Vivian's "Words"

I have an eighteen month old granddaughter, Vivian Grace, who lives with her parents in Omaha, Nebraska.  Distance dictates that we see her, in the flesh, about every six months.  We supplement these visits with an hour Skype visit every two weeks.

Last week we spent four days in Omaha visiting with parents and Vivy.  Our daughter-in-law, Sandy, had told us how she has taught Vivy sign language to help her communicate.  A friend of the parents taught their children sign language and claimed it made a significant difference in their language, reading and thinking skills.

Of course, I was skeptical.  When we arrived Vivy was in a playful mood and like any good grandparents we joined her on the floor to play.  Soon she was making these wild motions.  Her Mom calmly told us she was signing that she wanted water.  I gave Vivy a sippy cup; she smiled and took a long drink.  I was dumbfounded.  An eighteen month old was able to tell me what she wanted without verbal language.  She understood thirst, water and how to ask for the water.

Over the next few days the challenge was to get white bearded grandpa to complete a crash course in sign language, taught by my eighteen month old granddaughter.  Vivy can sign for:  eat, milk, tired, thank you, please, cookie, all done and book.  These eight words accomplish a lot in the life of a toddler.

One morning Vivy woke very early because she was busy cutting her molar teeth.  Her Mom was exhausted from being up tending to Vivy during the night.  I told Sandy she should return to bed and I would feed and care for Vivy.  I was able to “talk” with Vivy through sign language and understood what she wanted.  She had a breakfast of fruit and oatmeal, milk, and water.  She would ask for more cereal if hungry and let me know when she was finished.

Vivy’s life and mine have been enriched by the magic of sign language.