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Dear Friend,

People often ask me what were the first signs I taught Koko.
They were “Eat”, “Drink” and “More.” Why? Because these seemed to be the most important signs for a baby to communicate.

In the above video, 2-year-old Koko is learning these 3 signs while asking for her bottle of milk. As she eagerly requests it, she blends the signs for “Food” and “Drink,” still learning to distinguish between the two signs.

I guide Koko by molding her hands into the correct sign for “Drink” and later introduce “Finished” by both modeling and molding (shaping her hands into) the signs.

While Koko doesn’t yet sign “Finished” on her own, she is fully engaged in the learning process, and shows her enthusiasm for communicating her wants and needs.

I patiently taught and guided Koko as I was just as committed to establishing 2-way communication with her, as she was with me.

Thanks for watching and learning a little more about Koko’s world.

Penny Gives Smoky to Koko

With Koko-Love,
Penny Patterson Signature
Dr. Penny Patterson
President, CEO and Founder
The Gorilla Foundation / Koko.org

Conservation through Communication

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