Frequently Asked Questions
What should I bring to class?
• Anything you would normally need to have with you to sustain your little one for an hour. Breastfeeding + bottles and drinking cups are always allowed in our class space; if your child needs a snack during class, you are welcome to feed them in the waiting room (so there's no snack jealousy haha!). Please, no toys from home.
• For our younger, immobile babies, some families like to bring a Boppy-type pillow so baby can comfortably face you during class and soak up watching you signing. However, that is a lot to lug around, so if you feel like skipping that, that's totally fine. There's lots of blankets that can be used for baby as well. If your baby is mobile, don’t worry – they will soak up the class in their own way!
• Class space is a shoe-free zone - feel free to bring/wear socks if you would like.
• Otherwise, we should have everything else you will need!
We are a judgment-free zone of caregivers, so if you don’t get a chance to sneak in that shower before the class, no worries! This class is designed to support you on your parenthood journey, not give you more to worry about.
Should I come to just 1 session, or more than 1?
Miss Emily designed her baby sign language classes so that you and your child can continue to join us for consecutive sessions and still learn new material, with a rotating set of lessons, signs and songs. No need to come in any order. Come whenever it works for you and your family.
The more exposure and consistency your child experiences, the easier it will be for them (and you!) to remember!
When should I start teaching my child sign language?
The short answer is that it is never too early or too late to start signing!! Children of ALL ages benefit from the use of sign language. The suggested age range for our baby sign language classes is 2 months to 30 months, or until your child is communicating verbally without frustration (so often, older toddlers with a speech/language delay greatly benefit as well!). Families are encouraged to start signing with their families AS EARLY as they possibly can. Miss Emily began signing "milk" to her kids shortly after they were born, while still breastfeeding them in their hospital bed! It's NEVER TOO EARLY!
However, let's elaborate a little more.
Babies are most physically ready for you to sign with them when they start moving their eyes and head to track toys or their parents' faces - generally around 2 months of age. This shows they are interested in learning and ready to start communicating with you! Children are also meeting other important milestones during the first 2-3 months of life, including: eye contact, purposeful movement of arms/hands, and beginning to find new ways to engage with their parents such as squealing, smiling and cooing. These are all foundational language skills for both verbal and signed languages!
Most experts in the field suggest waiting until around 6 months of age to begin signing with your baby, but this is generally more for the parents' benefit of not having to wait very long to see their babies sign back to them, as babies will start signing between 6 to 12 months of age (some do start signing sooner but they are rarer cases). If a parent starts signing when their child is 12 months old and the baby signs back within a month, they may feel more rewarded and continue to sign with their child. Parents who don’t have success sometimes give up too soon.
Know that if you are a parent that starts signing with your child before 6-12 months of age, your baby will likely not sign back to you immediately - but don't give up! Know that you are laying the foundation for rich language skills.
Basically, you can start anytime you feel motivated to. However, the key is to be consistent and not to give up.
• Anything you would normally need to have with you to sustain your little one for an hour. Breastfeeding + bottles and drinking cups are always allowed in our class space; if your child needs a snack during class, you are welcome to feed them in the waiting room (so there's no snack jealousy haha!). Please, no toys from home.
• For our younger, immobile babies, some families like to bring a Boppy-type pillow so baby can comfortably face you during class and soak up watching you signing. However, that is a lot to lug around, so if you feel like skipping that, that's totally fine. There's lots of blankets that can be used for baby as well. If your baby is mobile, don’t worry – they will soak up the class in their own way!
• Class space is a shoe-free zone - feel free to bring/wear socks if you would like.
• Otherwise, we should have everything else you will need!
We are a judgment-free zone of caregivers, so if you don’t get a chance to sneak in that shower before the class, no worries! This class is designed to support you on your parenthood journey, not give you more to worry about.
Should I come to just 1 session, or more than 1?
Miss Emily designed her baby sign language classes so that you and your child can continue to join us for consecutive sessions and still learn new material, with a rotating set of lessons, signs and songs. No need to come in any order. Come whenever it works for you and your family.
The more exposure and consistency your child experiences, the easier it will be for them (and you!) to remember!
When should I start teaching my child sign language?
