29 - America the Bilingual Season 2 - When Baby’s First Words Are Not Spoken

When Viviana Cisniega’s son Luis was four months old, she taught him to talk—not in English, not in her native Spanish, not even by speaking. Instead, she taught her son some American Sign Language, the physical language of the deaf. For a number of years, some very young hearing babies have learned a few of the signs in ASL, as a way to successfully talk with their parents and caregivers before they begin to speak. But how do members of the deaf community feel about using ASL for infants who can hear? Find out in Episode 29 of the America the Bilingual podcast. This episode was written by Mim Harrison, brand and editorial director for the America the Bilingual project. Our producer is Fernando Hernández, who also does our sound design and mixing. Associate producer is Beckie Rankin. Our Graphic arts are created by Carlos Plaza Design Studio. The host is Steve Leveen. Support for the America the Bilingual project comes from the Levenger Foundation. Music in this episode, “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod, was used with a Creative Commons Attribution License. You can find his music here: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/kevin_macleod/global_sampler/quasi_motion Our thanks to Epidemic Sound for helping us make beautiful music together.