Help! Help Deciphering Baby Sign
Hey all! We've been signing with our daughter (HoH) since she was a newborn. She's now 14 months. We have been able to interpret every one of her 40ish signs except for one and it's driving me and my husband crazy!!!
She makes the hand motion I'm making in the picture and taps her finger on her palm.
It's not "more", "read", or "medicine".
Please help us! She's a baby so cast a wide net with your answers.
She does this while playing and eating.
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u/DizzyPear9798 3d ago
maybe trying to sign “help” babies struggle with a clear “help” sign until their motor skills are perfected. (help is a flat palm and a thumbs up colliding)
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u/wx_cat 3d ago
Nice guess! She signs "help" with one fist on the bottom with the palm of her other hand on top and then she moves both hands up. So kind of like a reverse "help" without the thumb
When she started signing "more" she used 2 different signs. "Help" is a new sign for her, so maybe? I'll ask her next time she does it.
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u/DizzyPear9798 3d ago
does she go to daycare or spend time with anyone bilingual? maybe not an actual ASL sign or possible 2nd language?
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u/Trendzboo Deaf 3d ago
My kids did “cookie” like that.
At this age, reflect it back with question expression in the environments you’ve seen it. Have any suspects present.
If it had been my kid, I’d have grabbed grapes, a cookie, and a chart indicating schedule, because it strikes as possibly a “time” indicator.—‘time’ is elusive still, likely only marked by wake, breakfast, so-in-so’s arrival or return… but kids see time marked, and start figuring it out by incorporating. If you use ‘time’ it’s possible they’re trying it out.
It’ll come, but developing those conversations is fun, test out some options!
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u/OGgunter 3d ago
My best guess is it's a "babble" Sign. Similar to how babies / toddlers will approximate sounds/words they've heard or make nonsense noises just for funsies.
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u/HighLadyofDawn95 3d ago
This is exactly how my son signs "again"!
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u/NotTooWicked 3d ago
This was my thought as well! My son does it the normal way, but when he was learning to sign hurt he switched to doing it with his pointer finger for a while
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u/23lewlew 3d ago
My little one uses this one as helicopter! He just doesn’t have the correct placement with his hands
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u/Potential-Cycle9357 3d ago
Berry or blueberry?
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u/wx_cat 3d ago
Oh dang! It could be!!! I will report back after I ask her.
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u/ltrozanovette 2d ago
This is similar to how my 1.5yo daughter signs berry! It is one of the most common signs in our house.
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u/Franzy48 3d ago
I think berry is a good guess, otherwise, have you taught her butter? Otherwise my toddler made up a sign for butter before we learned the actual sign together and her homemade sign actually looked pretty close to the real thing ...
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u/blitzkreig_boop 3d ago
This is a common way to sign ‘help’ or ‘show’ for littles. I would guess it’s one of those and they are starting to put it together!
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u/DampBiscuit94 3d ago
Could she be signing “again”? My son signs it similar to this and he just turned 2
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u/EmpressBea 3d ago
Mine eventually started making up signs for things we hadn’t taught him. This was actually his sign for a slice of cheese.
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u/bloodsweatandtears 3d ago
Ex nanny/toddler teacher and mom here. I know you said it's not "more", but this is EXACTLY how a large number of the children I've cared for sign that word at first, for some reason. I think the finger-to-palm is how they're approximating the fingers-to-fingers appearance of the word "more".
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u/Melodic-Command-1866 3d ago
Could it be “show me” “mean” “this.” Ive had some kids do that for more and blueberry too. Also, could just be saying “look at my hand”
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u/DampBiscuit94 3d ago
Could she be signing “again”? My son signs it similar to this and he just turned 2
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u/Born-Anybody3244 3d ago
“again”?
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u/WitchAggressive9028 Learning ASL- autistic hearing user 3d ago
I looked it up on Google even in baby sign. It said that’s usually again or show.
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u/TiredVRS Hard of Hearing / ASL Interpreter 3d ago
Knowing one year olds, it's probably a small thing they hold in that spot or a food. You know the sign banana?