The short answer is that it is never too early or too late to start signing!! Children of ALL ages benefit from the use of sign language. The suggested age range for our baby sign language classes is 2 months to 30 months, or until your child is communicating verbally without frustration (so often, older toddlers with a speech/language delay greatly benefit as well!). Families are encouraged to start signing with their families AS EARLY as they possibly can. Miss Emily began signing "milk" to her kids shortly after they were born, while still breastfeeding them in their hospital bed! It's NEVER TOO EARLY!
However, let's elaborate a little more.
Babies are most physically ready for you to sign with them when they start moving their eyes and head to track toys or their parents' faces - generally around 2 months of age. This shows they are interested in learning and ready to start communicating with you! Children are also meeting other important milestones during the first 2-3 months of life, including: eye contact, purposeful movement of arms/hands, and beginning to find new ways to engage with their parents such as squealing, smiling and cooing. These are all foundational language skills for both verbal and signed languages!
Most experts in the field suggest waiting until around 6 months of age to begin signing with your baby, but this is generally more for the parents' benefit of not having to wait very long to see their babies sign back to them, as babies will start signing between 6 to 12 months of age (some do start signing sooner but they are rarer cases). If a parent starts signing when their child is 12 months old and the baby signs back within a month, they may feel more rewarded and continue to sign with their child. Parents who don’t have success sometimes give up too soon.
Know that if you are a parent that starts signing with your child before 6-12 months of age, your baby will likely not sign back to you immediately - but don't give up! Know that you are laying the foundation for rich language skills.
Basically, you can start anytime you feel motivated to. However, the key is to be consistent and not to give up.
Does learning sign language hurt speech development?
This is probably the most common concern that people have surrounding signing with children.
The answer to this is: 100%, No! As a speech-language pathologist, Miss Emily would never promote or teach anything that would hinder speech or language development!!
We know from many studies that children who are hearing and typically-developing naturally use their hands to communicate before they can talk [1-5]. Still, when the idea of signing with infants and toddlers first began to take hold, parents wondered if signing would prevent or delay speech.
In response, researchers Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn [6] conducted an experimental study to test whether using signs with hearing infants before they could talk would delay their language milestones. They taught 32 families to use signs with their children from the age of 11 months, and compared their development to 32 children whose parents were taught to label everything in the child’s environment with spoken words, and another group of 37 children whose families were not told to do anything in particular. What they found was that, on average, the children in the group of families using signs had better language skills than the other groups. For example, children in the signing group had bigger vocabularies and used longer sentences when they were two years old [7]. In the studies that have been done on using signs with infants and young children, none have shown that using signs causes a delay in language development.
There have been zero studies that have shown signing to hinder language. In fact, all of the studies on signing with children show that signing accelerates language in many cases. Keep in mind that "speech" and "language" are 2 very different skill sets. A child who signs is using language - more language, in fact, than a non-signing child. Speech is the ability to form sounds to produce the language. Some children don’t develop the ability to speak until much later than other children. The reality is that babies want to talk - they babble all the time! When they are able to talk, they will. Just as crawling encourages walking, signing encourages speech.
References:
1. Behne, T., M. Carpenter, and M. Tomasello, One-year-olds comprehend the communicative intentions behind gestures in a hiding game. Developmental Science, 2005. 8(6): p. 492-499.
2. Acredolo, L. and S. Goodwyn, Symbolic gesturing in normal infants. Child Development, 1988. 59: p. 450-466.
3. Crais, E., D.D. Douglas, and C.C. Campbell, The intersection of the development of gestures and intentionality. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2004. 47: p. 678-694.
4. Liszkowski, U., et al., Twelve-month-olds point to share attention and interest. Developmental Science, 2004. 7: p. 297-307.
5. Liszkowski, U., et al., 12- and 18-month-olds point to provide information for others. Journal of Cognition and Development, 2006. 7: p. 173-187.
6. Goodwyn, S. and L. Acredolo, Symbolic gesture versus word: Is there a modality advantage for onset of symbol use? Child Development, 1993. 64(3): p. 688-701.
7. Goodwyn, S., L. Acredolo, and A.L. Brown, Impact of symbolic gesturing on early language development. Journal of Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior, 2000. 24(2): p. 81-103.
