Signing question

[duvie]

DS points to things that are out of reach and grunts/whines because he wants to see/touch them. Sometimes he says "this this this", but more often then not, he does a very grating grunt/whine.

What sign should I teach him for "I want that?" Should I teach him "touch" or "want"?
Also, this may sound dumb, but do you use "please" by itself, or with other words?

BTW- these are often off-limit items, but I would still like to acknowledge that he is asking for it.

Thanks...

[linsei]

I don't know how old your ds is, but IME, "want" is a very difficult concept to teach. We have tried to teach him, but when he wants something, he signs "more" frantically and signs or points to what he wants. *Sigh* Perhaps "touch" would be an easier concept to master? Maybe sign touch and then show him how to touch various objects?

We're still working on "please", so no real advice there. However, I think I would try to teach it to be used in combination with another sign (milk, please).

Linda

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[julieakc]

Like Linda said, my DS also uses "more" when he wants something. Although he also uses "please" when he wants something since he's discovered that being polite will get a response. So sometimes it's "more" "please" frantically and then pointing if he wants something. It's really quite cute.

I tried teaching him "want" but it is a hard one IMO, so I have to admit I sort of gave up. I figure as long as he is effectively communicating his desires that's the important thing.

BTW, he does use please in conjuction with other things, particularly if I prompt him; i.e he wants a book and I will say "can you say please" and then he will sign "please" either alone or then again sign "book" or whatever it is he wants.

[mudder17]

I tried teaching "want" to Kaya, but "more" is the sign she much preferred and still uses. But she definitely has "please" down pat. I think she's been doing that since around 18 months? If she wants something and we're not sure what she wants or we don't want her to have it, she'll then sign "please" hoping that we'll change our mind. ;) I've been teaching her lately to sign or say "please" and then whatever it is she wants. So she'll sign "please" and say "more toast" or something like that. If it's something she can have, I'll give it to her immediately and then she'll sign "thank you". If it's not something she can have, I'll say and sign "wait" or say/sign "sorry" that's not yours or something like that. So I'll acknowledge what it is she's asking for and they say it's something she'll have to wait for or not get. And then I'll distract her. :)

Oh, and Kaya's way of asking for something she probably can't have is actually not to use "more" since she's starting to use that more appropriately (i.e. she wants more of something she can have) but to ask, "See?" as in, "Can I see that?" I guess "touch" would have been a good sign to teach her for that.


Eileen

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Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[duvie]

Thanks for the responses! Do you think that "want" is difficult because of the sign itself or because it is such a general concept?

DS is 14 months and just beginning to grasp the idea of more (as in "more food") I am worried that using "more" for everything else will confuse things. What do you all think?

I am leaning towards using "touch." The grating grunting must cease!

[Judegirl]

"Want" was one of the first signs we taught Riordan (because I was primarily interested in being able to understand what she wanted!) It didn't catch on until she'd been using "Milk" and "Eat" for awhile, but pretty soon she used "Want" for anything other than milk and food. Then she got the hang of "Want milk" etc...and only recently have we started to introduce please. (We did it just by modeling and asking her to tack it on to her requests - so far it's working nicely.)

I would go with "want" since it's more basic than "touch" - you don't know whether he wants to touch the objects, eat them, play with them, etc...and touch has more meanings that may come in handy (as in "Gentle touches!"!) later.

HTH,
Jude