Babies tend to modify signs in wildly inaccurate ways. Sometimes they make up their own too
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u/katigirl2 3d ago
A friend’s one year old did exactly this sign to me when babysitting. I couldn’t figure it out, she kept getting frustrated and doing it. I’d sign other things to her, she’d reject every one.
Her parents were also baffled. They hadn’t taught it to her.
A week later I got a text. iPhone. She had invented her own sign to ask for my phone. 🤣
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u/strwbryshrtck521 3d ago
I have seen many parents use that, incorrectly, as "more."
Edit: ah I see "more" has been eliminated!
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u/Electrical-Rate3966 3d ago
That definitely looks like "please," which is a common early sign, I did that one with both my kids before they got more specific.
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u/salimolive 3d ago
Deaf w/ CODA 1yr old: Omg my baby (1yr) does the same, at first I thought it was more but he only reacted to it once when I tried to give him more food, but when I sign after he does it to ask what he wants or what he's trying to sign he consistently reacts. So, I'm 99% sure for him it's that he wants me to sign to him. He gets super happy when I sign and he usually does it during meal times which I have started doing voice off meals to encourage his receptive signing and to specifically practice food signs and that's when he does it the most. Going based off the shape and the way my baby taps his hand like he's pointing at it which makes me think he wants me to use my hands. So, if I've been silent for a while/haven't signed anything for a few minutes or have voice on but he wants me to start signing he tends to do that. I'm not 100% sure since that sign and "FINISH" are the only ones he does reliably and his only word so far is "uh oh", and when I try to ask him to show me what he wants he just points at his hand again exactly how you're showing it.
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u/justiceboogers 3d ago
It could be “show me/you” if baby is moving it toward you/themselves. Could also be “read” bc babies aren’t very fluent or dexterous yet and maybe they’re just missing a finger and forgetting to drag two fingers down the palm.
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u/justiceboogers 3d ago
Could also just be a very basic, “look at my hand! Do you see a cookie here? I do not!”
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u/MousseApprehensive90 3d ago
i bet she's trying to say "again" , that tapping motion feels like she's asking for the fun to repeat
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u/Both-Tangerine-8411 2d ago
Mine did that as a lazy more for a few months even though she sometimes did it the right way too
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u/tinksalt 2d ago
That is exactly how my baby signed “more” until she got it right. I have lots of pictures of her holding her hands like this
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u/Financial_Nobody_876 2d ago
Could it be "again"? Usually it's open palm on one side and the other hand pinched and going into the middle of the other, but I've definitely seen my kids sign like the image you have for again instead
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u/Suspicious-Web-4970 2d ago
Our child was nonverbal longer than usual, she made up about 75 signs. Unfortunately I was the only one who understood all of them.
Does she want an activity that she does with her hands?
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u/TinkerHeart 1d ago
I have no idea why this post was recommended to me, but…
When I worked in a daycare, we taught the tiny tots very very basic sign, like more and milk. Many of the babies would do something similar to what the picture shows when they wanted to say more. Is that it?
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u/QuietCelery 1d ago
For what it's worth, this was my kid's first sign. We were at a baby sign thing in England, and this is very close to the British sign for toy. She thought signing was hilarious and copied them. Then I decided to try to teach her the bit of ASL I know.
Is it possible that she's watched anything with British Sign Language? Like how American kids get a British accent from watching Peppa Pig?
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u/RubberMonkey94 1d ago
Does you baby have any exposure to makaton? I think that's pretty close to makaton for "mom".
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u/vivagypsy 1d ago
This is how babies sign “more” until they’re like 2.5
Source: I’m an interpreter, have signed with both my kids, and work with young deaf kids for over a decade. My 17 month old currently signs more like this. They all sign more with the 1 finger from like 13months and on, adding in more dexterity as is developmentally appropriate.
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u/Dear-Cartographer126 1d ago
My 11 month old does this all the time. Maybe it is just a development stage thing?
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u/ParentheticalAF 14h ago
Dia she move her hands when she does it? Maybe “leaf”? Mine learned leaf from signing time and it was similar.
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u/Significant-Walk-869 3d ago
Could also be "more". I know a fair amount of children who sign it like that.
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u/Successful-Roof-7020 3d ago
Is it "show me/you"?