What are some advantages of teaching my child sign language?
Babies are born to communicate. However, oral language is physically hard for young children to produce - it involves correctly timing breathing, articulation and vocalizing! Most of us do not remember learning how to talk - but it is hard! For this reason, babies communicate through non-verbal cues and cries unless they are able to communicate using sign language and/or verbal words.
There are lots of benefits to teaching your child sign language! Here's a few:
DECREASE FRUSTRATION
The main advantage that appeals to everyone is the lack of frustration your baby will experience if they are able to communicate his/her needs, wants and ideas to you. This, obviously, leads to less frustration on the parents’ part as well, since you're not having to play a guessing game with their baby.
One story a mom shared with Miss Emily: "When my daughter was ten months old she was eating Cheerios and signing ‘more’. I’d give her more and she would throw them on the floor angrily and sign ‘more’ again. I said to her, “Hmmm doesn't seem like you want MORE Cheerios…so, what do you want?” She looked at me and signed ‘more cheese’. There was no cheese in sight! and she had never signed 2 signs together until that point! I hadn’t offered her cheese during that snack time, yet she was able to clearly communicate to me what she wanted. I could imagine how frustrated we would have both been if she hadn’t been able to tell me what she wanted."
From Miss Emily: "I saw such a huge decrease in frustration with my first kiddo when he learned how to sign "HELP" at 11 months of age - it was a game changer! No longer was he screaming every time a ball went under the couch or his walker ran into the wall - instead, he simply crawled over to me, smiled and signed HELP! Wow!"
Research supports this idea as well. For example, parents in one study report that their signing children have fewer tantrums and better social skills, and that both the children and parents are less frustrated [1]. Researchers have tested some of these claims by comparing families who use signs to families who don’t use signs. Parents who use signs with their children have less parenting-related stress, their interactions are more affectionate, and parents have an easier time responding to their children when children are upset [2,3].
BETTER LANGUAGE SKILLS
Research completed with children who learn to sign shows that, on average, the children who use signs had better language skills than children who don't. For example, in one study, children who learned to sign were compared with those who hadn't, and the signing children were found to have bigger vocabularies and used longer verbal sentences when they were 2 years old [8], even after they had stopped using sign language as the primary means of communication .
Another study showed that children whose parents taught them to use signs before they could talk – starting at 11 months old – had better language skills than a group of comparison children whose parents did not teach them to use signs [8]. These language skills included children understanding more words from the time they were 15 months, and using more words and longer sentences from the time they were 2 years old until the end of the study when they were 3 years old.
Another group of researchers studied typically developing children from toddlerhood to preschool age. They found that the number of different concepts children represented through gestures or signs at 18 months predicted their vocabulary at 42 months [4]. Finally, there are several studies that have shown that the same areas of the brain –the areas for understanding meaning in symbols – are activated by symbolic gestures and signs as well as by words [5]. And a study by Spencer Kelly and colleagues has shown that these meaningful hand movements which activate this area of the brain make learning a new word easier [5, 6].
"POURING" LANGUAGE IN
Generally, the first words babies tend to speak are the words they already know the signs for. This is partly because we repeat those words more than other words as we are reinforcing the sign. We tend to spend more time with our babies when we are reading stories and playing games because we are repeating words more to reinforce the sign, therefore taking longer to get through an activity. For example, when you read a book you may say a word once, or maybe twice if you ask the child to point to the picture of the word. However, when you are signing with the child, you may repeat the word 5 or 6 times. You may say something like, “Bear, do you see the bear? Do you know the sign for bear? This is the sign bear. Can you make the sign for ‘bear’? Let me help you make the sign ‘bear’.” In this example you’ve said the word ‘bear’ 6 times while you are trying to teach the sign.
INCREASED SELF CONFIDENCE
Another advantage is that signing babies tend to have high self-esteems as a result of being secure in their environments. If a child can easily communicate their needs to you then they are going to feel a sense of security. They want something, they can tell you what they want, and you can quickly and easily fulfill his/her needs. If a baby has no way to communicate their wants to you then it will take you longer to figure out what he/she wants which may make everyone a little frustrated in the meantime.There are also the educational advantages that signing brings to a child as they get a little older. Signing babies tend to have larger vocabularies once they start talking because they’ve been able to use more advanced language and are often asked more elaborate questions because their comprehension is clear to the parent.
