She already has one son, Stephen 11, and remembered the frustration of not understanding him when he was a baby.

So she decided to do something about it. Hadley began investigating one of the newest things in child care - sign language for babies. A few months after her second son Beau was born, Hadley started incorporating basic sign language into his daily routines.

She knew she was getting through to her son when he started smacking his lips every time she made the sign for food.

Beau was only seven months old, but was clearly understanding Mom when she was using her sign language. It took another month before he started making signs back, but today Beau is 10 months old and one could say the baby is a real hand talker, and Hadley is now an official instructor with the American-based Baby Signs Institute.

"It's like when your baby takes his first steps, it's the same level of excitement," says Hadley of the first time Beau began signing words to her. "He's so proud of himself."

Sign language for babies was first developed by two American doctors nearly 20 years ago, but just became popular in the last five. The program spread to Canada about two years ago and Hadley became interested.

"It's just catching on like crazy," she says.

The program is based mostly on the standard American Sign Language (ASL), which is taught to those who can't speak. Some of the signs have been changed to make them easier for babies to understand, and the idea is to use the signs to help reinforce the words as they're being spoken, says Hadley.

"It's absolutely not difficult. It's not detrimental in any way to babies learning to talk. He was understanding me at seven months but not responding until eight months. I think it's great if you can reduce that frustration of not communicating. It gives you a glimpse into their world."

Before going on maternity leave, Hadley was teaching arts classes in Grande Prairie and now hopes to teach other mothers and child care professionals the signing skills.

"It's not difficult because you use it everyday. You just incorporate it into daily life. When your child is ready, that's when they'll respond," she says.

So far Beau has mastered a variety of signs including food, tired, light, and fish for the goldfish in the family's small tank.

It's small steps towards communication, but Hadley believes every little bit can help reduce stress in her life and frustration for her son.

For more information on the program, Hadley can be contacted at 532-3790 or at babysignswithsteph@yahoo.ca.

By Darrel Winwood
http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/Z02_00bsign0213.lasso