Antonio M. Navarro
Sunday, April 5, 2009
ASL and Babies
I first started taking ASL classes because I thought it would be
a much easier and less demanding way for me to meet my foreign
language requirement. I thought that ASL was just all about
using my hands and arms to sign - plain and simple. But it
turned out to be a lot more intricate than I had imagined. ASL
not only involves the use of a person's hands and arms, but
their entire body, including facial expressions. Although
grasping the speed and structure of ASL is a bit difficult,
gaining knowledge and mastery of the general concepts is pretty
simple. For example, a spoken four word request for food (Can I
have food?) can easily be summed up in one sign. This
characteristic of ASL is a major reason why some parents of
hearing children choose to teach their babies sign language. It
helps their baby learn to communicate and understand at a much
younger age than babies that learn through speech.
The age at which an infant can learn how to communicate using
sign language depends on his/her mental development and exposure
to it. Some children can learn how to communicate through sign
language at as young as 8 months. This is astonishing
considering the fact that most infants don't even know how to
walk until they're between 10-15 months old and won't be able to
speak comprehensively until about 18 months, (Blumberg, 2005).
These statistics are a great incentive for those parents who
wish they could communicate with their child sooner and could
save them a lot of stress from misunderstandings. Learning sign
language also saves the infant a great deal of stress. As Tiara
V. Malloy noted in her article, Sign Language Use for Deaf, Hard
of Hearing, and Hearing Babies: The Evidence Supports It, "Lack
of communicative abilities can cause temper tantrums and fits as
children struggle to make their needs known." If the child knows
how to sign his/her needs, a lot of the problems usually
associated with the inability to speak could be avoided.
Earlier communication is not the only benefit of teaching
infants sign language. Other benefits include enhanced bonding
between the infant and his parents, quicker development of fine
motor skills, and increased levels of comprehension, reading and
grammar, (Jones, 2006). The constant attention focused between
child and parent while learning to sign allows them to
experience each others personalities and become closer with each
other. Also, the repetition of signing and naming the sign by
the parent can eventually lead to the child learning to speak
sooner than other hearing, non-signing infants. Thus, by
teaching them sign language at a young age, parents can greatly
increase their childrens cognitive development. The use of the
infants hands and arms to sign is a great way for him to gain
control of his upper-body motor skills; plus it helps to
increase dexterity and muscle memory.
Sign language is a great way to increase a childs development
and it's a wonder that more, if not all, parents don't elect to
teach their infants sign language. Especially with all the
benefits attached to learning it (and teaching it), for both
parties. Hopefully, as time goes on, teaching sign language will
become a more widespread and accepted practice in early
childhood education.
References
Blumberg, Rena Morningstar. (Fall 2005). "Baby, sign to me!
Benefits of teaching sign language to hearing infants". Special
Delivery. FindArticles.com. 03 Apr, 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6678/is_3_28/ai_n29228418/
Jones, Christine. (April 2006). "The Benefits of Sign Language
for ALL Children". The Monthly Communicator. New Jersey
Department of Human Services. 04 Apr, 2009. http://www.deaf-culture-online.com/sign-language-for-children.html
Malloy, Tiara V. (July 2003). "Sign Language Use for Deaf, Hard
of Hearing, and Hearing Babies: The Evidence Supports It".
American Society for Deaf Children. 04 Apr, 2009. http://www.deafchildren.org/resources/49_Sign%20Language%20Use.pdf
Finally Communication Between Infants and Parents!
By Candice Houghton
4/5/2009
Finally Communication Between Infants and
Parents!
After attending several baby showers recently I have become
aware of a large number of parents enthusiastically intent upon
teaching their children sign language. Of the twenty women
attending this event, eight of them are currently utilizing
signs with their children, three were just beginning the process
of introducing signs to their children and one extremely
pregnant woman enthusiastically proclaims she will be teaching
her children as soon as they arrive. The rest had already been
there, in those frustrating moments when faced with a
distraught, screaming child, often at a time of night not meant
to be seen by normal human beings, who was unable to respond to
the persistent questions of “What’s wrong?” and “Does this
help?” followed by “What can I do?” or “What do you want?”. If
only the child could have responded these parents proclaim. But
that is just what many children are doing thanks to learning a
handful of signs.
It has been stated in many parenting journals and magazines,
often by an insightful pediatrician that motor skills develop
faster than verbal skills and that parents should encourage this
by introducing visual vocabulary words to their infants. We have
all witnessed infants conveying messages to adults through
wiggling fingers or pumping arms long before they gurgled “I
want up, please”. Several articles state that teaching your
infant visual communication can reduce frustrations and helps
little ones feel more understood and gives parents the ability
to determine their child’s comprehension by starting with
several simple signs such as: more, eat, drink, milk, bed,
please and thank you. By starting with a few signs and
introducing new signs as these become familiar quickly builds an
extensive vocabulary for these infants/toddlers. But which signs
do you teach? ASL or do you make up your own signs?