HIGHER IQ SCORES
One study showed that babies who used sign language had higher IQ scores later in life! Researchers initially followed the children until they were 3 years old and found that the signing children had better language skills. Then they contacted the same two groups of children when they were in 2nd grade and gave them an IQ test. The verbal IQs of the signing children were 12 points higher on average than their non-signing peers [7]. This is a remarkable difference and shows a long-term effect of using signs with preverbal children.
References:
Why does teaching sign help children talk?
REASON #1: USING SIGN LANGUAGE WITH YOUR CHILD INCREASES YOUR "CHILD-DIRECTED SPEECH"
A well documented factor that positively affects how quickly kids learn language is how much adults talk to them. When a child uses a verbal word or a sign, adults tend to "pour" more language into the conversation:
REASON #2: TOPIC SELECTION
Another well documented factor affecting how quickly kids learn language is how much they can control the topic – when they can talk about what THEY WANT to talk about.
REASON #3: SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION MAKES US WANT TO COMMUNICATE EVEN MORE
When learning is made easier and we feel successful, we want to do MORE of it!
References:
1. Goodwyn, S., L. Acredolo, and A.L. Brown, Impact of symbolic gesturing on early language development. Journal of Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior, 2000. 24(2): p. 81-103.
How do I transition my baby from using sign language to talking?
For most typically-developing children, there is really no "formal" transition needed. This process tends to happen naturally. The more the child begins to speak, the less they tend to rely on the signing. Very few babies will talk and sign at the same time for any length of time. Most babies will realize that words are words and signs are signs. Some may use words and signs at the same time for a little while but generally the signs will begin to drop off. This is also usually a result of the parents. Parents often slow their signing once the child begins to speak as there is not a huge need to continue when the child can easily pick up words.
However, parents are encouraged to continue signing with their child as they get older if their families have enjoyed it. Signing is a great tool that you can use even with older children. At the very least I would encourage parents to teach their child the ASL alphabet and begin to teach reading using the ASL alphabet. When you do this, you are using all three teaching modes that teachers are encouraged to use with their students (the VAK method of teaching, visual, auditory, kinaesthetic). Signing with children covers all learners in the VAK system. Signing is: 1) visual because they can see the letter being made, 2) auditory because they can hear you saying the letter/word and 3) kinesthetic because they can make the letter/word themselves. We take in language as a sound on the left side of our brains and we take in sign language as an image on the right side of our brains. By using sign language you are working both sides of the brain.
What can I do to help my child learn to sign faster?
The most important thing for parents to do to help their child pick up signs faster, is to be consistent in their signing. It is more important for parents to sign a couple of words each and every time they say those words, than to sign 30 words once in a while. Start with a few signs that you are comfortable with and use on a regular basis, such as the word "milk." Every single time you say the word "milk," make the sign. The baby will pick this sign up faster than if you only sign it every few times you say the word. You can sign as many words as you want, and introduce as many as you’d like, just be sure to be consistent.
It is also important to keep in mind that all babies are different, some are going to pick it up faster than others. Babies generally begin signing between 6-12 months of age. If your child hasn't started using their first signs OR verbal words by 15 months of age, a speech/language assessment may be warranted - feel free to reach out to Miss Emily if you'd like to chat about your concerns.
What can I do if teaching my baby sign language starts feeling frustrating?
Sometimes this happens! We tend to be a society that likes immediate gratification - we want what we want and we want it now! The key is to try and make it fun, and make it a natural part of your daily routine.
The best way to keep it fun, stay motivated & consistent is to come to a class. We hope to see you there soon!
If parents get frustrated, they should keep in mind that we know our children aren’t going to verbally talk right away, and yet we still continue to talk to them. Just because they aren’t signing right away, doesn’t mean they won’t pick it up soon.
