“My 14-month-old was having breakfast. He was frustrated — pointing and grunting at the table, trying to tell me that he wanted something for which he did not know a sign.

Eventually, he signed “hat,” which is an odd thing to see at the breakfast table. But I looked down at the things on the table, trying to find a hat, or something that has a hat, and the light bulb went on for me.

I put the lid on the Tupperware container that contained his food and handed it to him. That’s what he wanted...

I was astonished…. I didn’t think a 14-month-old could generalize that much, nor did I think my child could possibly expect me to figure out what he wanted from a sign that he had never used out of its normal context.

Anyway, we all got a kick out of it. And so I am writing to thank you, for the world of excitement that your work has opened up for my family and me!”

—Richard Berlin, Campbell, CA

“My daughter had severe earaches, but the doctor said her ears where fine. I insisted that she was signing PAIN by her right ear. He thought I was nuts, but ran some further tests…and found that 90% of her inner ear was full of fluid, causing a 35% hearing loss! Without her ability to sign to us, the specialist said we would not have known about the
fluid in her ears.”

—Kelli Goble, Tracy, CA

Dear Mr. Garcia,
Hello. I’m a clinical psychologist with a 15-month-old daughter. My husband & I started teaching her ASL when she was about 10 1/2 months old using your program. It is one of the best things we’ve ever done. It is truly amazing. Many of our friends don’t believe us when we tell them how many words she knows and how well she communicates...until they see it for themselves. She knows over 40 words and is learning faster than we can at this point. She actually began toilet training before she could walk by showing us the signs. I attribute this to the fact that she has been able to communicate her wants & needs at such an early age without much frustration. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful information in your video & book. It has really made a difference. Additionally, I have enjoyed the sign language so much that I’m considering taking some ASL courses and expanding my psychology practice to include the deaf and hard-of-hearing populations.

Sincerely,
Nanette Sudler, Ph.D.

“Within a week of his first sign he had added 5 more and now knows about 20 signs. The fact that our 13-month old child can tell us when he is hungry, thirsty, in pain, or is full still amazes me every day. His frustration level is practically nil, which makes him a delight to be around. His ability to initiate conversation about things that he did or hears or sees makes me thankful everyday for Joseph Garcia and his research.”

—Jackie Thomas, Bothell, WA

“Our daughter was able to express herself through simple signs (Milk, More, All Done) at 8 months old. She is now 13 months and readily uses over 35 signs to express herself. Just the other day she picked up a feather from our parrot and signed, “bird- hair.” It is amazing! She can express herself and we can discuss concepts you wouldn’t normally think a 1 year old would understand.”

—Jessica Jordan, Nashua, NH

“We just brought home a beautiful two-year-old girl from China. We began using a few signs one day after we had adopted her (while in China), and we have had a blast communicating in this way. She picked the signs up very quickly, and we believe we have avoided a lot of frustration using them. She has been with us for three months now, and although her English is coming along well, we still use signs with her. We believe that using this program in international adoption could be a real help to new parents.”

—Laura Biggs, Austin, TX

“I have been using your program to teach my daughter from about 6 1/2 months old. She is now 13 1/2 months, and she does about 40 signs. She makes up new signs herself, and strings together 2 and three signs regularly to get the message across. She will learn a sign after being shown only once, now, and I am in a race to tr y to come up with more signs. She wants to know the sign for everything! She can tell me just about anything. The other night, as I was
putting her to bed, she asked me to close her windows, because there are elephants outside (she thinks) and they might get in (For some reason, she thinks car alarms are elephants, so she hears them out there!). Imagine if she could not tell me her fears, and we just dismissed her cries of terror as a protest about going to bed?! Thank you so much for this. I try to convince any mother who will listen, to please do it with their baby.”

—Monta Z. Briant, San Diego, CA

“Evan (16 months) recently learned the sign for bee, after encountering one in the park. He wasn’t stung, but the bee seemed to scare him. He signs the word, and voices “zzzz”, in reference to the sound. He also gets a look of distaste on his face and comes to me for comfort. I assure him that bees are okay, if you don’t bother them. Anyway, he insisted there was a bee in his room during naptime yesterday. I did a full search and reassured him he was fine. Then last night he awoke from what seemed to be a nightmare. He was sitting in bed, signing “bee”.

I finally realized he was trying to tell me he was scared. He made a connection between his fear of the bee and feeling scared. I now know that I need to share some more feeling signs with Evan. Isn’t it wonderful? We are not only teaching our kids, but they are teaching us!”

—Robyn Gretz, Pittsburgh, PA

“I don’t do recommendations very readily, but in this situation I am totally comfortable about recommending the work of Mr. Garcia. I have followed it for several years now, and recommend it to our parents who use it with great success.“

“He is obviously a pioneer, totally dedicated.“

—Dr. Burton White

“This is a time when the brain is growing very, very rapidly. It is too precious a time to waste. That’s what I like about the idea of signing ver y young. We know from research and observation that the first major way children learn is kinesthetically, through movement, through touch, through experience. I think this book is particularly good because signing is that kind of learning process.”

—Dr. Martha Bullock Lamberts

“By giving a child a sign or symbol, it enhances their ability to communicate and intellectually develop. And I think the other thing it does is it really helps that child/parent bond.“

—Alice Stroutsos
Speech Language Pathologist

“Babies can start using sign language as young as 8 months, and some child-development experts say it enables very young children to express what they are unable to say. Parents who use the system say their children are less frustrated and have fewer tantrums because they are able to express their needs.

They also say it strengthens the parent-child bond because it allows them to enter each other’s world. And - to answer the question ever yone asks - research shows that signing does not keep a child from learning to speak.“

—Janet Simons
Reporter, Denver Rocky Mountain News

“Our son learned about 80 signs by 18 months and we were able to have “conversations” about the world around him. He was able to tell us what he needed, but also what he was thinking. It was a fabulous window into his mind. We were amazed at the concepts he understood and the extent of his memory and would have never known what he was thinking without his signing. As more parents are able to communicate with their young children, there will be a greater respect
for the child as a person. I think signing was definitely one of the best things we did as parents and I strongly recommend it to other parents.“

—Lauren Cover, Redmond, WA

“SIGN with your BABY is a wonder ful tool for parents wishing to teach their baby to sign. Much of the frustration of the toddler years results from a child’s inability to communicate with others. It has really reduced some of the frustration in my home, and I plan to continue to use sign with them for as long as it remains useful. A must for every parent of an infant or toddler.“

—Parent from Huntington Beach.