources on this site are made by or in conjunction with people in the Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing community to ensure accuracy.
Yes, Liz. Please do keep in mind that while American Sign Language is pretty consistent across the U.S., there are a few signs with variations here and there (some can even have up to 5 if not more variants, depending on region or state!).
Hello, I am an elementary Life Skills teacher in Texas. I have been searching for classroom labels that are kid-friendly and have English and Spanish on them and never found any. I was searching for pictures to make my own and came across your website and love your illustrations. I am creating my own classroom labels and would love to offer them to others through a teacher-sharing site, if I can acquire rights to use them. Thank you.
Hello, Thanks for stopping by and admiring our illustrations. We do not, however, sell rights for their use outside of our own BSL products and website. Best of luck in your search and in your work.
Are your signs American Sign Language signs?
Hi Donna, Yes. Our BSL signs are based on ASL – though you may chance upon a few signs that were actually “voted in” as the most popular, among several ASL alternatives used across different states.
Hi! Your website is absolutely fantastic! I am the Family Liaison Officer at the World Food Programme and would love to have the opportunity to meet with members of your organization to explore possible collaborations. I am a clinical psychologist, part of the staff counselling team and the Wellness division. Our mandate is related to the wellbeing of WFP staff (regardless of contract type: national, international, consultant, volunteer, intern…) and their families. We have about 20 000 staff in over 80 countries, mostly in hardship duty stations (conflict zones…). I do my best to try to support the diversity of our families. Is there any chance you would be available to facilitate a little workshop about baby sign language for our parents on international sign language day (Sept 23rd)? Or would you know anybody who could? I know this is very late notice…
In advance many thanks!
Hello! I hope you’re all doing well. I am doing a project on Baby Sign Language at school, and I was just wondering if you had the author and possibly when the history, research and benefits were written, so that I could correctly reference my work? Also, if you knew your sources for the history and benefits. If not, that is okay! I love the website 🙂
Hi Abbey, We here’s our Baby Sign Language research page for your additional references. Good luck!
Do you have an app for your dictionary? It’s the most user friendly one I’ve used so far. I’d be willing to pay a few dollar for it for an ad free version.
Hi Maddison, We currently don’t have an app, but our new Dictionary is Mobile- and PC-friendly. Thanks for dropping by!
Hello,
I have a class where some students are using sign language. I would like to use a few of your clip arts to make cards for words to put around the room to help my students. I’m more than happy to post your site as the creator and anything else you want.
Thanks so much,
Amanda
ADMIN – Hi Amanda,
As long as you are not using our resources for profit and you are providing linked credit we are ok with you reproducing our materials.
Hi! I was wondering what research there is to back up your claims! I love the idea of baby sign language and I’d like to cite your research in my upcoming presentation in class about the benefits of teaching baby sign language to prelingual infants!
ADMIN – Hi Becca,
Here is the link
http://143.198.191.173/basics/research/
Hi,
I love your baby signing page, it has loads of useful information . I’m training to be a baby sign teacher and have found some great references on your website, thanks.
I need to cite your website if you don’t mind but good publicity for your page. Can you tell me the date and year your page was set up.
Many thanks June
ADMIN – Hi June,
We started in June of 2008
Hi!
I would like to use your images for the yes and no signs in my college course presentation on receptive and expressive language supports in early childhood education. If I include the copyright information and cite the website, would you be okay with me using it? Is there a designer I should give credit to as well?
Thank you,
Tonni
ADMIN – Hi Tonni,
You are welcome to use our images as long as your initiative is not for profit and you include a mention of our website in tandem with the image.
Hi,
This is such a wonderful website to learn sign language. My baby is 7 1/2 months atm, hubby and I are starting to learn and teach her sign. Really excited to see how she will go and when she starts signing us back.
Thank you for the videos!
May I use your picture of a heart in a worksheet?
ADMIN – Hi Pic,
Absolutely!
How different is baby sign language from regular asl? I’m trying to learn asl as a teenager and I want to know if this woul be a good recourse. I know this site is aimed at infants though, so if it’s too different, I can look elsewhere.
ADMIN – Hi Grace,
You would be better off using adult materials. There are several free websites available and you can also take very affordable classes at local community colleges.
We used your baby sign language program with our son. We were amazed at how quickly he picked it up and how much relief it gave us to be able to communicate long before he could talk! It was wonderful! We even continued after he could talk and it really helped being able to have those non-verbal communication skills at times, like telling him to be gentle when getting to see a new baby, etc. without having to draw attention to him in a negative way in the group, etc. My son learned to read at a very young age and just tested in the 99% percentile for reading in his age group. I attribute so much of this to his early ability to comprehend language from using the baby sign language. He’s in 1st grade and his school tells me his the best reader in the whole K-5 school! I recommend your program to every new parent I meet, thank you so much for the lifelong gifts your program has given us!
Are you sure you got permission (paid permission preferably) from ASL Nook to use their video on your website to promote your bunched ASL videos? Would hate to see y’all get in trouble for it.
ADMIN – Hi Ted,
We do indeed have a paid license to use the video you are referring to.
Hi, I’m not sure if you already have this but i didn’t see it anywhere…grouping would be great! Like, having all the signs for colors or the alphabet together.
Thank you so much for your wonderful website – it is well-organised and easy to use. My daughter is now 2-1/2, she has significant development delay as a result of being a micro-preemie. I started signing with her a year ago – she made her first sign back in June – we started with the 10 basic and by September we were slowly increasing her vocabulary. She now signs over 70 words and makes sentences – and is now at the stage of asking us “what is the sign” for something. I use your website every day – signing has made the world of difference to us! And please thank the lady who does the videos – she makes learning a sign so easy!
ADMIN – Hi Sonali,
Thanks for sharing your experience. We are glad we could help. You and your daughter made our day!
Hi thank you for a lovely website, it’s been a huge help with my 2 1/2 son who has down syndrome. We live in South Africa, so cost of purchasing your product is out of our budget, I’ve printed some of the words and made my own cards and my son loves them. Their is an iPad application could signing time that is also very useful, with flash cards and videos and is relatively inexpensive.
Hi Kayla,
Our program is based on American sign language with some adaptations aimed at early childhood limited motor skills. The program is used globally. The only exception is when a child has a hearing impairment; in that case it is best to use the local sign language from the beginning.
Is this Nz sign language or American?
Please inform about a phone/IPad app coz it’s more convenient with hands full while parenting. My baby is yet one month old and I’d like to prepare.
Admin:
Hi Tessa, please join our Facebook page where we announce all the updates to our website and any app releases. Currently we do not have one.
Like Laura, I’m very interested in an iPhone/iPad app! Can you advise on one that you guys approve of or are designing?
Thanks!
I see there was a question about an app for smartphones/tablets. Is that still in the works? Do you have an app that you recommend in the meantime? Thanks!