Try to make signing fun, sign and sing songs, sign and read a book, play games using signs, etc. Try not to be too hard on yourself. If you have a few days that are frustrating, then leave it for a day or two and pick it up again when you feel renewed. Yes, it is important to be consistent - but if you aren’t having fun and it feels like a chore, then take a break for a moment. That way, in a couple of days when you pick it up again you may have a new feel for it.
REMEMBER: We want communication to be a positive experience for everyone involved!
How do I help family or other caregivers keep up signing with my child?
Family members who aren’t as inspired to sign with your baby as you are may become more motivated once your little one begins to produce signs. The caregiver will not want to be in a position where the baby is clearly asking for what he/she wants through sign and they have no idea what it is. The child will quickly get very frustrated with the caregiver’s lack of understanding. This will be one way that the caregiver will be motivated to sign with your child.
You will receive a resource binder and class handouts that can be shared with any and all caregivers, and additional resource binders can be purchased if you'd like to provide your family/daycare with their own copy. Try not to overwhelm other caregivers - just introduce them to one or two new signs a week, selecting based on either on what your child's favorite things are at the moment, or from what would be most functional in your lives (e.g. "diaper," "eat," or even "bear" if your child has a favorite bear stuffie they are always looking for). Encourage your caregiver to view signing as a fun, interactive and educational tool to use with your child. Just as they would read a book or sing a song to your child, this is just another stimulating activity they can add into their day. Once your child is signing back you will find that most people in his/her life will feel more inspired to sign as it is a way to interact with the little one.
This is probably the most common concern that people have surrounding signing with children.
The answer to this is: 100%, No! As a speech-language pathologist, Miss Emily would never promote or teach anything that would hinder speech or language development!!
We know from many studies that children who are hearing and typically-developing naturally use their hands to communicate before they can talk [1-5]. Still, when the idea of signing with infants and toddlers first began to take hold, parents wondered if signing would prevent or delay speech.
In response, researchers Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn [6] conducted an experimental study to test whether using signs with hearing infants before they could talk would delay their language milestones. They taught 32 families to use signs with their children from the age of 11 months, and compared their development to 32 children whose parents were taught to label everything in the child’s environment with spoken words, and another group of 37 children whose families were not told to do anything in particular. What they found was that, on average, the children in the group of families using signs had better language skills than the other groups. For example, children in the signing group had bigger vocabularies and used longer sentences when they were two years old [7]. In the studies that have been done on using signs with infants and young children, none have shown that using signs causes a delay in language development.
There have been zero studies that have shown signing to hinder language. In fact, all of the studies on signing with children show that signing accelerates language in many cases. Keep in mind that "speech" and "language" are 2 very different skill sets. A child who signs is using language - more language, in fact, than a non-signing child. Speech is the ability to form sounds to produce the language. Some children don’t develop the ability to speak until much later than other children. The reality is that babies want to talk - they babble all the time! When they are able to talk, they will. Just as crawling encourages walking, signing encourages speech.
References:
1. Behne, T., M. Carpenter, and M. Tomasello, One-year-olds comprehend the communicative intentions behind gestures in a hiding game. Developmental Science, 2005. 8(6): p. 492-499.
2. Acredolo, L. and S. Goodwyn, Symbolic gesturing in normal infants. Child Development, 1988. 59: p. 450-466.
3. Crais, E., D.D. Douglas, and C.C. Campbell, The intersection of the development of gestures and intentionality. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2004. 47: p. 678-694.
4. Liszkowski, U., et al., Twelve-month-olds point to share attention and interest. Developmental Science, 2004. 7: p. 297-307.
5. Liszkowski, U., et al., 12- and 18-month-olds point to provide information for others. Journal of Cognition and Development, 2006. 7: p. 173-187.
6. Goodwyn, S. and L. Acredolo, Symbolic gesture versus word: Is there a modality advantage for onset of symbol use? Child Development, 1993. 64(3): p. 688-701.
7. Goodwyn, S., L. Acredolo, and A.L. Brown, Impact of symbolic gesturing on early language development. Journal of Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior, 2000. 24(2): p. 81-103.
What are some advantages of teaching my child sign language?