Some authors believe that the benefits of utilizing a
standardized vocabulary such as American Sign Language (ASL) is
the reduction in possible confusion in future education and
communication. If one teaches family specific “made-up” signs
communication would be limited to that family. However other
authors believe that teaching ASL to infants is not prudent
because the infants only utilize signs until they develop verbal
communication skills, then the signing stops. So this prompts
the question asked by many parents that if they indeed teach
their children to sign, will this affect their child’s vocal
development?
Many articles have identified many studies which have
provided data that states baby sign language has not restricted
regular speech, but has shown signing babies with larger
vocabulary, a better understanding of the meanings of words as
well as the formation of complete sentences once verbal
communication begins and higher IQ scores. What parent doesn’t
want that? Some studies have shown signing infants/toddlers to
have better developed “play” skills, more socialized, than those
infants/toddlers who have not been taught signs. Some author’s
say to begin teaching a few signs to your infant as soon as
their attention span permits and of course this is unique to
every child. All have expressed the importance of starting with
a few signs and being patient, do not give up if several months
have gone by and your child has not responded. Nothing is a
rewarding as that first moment that you realize that your child
is actually communicating with you. And luckily for most of us
there is a plethora of instructional material available to
assist us in teaching our children to sign from the magazine
articles, both in print and on-line.
As neatly demonstrated to me just today by several Moms,
teaching infants/toddlers/children sign language has greatly
increased the joy of being a parent by establishing better
communication between them much earlier in their life. Let’s
hope that this helps when they want a tattoo.
Resources:
Blumberg, Rena Morningstar (Fall, 2005) Baby, sign to me!
Benefits of Teaching Sign Language to Hearing Infants Health
Publications. Retrieved 01 April 2009: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6678/is_3_28/ai_n29228418/
Campbell, Tanya (08 May 2007) Teaching Baby to Sign
Suite101.com. Retrieved 01 April 2009:
http://parentingresources.suite101.com/print_article.cfm/teaching_baby_to_sign
Carchrae, Michelle (16 January 2008) Baby Sign Language
Suite101.com. Retrieved 01 April 2009:<
http://parentingresources.suite101.com/print_article.cfm/baby_sign_language>
Dennard-Lewis, Eve (August 2005) Talk to the Hand Teaching Your
Baby Sign Language Atlanta Parent Online Magazine. Retrieved 01
April 2009: <http://atlantaparent.com/Magazines/articledetail.php?ArticleID=11>
Montgomery, Beth (18 May 2007) Signing with Your Infant or
toddler: ASL V. Baby Sign Associated Content Information from
the Source. Retrieved 01 April 2009 http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/246980/signing_with_your_infant_or_toddler_pg2.html?cat=25
Wexler, Barbara (2007). Lend a Hand: Communicating with Babies
through Sign Language. Earlychildhood News, Excelligence
Learning Corporation. Retrieved 01 April 2009: http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=288
Sign Language and Babies
By Pawan Grewal
April 6, 2009
Sign Language and Babies
Some people will never realize the importance of sign
language. Even more people will never appreciate the benefits
and extraordinary outcomes that can arrive from signing to your
infant. Through sign language, studies have shown how
intelligent babies can be without using words.
Although parents have been signing to babies for years, it
has become more popular recently. The most common reason for a
caregiver to teach their baby signing is to find out exactly
what their baby needs (Beyer). Because babies fine muscles
improve in their hands prior to the developments needed to
speak, sign language helps them communicate earlier. Without
even teaching babies proper sign language, they learn to pick up
on gestures just from watching; for example waving goodbye, or
shaking their head no, this is just a way of communication.
Through years of research, it has been proven to be helpful to
speech acquisition. It is also a way of bonding and can be very
fun and stimulating (Beyer).
Besides the fact that signing can help babies accurately
communicate before they can speak, ASL has many other perks as
well. Some of these advantages include reducing frustration for
babies, promotes parent and child bonding, and helps the child
make eye contact. Signing children also seem to be more
fascinated in books. According to researcher Joseph Garcia,
hearing babies as young as six months can use simple motions to
correspond basic ideas and needs (Allen). Children who learn
sign language could also have more brain capacity later in life,
as well as learn to speak sooner and do better on IQ tests.
Research has also proven that babies who sign are much faster to
speak than those who do not. It forms a more verbal environment
(Ladino).
When signing to your baby, there are a few tips to keep in
mind. Beginning with simple words like eat, drink, milk, and
more are very important. It is also crucial that you always say
the word when you are signing it never in silence. You should
start off with using one sign per sentence so that your baby
does not feel overwhelmed. Being consistent in your signs will
help your child understand and repeat. Most importantly it is
critical that you be patient and stay calm, with of course,
using lots of praise (Allen).
