TESTIMONIALS

READ WHAT LOCAL ORANGE COUNTY

PARENTS ARE SAYING ABOUT

SIGNING SAYS WORKSHOPS 

Being a first time parent has been a very rewarding, but challenging experience. By attending your workshops, we’ve found the important link we needed to communicate with Renee. Now that she’s 10 months old she recognizes 30 signs and so far she can sign back 9 of them.                        Lizette W., Newport Beach, CA

We can’t thank you enough for showing us how easy and beneficial it is using ASL with our dear Emma. At first, Carlos [husband] was skeptical, but now he is a strong advocate for your program. Although Emma is almost 2 yrs old, we still use signs for words that are very difficult for her to say. We also believe that her fascination with books is due mainly because ASL has made reading her favorite activity. Thank you sooooo much!!!!                                Marla P., Costa Mesa, CA

Jacob is signing back to us! And it’s only been 4 or 5 weeks. We are so excited! We can’t understand why any parent wouldn’t give signing a try. It really is fun and doesn’t require any prior experience. It’s a real no-brainer. Please let us know when you have another level class. Your classes are easy to learn and you always make sure we leave without any doubts.                    Gina L., Orange, CA

I am in awe of all that my wife and I learned at your class last month and wanted to thank you for making it so “father-friendly.” When we sign with Melinda, her eyes light up and we know we’re making connections with her. Not only is she in tune with the fact that we are trying to communicate with her, but she’s intent on our actions after the signs. This leads us to believe that she’s a genius. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from us in a few months because we want “MORE” signs. Keep us on your mailing list.                                                       Eric A., Yorba Linda, CA

My parents weren’t receptive to the idea of signing with Edgar. I left them all of the literature you gave us and that wasn’t enough to convince them. Well, now it’s a different story because they see our bond developing faster with Edgar than when they were raising me. My mom, especially, shows more effort in learning the signs. We’re using the sign for more with other things besides foods, like “more grandma”. It’s mind-blowing!                                      Mae S., Tustin, CA

Jake and I have been doing pretty good using the signing. We have rented a new Signing Times from the library to help expand our vocabulary. He is using them a lot, along with mimicking sounds (he is 16 mos.). I really feel like it has helped out our communication. Between the signs and sounding, I can usually figure out what he is trying to say and that makes us both HAPPY! Thanks so much for getting us started!                                      Mindy S., Orange County, CA

(The following are Courtesy of Sign2Me)

"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 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 that 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 never used out of its normal context.

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

-Richard Berlin, Campbell, CA

"My daughter had servere earaches, but the doctor said her ears were 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 and 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."

-Nanette Sudler, Ph.D.

"Sign with your Baby is a revolutionary method that really hit the mark with our testers..."

 -National Parenting Center

"Within one 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 everyday.  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

"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 adoptions could be a real help to new parents.

-Laura Briggs, Austin, TX

"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

"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 3 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 try 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 this with their baby."

-Monta Z. Briant, San Diego, CA

(Added comments by Signing Says:  Monta Briant became a Certified Presenter of Sign2Me shortly after this, and has since written several books on signing with infants.) 

 "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 nap time yesterday.  I did a full serarch and reassured him he was fine.  Then last night he awoke from what seemed to be 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 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

"Our son, Logan is 19 months old.  He can sign upwards of 100 signs now.  We had just emptied out most of the water in our fish tank because we were moving.  The tank was on the floor with all the fish still in it.  Because we had emptied out the water, the plants had fallen over.  Logan looked in the tank and signed to me this amazing sentence: fish, help, tree, fall down.  I took it to mean that the fish need help because the trees fell down.  I asked him if that is what he meant and he agreed.  It was so cute and funny and let me see more clearly into Logan's sweet and caring personality.  He was also so glad that I understood his concern for the fish."

-Rachel Mano, Salt Lake City, UT

"Based on our experiences of introducing ASL to hearing infants, toddlers, and preschoolers over the last five years, we have found ASL to be an incredible bridge between receptive language and verbal language.  It is a wonderful tool for children learning English as a second language and for introducing a second spoken language.  We have also found ASL to be an effective connection for children moving through infant, toddler, and preschool groupings.  By having the consistency of ASL throughout our entire program, the children and staff can easily communicate through recognized signs."

-MaryJo Dostal, Union Bay Children's Center

(MaryJo Dostal is the Director of Union Bay Children's Center and cofounder of Sprouts Educational Resources.)

"The signing method has intensified an already powerful bond between myself and my daughters, and I feel that I have really gotten to know them and their developing personalities at a very young age.  As a result, they are so keen to communicate, knowing that they are nearly always understood, be it by sign, sounds, or speech, or a combination of all three!"

-Adele Marshall - Parent in Plymouth, Devon, UK