Babies are born to communicate. However, oral language is physically hard for young children to produce - it involves correctly timing breathing, articulation and vocalizing! Most of us do not remember learning how to talk - but it is hard! For this reason, babies communicate through non-verbal cues and cries unless they are able to communicate using sign language and/or verbal words.
There are lots of benefits to teaching your child sign language! Here's a few:
DECREASE FRUSTRATION
The main advantage that appeals to everyone is the lack of frustration your baby will experience if they are able to communicate his/her needs, wants and ideas to you. This, obviously, leads to less frustration on the parents’ part as well, since you're not having to play a guessing game with their baby.
One story a mom shared with Miss Emily: "When my daughter was ten months old she was eating Cheerios and signing ‘more’. I’d give her more and she would throw them on the floor angrily and sign ‘more’ again. I said to her, “Hmmm doesn't seem like you want MORE Cheerios…so, what do you want?” She looked at me and signed ‘more cheese’. There was no cheese in sight! and she had never signed 2 signs together until that point! I hadn’t offered her cheese during that snack time, yet she was able to clearly communicate to me what she wanted. I could imagine how frustrated we would have both been if she hadn’t been able to tell me what she wanted."
From Miss Emily: "I saw such a huge decrease in frustration with my first kiddo when he learned how to sign "HELP" at 11 months of age - it was a game changer! No longer was he screaming every time a ball went under the couch or his walker ran into the wall - instead, he simply crawled over to me, smiled and signed HELP! Wow!"
Research supports this idea as well. For example, parents in one study report that their signing children have fewer tantrums and better social skills, and that both the children and parents are less frustrated [1]. Researchers have tested some of these claims by comparing families who use signs to families who don’t use signs. Parents who use signs with their children have less parenting-related stress, their interactions are more affectionate, and parents have an easier time responding to their children when children are upset [2,3].
BETTER LANGUAGE SKILLS
Research completed with children who learn to sign shows that, on average, the children who use signs had better language skills than children who don't. For example, in one study, children who learned to sign were compared with those who hadn't, and the signing children were found to have bigger vocabularies and used longer verbal sentences when they were 2 years old [8], even after they had stopped using sign language as the primary means of communication .
Another study showed that children whose parents taught them to use signs before they could talk – starting at 11 months old – had better language skills than a group of comparison children whose parents did not teach them to use signs [8]. These language skills included children understanding more words from the time they were 15 months, and using more words and longer sentences from the time they were 2 years old until the end of the study when they were 3 years old.
Another group of researchers studied typically developing children from toddlerhood to preschool age. They found that the number of different concepts children represented through gestures or signs at 18 months predicted their vocabulary at 42 months [4]. Finally, there are several studies that have shown that the same areas of the brain –the areas for understanding meaning in symbols – are activated by symbolic gestures and signs as well as by words [5]. And a study by Spencer Kelly and colleagues has shown that these meaningful hand movements which activate this area of the brain make learning a new word easier [5, 6].
"POURING" LANGUAGE IN
Generally, the first words babies tend to speak are the words they already know the signs for. This is partly because we repeat those words more than other words as we are reinforcing the sign. We tend to spend more time with our babies when we are reading stories and playing games because we are repeating words more to reinforce the sign, therefore taking longer to get through an activity. For example, when you read a book you may say a word once, or maybe twice if you ask the child to point to the picture of the word. However, when you are signing with the child, you may repeat the word 5 or 6 times. You may say something like, “Bear, do you see the bear? Do you know the sign for bear? This is the sign bear. Can you make the sign for ‘bear’? Let me help you make the sign ‘bear’.” In this example you’ve said the word ‘bear’ 6 times while you are trying to teach the sign.
INCREASED SELF CONFIDENCE
Another advantage is that signing babies tend to have high self-esteems as a result of being secure in their environments. If a child can easily communicate their needs to you then they are going to feel a sense of security. They want something, they can tell you what they want, and you can quickly and easily fulfill his/her needs. If a baby has no way to communicate their wants to you then it will take you longer to figure out what he/she wants which may make everyone a little frustrated in the meantime.There are also the educational advantages that signing brings to a child as they get a little older. Signing babies tend to have larger vocabularies once they start talking because they’ve been able to use more advanced language and are often asked more elaborate questions because their comprehension is clear to the parent.
