Would a large mirror help mimicking?

[babygirlie]

My dd cannot mimic whatsoever. I was thinking about buying some sort of baby safe large mirror that she might become interested in and perhaps it would help teach her how to mimic. I am attempting sign language again and getting absolutely no where. She loves watching them do it on tv but it's not connecting to her own little fingers.

Has anyone tried this? She does have tiny mirrors on play tables but I'm thinking full sized 3 foot mirror where she can really get a good look.

The only thing stopping me is she does have a helmet and as of right now she loves her helmet and is very comfortable with it. She still has several months left to be in it. I don't want her to become self conscious about it. She is 20 months old and I don't think she has thoughts like that. I mean she doesn't even know her name yet but I mean.. maybe this is something she will view of herself as "different" or "wrong" because no one else has a helmet. And since we can't communicate at all I guess I'm not ready nor is she for that kind of conversation?

Just wanted some opinions, I'm just getting anxious to see her communicate with me. I'm still waiting for my speech therapy referral to the hospital to go through. I'm probably just being impatient.

[Linda on the move]

Mirrors can be a lot of fun and my dd's speech therapist used one with her to help her learn to use her mouth.

I doubt that your dd would label her helmet as "wrong" even if she notices it is different because most toddlers haven't yet learned that our culture sometimes gets upset about differences. Babies and toddlers are naturally non-judgmental.

Good luck!

[lindsayinnc]

A mirror is a good idea for helping build awareness of mouth movements and can help with imitation.  

The best place to start with imitation is through motor imitation.  Does your daughter imitate actions that you do?  If not, this is the place to start.  These can be very easy little turn taking games.  Start by imitating what she does, kids really like this, it is very empowering to them.  If she is banging on a drum wait for her to stop then you bang on the drum in the same way she did.  If she stacks a block, you stack a block.  When she notices you imitating her, try your own action and see if she follows suit.  You may have to do this for a little while, she should start to pick up on "I do something, mommy does something".  Once she is imitating your actions, you can add a sound in, if she likes the drum game add in boom, boom or with the blocks up, up.  

I had a kiddo who I had a really hard time getting imitation with and another therapist brought an echo mic (one of the pretend microphones that echos back your sound), it worked on the first try, lol, after months of me trying a million other things! So that is a good one to try, you could also try a video recorder and see if she has any interest in watching herself on video making noises.  

Try and keep your language simple while you are playing, using only 1-2 word phrases.  Vowels, B, M, P, D, and H are some of the easiest sounds so try to keep that in mind in what you may want to start with.  

I know that is a lot of information but it sounds like you are ready to start working on this stuff and need somewhere to start :)  I am an SLP in the school system but have also worked in early intervention.  

Hope this helps!

[BeautyforAshes]

I highly recommend it.  We LOVE our mirrors!!  When our DD was a baby, we put a full-length mirror on its side for her to watch herself play.  Now we have a large framed mirror (about 20 x 26 in?)  that we lean up against the chair in her play area.  She pulls it over on herself, but it's pretty sturdy, so no harm done.  She has always loved to sit and watch herself make gestures and faces, and I'm sure it has helped her development.  I think you're overthinking the helmet thing--I don't think it will worry her a bit.

[babygirlie]

No, she doesn't imitate at all yet. How do you use the microphone? Just hearing it echo back triggers her to try new sounds?

Good inputs :) Our insurance just approved of her speech and occupational therapies at the hospital. So they should be calling soon and I canceled EI and will call them for a new specialist once I find if I got into their parenting autism class :)

I am looking at unbreakable mirrors right now and they're kind of expensive. She nearly broke my nose with her helmet and so I don't want her to get hurt. It's been a week and my nose still hurts like the dickins.

[lindsayinnc]

The microphone is just one of the plastic toy ones that echos back to you.  Not sure if I am allowed to link on this forum so search Magic Mic on amazon. Glad to hear you are on your way to getting some services, hopefully they will have lots of ideas for things you can do at home :)