... Madrid Mexico CityMilan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto BABY SIGNS How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk Linda Acredolo, Ph.D., and Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D.New York ... hungry or thirsty, the water is too hot or cold, and if they want more. —A reader from Chicago, Illinois BABY SIGNS How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk Linda Acredolo, Ph.D., ... helpbabiesalong.Thus,webeganencouragingparents to purposefullyteachtheirbabiesafewmore signs to helpthemcommunicatetheirbasicneeds,feelings,andinterests—anythingtheirbabieswantedorneeded to talk about—untiltheycould talk wellenough to communicate with words.Andthe Baby Signs programwasborn!xiv | Baby Signs Preface | xvThe Original Baby Signs ProgramThe Baby Signs program began with baby- created signs simple move-mentsandgesturesthatbabiesthemselvestookfromtheirroutineexperiences with thepeopleandthingsaroundthem.Drawingfromsongs,games,orplay-fulinteractions with toysandotherobjects,babieswerendingways to talk beforetheycould talk. Forexample,severalbabiesweobservedtwistedtheirindexngertipstogether to labelspiders—realspiders,picturesofspiders,andevenplastictoyspiders.Whatthesebabieshadincommon,wediscovered,wastheexperience...