HIGHER IQ SCORES
One study showed that babies who used sign language had higher IQ scores later in life! Researchers initially followed the children until they were 3 years old and found that the signing children had better language skills. Then they contacted the same two groups of children when they were in 2nd grade and gave them an IQ test. The verbal IQs of the signing children were 12 points higher on average than their non-signing peers [7]. This is a remarkable difference and shows a long-term effect of using signs with preverbal children.
References:
- Acredolo, L. and S. Goodwyn, Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk. 2002, Chicago: Contemporary Books.
- Gongora, X. and C. Farkas, Infant sign language program effects on synchronic mother-infant interactions. Infant Behavior & Development, 2009. 32: p. 216-225.
- Vallotton, C., Infant signs as Intervention? Promoting symbolic gestures for preverbal children in low-income families supports responsive parent-child relationships. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, in press. See study here.
- Rowe, M.L. and S. Goldin-Meadow, Early gesture selectively predicts later language learning. Developmental Science, 2009. 12(1): p. 182-187.
- Kelly, S., T. McDevitt, and M. Esch, Brief training with co-speech gesture lends a hand to word learning in a foreign language. Language and Cognitive Processes, 2009. 24(2): p. 313-334.
- Xu, J., et al., Symbolic gestures and spoken language are processed by a common neural system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009. 106(49): p. 20664-20669.
- Acredolo, L. and S. Goodwyn, The long-term impact of symbolic gesturing during infancy on IQ at age 8, in International Society for Infant Studies. 2000: Brighton, U.K.
- Goodwyn, S., L. Acredolo, and A.L. Brown, Impact of symbolic gesturing on early language development. Journal of Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior, 2000. 24(2): p. 81-103.
Why does teaching sign help children talk?
REASON #1: USING SIGN LANGUAGE WITH YOUR CHILD INCREASES YOUR "CHILD-DIRECTED SPEECH"
A well documented factor that positively affects how quickly kids learn language is how much adults talk to them. When a child uses a verbal word or a sign, adults tend to "pour" more language into the conversation:
- They acknowledge the baby’s word/sign + even elaborate:
- Child signs/says: “bird”
- Adult: “Birdie? That’s right! That is a birdie! Oh, there it goes flying away. Bye-bye birdie!”
- It follows, then, that the more things an infant can and does talk about, the more vocal language the infant will hear in return.
- Because signs tend to be learned more easily and at earlier ages than their verbal counterparts, infants who sign gain the benefits of these kinds of responses at earlier ages.
- In other words, a 14- month-old with a vocabulary of 10 verbal words AND 10 signs gets twice as much caregiver input as another 14 month old with only 10 verbal words.
REASON #2: TOPIC SELECTION
Another well documented factor affecting how quickly kids learn language is how much they can control the topic – when they can talk about what THEY WANT to talk about.
- We all pay better attention to things we are genuinely interested in, rather than things we “should” be interested in
- Example: My husband talking about his day working in a brewery and I zone out – I do WANT to know about his day, but then he starts talking about filling barrels and the glycol and the beer temperature…blah blah blah. BUT - if he was talking about something I was more interested in, I'd be paying more attention!
- Child’s Example: a toddler at the zoo who is riveted by the birds hopping around underneath an elephant is not going to learn much useful info from a parent who is talking about the elephant over and over again!
- By increasing a baby’s vocabulary with signs, it automatically increases the chance that parents will figure out what it is that the baby wants to talk about and shift their own focus to match.
- A shared focus, in turn, makes it much more likely that information we provide makes a lasting impression.
REASON #3: SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION MAKES US WANT TO COMMUNICATE EVEN MORE
When learning is made easier and we feel successful, we want to do MORE of it!
- The job of parents and teachers is to increase the chance that a child will succeed in a task making the task a bit easier in some way. ERRORLESS LEARNING
- Example: when adults help toddlers put together their first puzzles by giving them pieces already turned the right way, the child feels more successful and continues to want to do puzzles. They will get better at it over time until they are able to do it independently.
- When a baby learns to sign, that baby is learning how to be successful with communication and how valuable their own language can be.
- They are then more motivated to explore all forms of communication—including the more demanding form of spoken words.
