Interviews

I took the time to interview three different moms. Here is a summarization of my interviews:

Subject: Melissa mother to Samuel (age 1 yr and 4 months).

Summary: Melissa began teaching Sam sign language when he was nine months old. She decided to teach him signs after she saw several other children signing at the day care she sends Sam to. It took Sam about one month to do his first sign which was “more.” Now Sam knows ten different signs. He is also beginning to say some words such as “ball” and “outside.” Melissa admits that it has really helped her communication frustration.

Subject: Megan mother to Caroline (age 6 months)

Summary: Megan has not begun to teach her daughter sign language but she is familiar with the concept. Megan admits that communicating with Caroline can be very frustrating at times. She is still unsure about whether or not she will teach Caroline to sign although she does know several parents who have taught their children. Megan admits that she is a bit “old fashioned” and sees signing as a “fad.”

Subject: Maria mother to Christina (Age 16) Hailey (age 13 and deaf) and Robert (age 11)

Summary: Maria’s second child, Hailey, was born deaf. Obviously, she was forced to teach her child sign language. Her oldest daughter, Christina, was over three years old and began learning sign language along with Hailey so that they could all communicate. Christina learned the signs very quickly as did Hailey. When her third child, Robert, was born she decided to teach him sign language as well. She notes that Robert’s verbal communication began several months before her first child began speaking. She does not know if this is because of the signing, but she thinks that it is. She admitted to being less frustrated with Robert when he was able to sign and communicate with her at a young age.