It is always helpful to stay open minded, especially if this is
something new for the caregiver. Some believe that signing to
your baby may cause them to never talk because they will only
communicate through gestures, however as stated before that is
very much incorrect. Just like teaching your baby to wave hello
or goodbye, positive reinforcement will help your baby develop
their communication skills. Another reason one may be skeptical
is the cost to teaching something that can be so complex.
However, with today’s technology teaching ASL to your child can
be very inexpensive (Beyer). Over all the outcomes of signing to
your baby are staggering and extremely valuable.
Allen, Tania. 2004 December. Speech & Language Therapy in
Practice. Baby signing and language development. http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/talktoyourbaby/signing.html#sceptic
Beyer, Monica. 2008 July. Signing With Your Baby. http://signingbaby.com/main/?cat=24
Ladino, Eileen. 2003. Benefits of Baby Sign Language on I.Q.,
Speech and Language. Tiny Fingers. http://www.tinyfingers.com/articlespeechandlanguage
Signing for Infants & Toddlers
By Leanne Orino
April 6, 2009
Signing for Infants & Toddlers
It is always a joy for new parents to hear their baby’s first
words, which are usually either “Mama” or “Dada”. Unfortunately,
a baby doesn’t begin to start speaking until they are almost or
around a year old. What is fascinating is the fact that parents
and caregivers can communicate with their child before the child
reaches a year old with sign language. Signing with babies is an
amazing way for parents and their children to communicate. Sign
language helps bridge the communication gap between the parent
and the child which aids in reduced frustration from the parents
and less tantrums from the child. The benefits of teaching sign
language to babies are significant and abundant.
According to the article, “Baby, Sign to Me! Benefits of
Teaching Sign Language to Hearing Infants” by Rena Blumberg, she
states that, “infants are able to communicate long before they
can manipulate their tongues, lips and vocal cords” (Blumberg,
1). By communicating through signs, children can learn to sign
physical and emotional needs and curiosities. In the article
titled, “Why Teach Babies Sign Language?” by Armin Brott, he
states that, “signing improves babies’ motor skills, builds
vocabulary and language abilities, reduces tantrums and
frustration and has even been linked with an increase in IQ” (Brott,
1). It is amazing that signing with your baby before he or she
can even speak can have so many advantages in the long run. With
all these wonderful benefits, it seems that every parent should
teach their child to sign.
Parents who already know American Sign Language can just begin
to choose a sign. If the parents don’t know ASL, or any sign
language for that matter, parents can choose a great internet
source or sign up and take classes in their local community. In
an article titled, “Babies Taught to Use Sign Language” by Lea
Blevins, she writes about an upcoming class called Baby Sign
Language which is being offered in Amador Valley Adult and
Community Education. She states that the class “…will guide
parents, grandparents, and caretakers and their babies through a
course on fostering early communication between parents and
children” (Blevins, 1).
In order to get started with the child, the parents and
caregivers must choose signs that are need based and they should
also have a highly motivated attitude. Signs involving eating
such as eat, drink, more, or milk are good signs to begin with.
Also, it is always important to teach them how to sign Mommy and
Daddy. It will take time and effort to get a baby to start
signing so parents and caregivers should remember to be
consistent and open to interpretation since they are just
infants. Parents should be expressive and most of all, to be
patient. Parents and caregivers should remember to make the
learning experience fun for their baby and should give praise
for the baby’s efforts at communicating.
Parents who sign with their baby may experience deeper bonding
with their baby because they have greater insight into their
baby’s wants and needs. Parents will also achieve a higher level
or trust with their baby because they will be able to understand
what the child is trying to tell them. Signing with babies will
also give parents and caregivers a great feeling of satisfaction
because they can communicate efficiently with the child before
he or she can even speak. In the end, these rewards are great
for the parents and the child, but the best reward is the deeper
bond between the parents and their child thanks to communication
via sign language.
Works Cited
Blevins, Lea. (2005, Apr. 26). Babies Taught to Use Sign
Language. Oakland Tribune. ANG Newspapers. Retrieved 2 Apr. 2009
Blumberg, Rena Morningstar. (2005, Fall). Baby, Sign to Me!
Benefits of Teaching Sign Language to Hearing Infants. Special
Delivery. Association of Labor Assistants & Childbirth
Educators. Retrieved 2 Apr. 2009
Brott, Armin. (2003, Dec. 28). Why Teach Babies Sign Language.
Oakland Tribune. ANG Newspapers. Retrieved 2 Apr. 2009
In a message dated 6/1/2006 7:06:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
tristancaige@_______ writes: