Babies and Sign Language

[Independent Gal]

I''ve been reading a little about this because a woman I met on the bus with her 15 month old swore it was a life saver.

Have any of you taught your baby to sign? Do you think it''s all hype or does it really make a difference?

Intuitively, it makes so much sense. They can understand and use language before they are physically able to make words, but they CAN make signs from the time they are 8 or 9 months. So, teach them to sign for what they want (milk, teddy bear, wet, etc.), and the level of frustration (and hence the noise level) go way down.

So, I''d love to hear from some of you who have tried it, particularly if you''ve done it with one kid but not the other(s) so you have some benchmark. Is it worth doing?

 

[vespergirl]

We made a half-hearted attempt to teach my son to sign, but he never took to it. He''s not really whiny, though, and he''s pretty easygoing, so the noise level never got bad enough to really motivate us to teach him. He started speaking (single words) at 10 months, words for us, the dog, milk, etc., so we basically could tell what he wanted. By the time he was a year and a half, our communication became good enough that we realized that we had passed the window when it would have been necessary for him to learn it.

 

[mimzy]

yes, absolutely!

we do this with our littlest ones and/or those that are most impaired or delayed. teaching signing for simple needs/wants is a great way to facilitate both language/semantics and communication. the most helpful ones are usually yes, no, all gone, more, tired/sleep, potty, mom/dad, play, hungry, thirsty (water), and a sign for anything of particular importance to that child. there are some who say that using sign or PECS (picture exchange systems) delay spoken language because the child will learn to rely on it, but there''s no evidence to back that up (whereas there is evidence in support of sign and PECS). as long as the child is taught to sign properly and the signing is always accompanied with spoken language it''s a great tool!

 

[Rachie]

Date: 8/30/2008 2:43:13 PM
Author: mimzy
yes, absolutely!


we do this with our littlest ones and/or those that are most impaired or delayed. teaching signing for simple needs/wants is a great way to facilitate both language/semantics and communication. the most helpful ones are usually yes, no, all gone, more, tired/sleep, potty, mom/dad, play, hungry, thirsty (water), and a sign for anything of particular importance to that child. there are some who say that using sign or PECS (picture exchange systems) delay spoken language because the child will learn to rely on it, but there''s no evidence to back that up (whereas there is evidence in support of sign and PECS). as long as the child is taught to sign properly and the signing is always accompanied with spoken language it''s a great tool!

I agree with Mimzy. I think that the delay may happen when it isn''t combined with spoken language. As long as you make a conscious effort to pair it with spoken language then you are good to go!

 

[Miranda]

I think it can be a useful tool. Especially when there are learning disabilities present. Or kids are just late talkers. When they cannot make their point the get soooo frustrated. Frustration usually manifests itself through arm flapping, screaming, and all sorts of other really unpleasant ways.

That said, my kids were early talkers so I liked to stimulate their vocabulary. Having never tried the signing approach I have to wonder if it delays speech. I''ve seen many kids who have parents that taught signing and they were nowhere near as articulate as any of my three kids. I don''t know, it''s just my own theory. It just seems like if you are going to go to great lengths to teach your baby to sign, why wouldn''t you just use all that time and energy to work on verbal skills that everyone can understand. Again, I''ve never explored it and I am no speech pathologist so take my opinion with a grain of salt if you wish.

I just thought I''d offer a mom''s perspective.

 

[Miranda]

eta dbl post

 

[TravelingGal]

My friend did this with her kid. It was cute.

She says it was helpful, but honestly, the stuff she taught seemed like it could be communicated in other ways besides side language. Like "more". Well, every time the kid signed more, she opened her mouth too, so it was kind of obvious. "Thank you" was nice to see.

In my friend''s case most of the other stuff that Mimzy mentioned was able to be said verbally by the time it was need (like "potty") I don''t think it can hurt, but a lot of the times that I''ve seen it, it just seems like something you can use to show off how "smart" your kid is. (There always is some kind of demonstration in front of group..."little joey, can you show everyone "hungry?") Since I am a firm believer that my kid isn''t my monkey, we''ll see if it''s something that will really be useful within our every day life.

 

[bem3231]

My cousin and his wife, who''s a speech pathologist for children, did this with their twins. It was truly amazing to see. At 9 mos. their babies were communicating some things that were amazing in their complexity at an age when it''s easy to still assume that they''re ''out of touch''. The twins verbal speech was not delayed. I would definitely consider trying this when we have babies.

 

[Independent Gal]

What an interesting range of perspectives!

Our kids speech is very likely to be delayed anyway because we are planning to try to raise them bilingually, which apparently often comes along with talking later. That doesn''t bother me. To be honest, the only reason I''d be concerned about ''delayed speech'' is if it caused increased frustration for my children and I (which is what the signing would be aimed at preventing in the first place). With two parents and 4 grandparents with Ph.D.s, I''m sure they''ll become articulate soon enough. For me I don''t really care whether my kid talks (or sits or walks) 2 months earlier than someone else''s kid. Our kids WILL learn to talk, sit, and walk! I''m definitely in the ''my kids are not monkeys'' camp.

So I certainly don''t want to teach them sign language if it''s mainly a means of showing off. I''m only interested if it will actually make my kid happier, more relaxed, less frustrated.

So BEM could I ask: was it just ''amazing to see'' or did the parents feel it actually made a real difference in the twins'' level of happiness and relaxation? I guess this is just what I''m wondering about in asking whether it''s a fad or whether it really helps.

Stats-nerd-Indy is now wondering if there is scientifically conducted research about this... (goes off to hunt)....

Will report back if I find anything useful.

 

[Dreamer_D]

My aunt is a special education teacher who taught at a school for the deaf in my home city, and specialized in pre-school kids. Needless to say she taught her kids sign language. Worked wonders with the first boy. He had about 40 signs by the time he was 18 months, well be fore he spoke (many kids don't get a lot of useful language until they are 2). He could say he wanted more of something (with his mouth full TGal

), water, milk, raisins, apple, banana, mom, dad, sleepy, play, airplane, cat dog... and on and on. So my aunt could communicate with him very early and it was fun for them both.

Her second son didn't care for it, he was a very different baby and I think didn't have much interest in communication or learning signs. He preferred to run in a circle and jump off things!

. So see what kind of kid you have and give it a go!

Oh, and my friends kids are in the same daycare and they know a bunch of sigs that they use regularly in the toddler room--please and thank you are two I remember and I think at the very least it is nice for kids to say that even before they can speak.

I suspect I will be too lazy to teach my own kids, both hubby and I were early talkers so I'm hoping for that easy way out

, but who knows. Maybe I will be so bored on my mat leave I will start!

 

[Linda W]

Our neighbors down the street have an 18 year old son, who has Down Syndrome. He is the sweetest boy I have ever met. They taught him sign language when he was a baby. He uses some sign language to communicate to his parents. It warms my heart to watch them.


Linda

 

[mimzy]

IG - there''s a decent amount of research out there related to using gestures/sign language to facilitate language acquisition. i can''t link to them, but some articles/studies that support the use of it include
"the impact of symbolic gesturing in early language development" by Goodwyn, Brown and Acredolo (Goodwyn and Brown also published an article called "who says babies can''t talk?", but it wasn''t in a peer reviewed journal i don''t think). there''s also a study done by Marilyn Daniels on the usefulness of using sign for vocabulary development during the preK years and one by marianne gulberg (sp?) about the usefulness of sign when learning more than one language (although i think it was ''another'' language, not bilingual acquisition). hopefully the names will at least help in your search!

 

[TravelingGal]

Yeah, I agree DD, it depends on the kid. The aforementioned friend''s child was speaking in full sentences before she was 2. She was a trippy kid. Back in 2003, in April (so let''s see...she was 22 months), I called my friend from Croatia. TGuy was standing next to me and was slightly inebriated while I was on the phone. My friend put DD on the phone, and shortly thereafter TGuy grabbed the phone and said hello and a few other words into it to BFF''s DD. The DD paused for a sec, looked at her mom and said, "Mommy, it''s a WIGGLE!" I found it pretty amazing that a kid, not even two years old could listen to TGuy''s voice and immediately realize he sounded different and like a wiggle. (An australian kids program, for those of you who don''t know.)

IG, let us know what you find out. As I said, no monkeys for me, but I''m open to teaching it to my kid, if only because it would be amusing for TGuy and me.

 

[galeteia]

I love this topic, as I''m fluent in Sign and have discussed this very topic at length at a convention for those with hearing loss, as well as privately with a few of my Deaf friends.

What''s interesting about language and its development in children, according to my classes on the nature of language, is that the age when children begin to ''talk'' remains constant across cultures, regardless of whether the culture encourages vocalization in their children or not. We westerners have the idea that if we encourage our kids to talk we are somehow giving them a ''leg up'' when in fact the human brain turns that key at essentially the same time regardless of stimulus. A child''s vocal dexterity evolves as does its motor skills, etc. Obviously when this key turns varies to a degree from child to child, but the studies my classes were covering clearly showed that the development of the ability to speak was not determined by the parent''s urgings or efforts. Exposure to vocabulary is necessary, but a parent does not need to directly encourage their child to repeat the new words, etc, for the child to absorb them. My preconceived notions of how children learn to speak were completely blown apart by those classes.

That isn''t to say that children''s ability to communicate is limited by their ability to vocalize, shown by the amazing range infants can express through Sign. I remember seeing video footage of a toddler still in the babbling stage but able to Sign "Dog" clearly.

I would imagine children who are raring to communicate would feel less frustration when trying to communicate. So as you noted, IG, less frustration, less noise. My mother tells me that I frequently expressed frustration as a child when I understood situations and concepts that I did not have the physical development to interact with.

Sign is a useful skill to have, as you can communicate while you are eating, can''t hear the other person clearly due to background noise, or perhaps best of all, crying. You can blubber and gasp for breath all you need to without losing the ability to express yourself with eloquence. I would like to think that children''s exposure to Sign may result in them having earlier awareness of an ''invisible disability''.

Why not teach your children Sign? It will increase their physical dexterity, allow them to communicate even if they are crying too hard to speak or when they are too embarrassed to speak in public, and Signing is rich and enjoyable way to express yourself and to feel connected to the person you are communicating with.

 

[zoebartlett]

A friend of mine is certified in baby sign language, which isn''t quite the same thing as American sign language. I believe the major difference is that baby sign is a modified version (or something like that). I think it has to do with the motor control that needs to be there in order to do traditional ASL. Please correct me if I''m wrong, but that''s my take on it.

I really like signing, and I definitely think it could be a useful way for babies to communicate.

 

[2Artists]

I have an autistic family member who signs and from everything I have learned and read, this does not discourage later potential vocalizing at all. Particulary where a child has disabilities having a visual form of language helps to develop those little language brain pathways and does not discourage them from vocalizing in addition in the future.

My family members life is much much richer because of signing. I worked with another autistic child who at the time was roughly the same age as my family member and they had not have the previous benefit of sign and were much worse off for it with no effective means of communication.

Besides sign is a beautiful expressive art form of language.

Mrs.2Artists

 

[blackpolkadot]

I am currently a deaf education major, so of course my teachers stress sign language. There are many, many articles about this, several of which you can find online. The ones I have are linked to my school, which needs a password. Sign Language helps language acquisition of any level in most cases. I will say this, if you choose to do this, it will take lots of patience. And sometimes the signs might not be visible to you. A friend of mine did sign with her child and the baby would sign below where the parents could see. Of course the parents were thrilled when they realized the child was actually understanding!

Personally, I would encourage you do sign with your children the basic signs. It will facilitate communication easily. However, you are the parent and only you can make that decision. Some children will pick it up more easily than others, and only you can make the decision if it is worth the time and effort. FWIW, my children will be taught 'baby sign' (but that is MANY years down the road!)

I would suggest these websites for more info:
Babies and Sign Language

Signing With Your Baby


ETA: Once your child is able to speak, you might need to make sure they also verbalize what they want to say, even if they still sign it. Signing is usually easier for babies because it requires less strain than trying to speak. Usually it is a seamless transition, but something to be aware of.

 

[diamondfan]

I have heard only positives about it, it is a great pre language communication aid, and I have never heard anything bad. But I never did it with kids, it was less popular back then, though by my third, who is nearly 7, it was definitely more common.

I think it is vital for special needs kids. I guess I would ask the Sign Language Institute or a pediatrician about any cons...

 

[snowflakeluvr]

hi,
it wasn''t promoted when i had my first three children(20,18,13) but i used it with my now 4+ yr old....we only did about 20 signs(play, more, eat, milk, etc) very basic but it did help immensely AND this child turned out to be a VERY late talker(age 3) so looking back, i''m glad we used it. even when he finally did speak, he would use it, and we have an almost 3yr old daughter(who talked a little early) and used with her as well. there are free library tapes, there are websites-it''s much easier to see signs in action than from a book, imo. interestingly enough, our oldest was a speech therapy major (until she changed in may) and has taken 4 sign language classes. i am fascinated by it and she really admires the deaf culture, not related to your topic of course, but it''s a beautiful language. i encourage you to learn more about it. good luck with baby

 

[Jas12]

I am not too sure about this, i think most of the time parents use it as a cutesy trick more than anything. I am also not 100% convinced that it does not delay language in some way. My reason is this: i used to work in a daycare (in the infant center) and there were some toddlers that were taught signs. They came to rely on them well past the stage where they could use verbal language b/c it was easy and they were always positively reinforced (everyone thought it was adorable) but they used the same signs for so many things. So instead of saying something like "go down slide" they would just sign "down down" and get the same result. I am sure they all caught up eventually, but it was an observation.

I'll have to ask my best friend about this. She is deaf/reads lips and teaches grade 11 subjects in sign language. I remember her renting a baby-sign DVD from the library once (out of curiosity) and it was not closed captioned!!

How crazy is it that a deaf person couldn't even watch it. Shows how trendy/gimicky baby sign has become.


