Hi, Andy!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

AB>  We were already signing by the time we realised she
AB>  could not speak.  It did not seem at all difficult at
AB>  the time because she took to it like a duck to water.


          I imagine she was at a stage of readiness to acquire language,
but for whatever reason(s) found it easier to sign than to speak.  When our
daughter was just over a year old I suddenly realized one day that she
& I were communicating quite well... in complete silence!  I'd had no
experience with ASL at that time. But facial expressions & body
language come naturally when one isn't feeling too self-conscious, and
babies are a very appreciative audience....  :-)



AB>  My wife already had some ASL experience and I'd dabbled
AB>  in BSL years ago, though I've since forgotten all that
AB>  I learned then.


          It seems to me a lot of things I've done in the past helped
prepare me for what I'm doing now.  While you may not consciously remember
much of what you learned years ago, the general principles still apply.... 
:-)



AB>  Just being able to communicate with our daughter is a
AB>  beautiful thing.  I suppose other parents feel the same
AB>  way as their child learns to speak.


          We were delighted when our daughter learned to speak... it
enabled her to communicate more effectively with more people.  I've
noticed, however, that a lot of people seem to lose their awareness of
non-verbal communication once they begin using words routinely.  I hope our
kids never lose it....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+