ETA--just read that a few other 'sign teachers' have commented...seems to work if the commitment and 'good' intention is behind the effort.

 

[Independent Gal]

I thought of something else: Since this would be functionally raising the kid to be trilingual. (Geeeeez, I keep saying "kid" forgetting that we have two on the way!) I mean, raising the kidS to be trilingual, I wonder if this would come with extra problems. Luckily, we have two linguistics researchers in the extended family who specialize in language acquisition, so I think I think I will ask one of them.

The most important thing is that they learn to speak both the language of the country they are living in, and the language of their grandparents.

I wonder if it would make sense to just teach them, say, 5-10 signs for very basic needs. They don't need the sign for "duck" or "dog". They need signs for "wet", "hungry", "tired",
and then maybe please and thank you.

Snowflake that's interesting that you tried it with two of your kids. Did your child that talked early continue to use signs when it was easier? I'm just wondering whether, in Jas12's experience, kids who used signs for longer used them because they had more trouble talking, rather than having trouble talking because they kept using signs. Just a random idea.

Galateia, I knew, and also find interesting, about how "teaching" children to talk (and teaching them to sit, walk, etc.) is basically a silly waste of time. The same is true of "teaching" them grammar, as they learn the proper tenses and formations just as quickly even if you never correct them. They are wired to listen, repeat, and adjust their speech.

So correcting very young childrens' grammar is a waste of time too.

I wonder if the performing monkey culture of "My child learned to talk when he was 9 months old. How old was YOUR child?" is universal, or whether it's a symptom of the hyper-competitive environment in the US. Any thoughts?

I was a really late talked too. Well into my 2's. Let's just say it hasn't affected my schooling, my happiness, or my success in the world in any way.

 

[Independent Gal]

Jas12, that''s hilarious (in a sad sorry tragic way) about the lack of closed captioning.

 

[princesss]

Indy, just out of curiosity, what method will you be using to teach the kids both languages? Will you be going with one language for each parent or each use both languages?

 

[Independent Gal]

Princesss:

From what we've been told by the language acquisition research oriented relative, it is best if each parent consistently uses one language to help the child figure out that there are two languages which are separate being spoken (though apparently this can be confusing for a while).

We're planning to read up on it and make sure that's indeed the best strategy. But so far, the other parents we know who have raised bilingual kids say this is the way to go too. Still, I'd like to read about it for myself before making a final choice.

Do you know about this stuff? Any tips?

oh, and a guy I once knew who was raising his kid bilingually said the best part is the terrible twos because you get more variety in the tantrums. instead of hearing "NO NO NO NO!!!" all the time, you also get "NYET NYET NYET!" or "Non non non!"

 

[iheartscience]

My older sister taught both of her kids sign language and she was glad she did it. She just taught them basic stuff like more, all done, etc. that helped them to communicate.

As for teaching them to be bilingual, my older brother's wife is Swedish and they did what your family member told you to do. She only spoke to them in Swedish and my brother only spoke to them in English. When they lived in the U.S., they also went to Swedish school so they could learn to read and write Swedish. The first child (girl) had no problems with it at all and wasn't delayed in her language skills at all, but the second child (boy) was a little delayed in his language skills. Who knows if that was based on birth order, gender or just differences in personality, though! For the third language the girl (she's 7) is now taking lessons and she really enjoys it.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I wanted to do it but just never got around to trying. I have heard it is hard work. At 10 months I can usually figure out what she needs/wants anyways.

 

[princesss]

Indy, all I know is what I learned in my linguistics classes, which was exactly what you and your DH are planning. My professor was Greek and her husband is American, and she said they did it with their son for a while. She said that it was hard, and that even as a pair of linguistics professors they decided to stop. She was worried about the delay it caused in his language acquisition (he knew about 1/4 of the number of words his peers did when he started preschool). They both knew it would happen, but got caught up in wanting him to be on par with his peers, when developmentally he''d have been better off (in their estimation) if they hadn''t caved when seeing him among his peers. They''re trying to get him back into speaking Greek, but it''s been hard since he''s been used to English as a primary language.

She did emphasize that it was the best and easiest way to teach children two languages, and it was her nervousness as a parent that held him back.

 

[littlelysser]

My friend taught her daughter a few words in sign language, but the only two she uses today (she''s 18 months and has a 30-40 word vocab) is "more" and "done." of course, she also says more and done when she signs them.

 

[princesss]

I forgot to add that the most articulate child I have ever met is trilingual (dad is Italian, mom is American, nanny is Spanish). The only problem his parents ran into was trying to explain to him that not everybody else spoke all three! He had us watch Pippi Longstockings with him in Italian, and he would happily chatter at us in Italian about what was going on until his mother reminded him that we only spoke English and Spanish, and then he switched to English without a problem.