- So – Just like learning to crawl increases rather than decreases a child’s motivation to walk, use of signs increases the child’s motivation to talk (rather than decreases ).
References:
1. Goodwyn, S., L. Acredolo, and A.L. Brown, Impact of symbolic gesturing on early language development. Journal of Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior, 2000. 24(2): p. 81-103.
How do I transition my baby from using sign language to talking?
For most typically-developing children, there is really no "formal" transition needed. This process tends to happen naturally. The more the child begins to speak, the less they tend to rely on the signing. Very few babies will talk and sign at the same time for any length of time. Most babies will realize that words are words and signs are signs. Some may use words and signs at the same time for a little while but generally the signs will begin to drop off. This is also usually a result of the parents. Parents often slow their signing once the child begins to speak as there is not a huge need to continue when the child can easily pick up words.
However, parents are encouraged to continue signing with their child as they get older if their families have enjoyed it. Signing is a great tool that you can use even with older children. At the very least I would encourage parents to teach their child the ASL alphabet and begin to teach reading using the ASL alphabet. When you do this, you are using all three teaching modes that teachers are encouraged to use with their students (the VAK method of teaching, visual, auditory, kinaesthetic). Signing with children covers all learners in the VAK system. Signing is: 1) visual because they can see the letter being made, 2) auditory because they can hear you saying the letter/word and 3) kinesthetic because they can make the letter/word themselves. We take in language as a sound on the left side of our brains and we take in sign language as an image on the right side of our brains. By using sign language you are working both sides of the brain.
What can I do to help my child learn to sign faster?
The most important thing for parents to do to help their child pick up signs faster, is to be consistent in their signing. It is more important for parents to sign a couple of words each and every time they say those words, than to sign 30 words once in a while. Start with a few signs that you are comfortable with and use on a regular basis, such as the word "milk." Every single time you say the word "milk," make the sign. The baby will pick this sign up faster than if you only sign it every few times you say the word. You can sign as many words as you want, and introduce as many as you’d like, just be sure to be consistent.
It is also important to keep in mind that all babies are different, some are going to pick it up faster than others. Babies generally begin signing between 6-12 months of age. If your child hasn't started using their first signs OR verbal words by 15 months of age, a speech/language assessment may be warranted - feel free to reach out to Miss Emily if you'd like to chat about your concerns.
What can I do if teaching my baby sign language starts feeling frustrating?
Sometimes this happens! We tend to be a society that likes immediate gratification - we want what we want and we want it now! The key is to try and make it fun, and make it a natural part of your daily routine.
The best way to keep it fun, stay motivated & consistent is to come to a class. We hope to see you there soon!
If parents get frustrated, they should keep in mind that we know our children aren’t going to verbally talk right away, and yet we still continue to talk to them. Just because they aren’t signing right away, doesn’t mean they won’t pick it up soon.
Try to make signing fun, sign and sing songs, sign and read a book, play games using signs, etc. Try not to be too hard on yourself. If you have a few days that are frustrating, then leave it for a day or two and pick it up again when you feel renewed. Yes, it is important to be consistent - but if you aren’t having fun and it feels like a chore, then take a break for a moment. That way, in a couple of days when you pick it up again you may have a new feel for it.
REMEMBER: We want communication to be a positive experience for everyone involved!
How do I help family or other caregivers keep up signing with my child?
Family members who aren’t as inspired to sign with your baby as you are may become more motivated once your little one begins to produce signs. The caregiver will not want to be in a position where the baby is clearly asking for what he/she wants through sign and they have no idea what it is. The child will quickly get very frustrated with the caregiver’s lack of understanding. This will be one way that the caregiver will be motivated to sign with your child.
You will receive a resource binder and class handouts that can be shared with any and all caregivers, and additional resource binders can be purchased if you'd like to provide your family/daycare with their own copy. Try not to overwhelm other caregivers - just introduce them to one or two new signs a week, selecting based on either on what your child's favorite things are at the moment, or from what would be most functional in your lives (e.g. "diaper," "eat," or even "bear" if your child has a favorite bear stuffie they are always looking for). Encourage your caregiver to view signing as a fun, interactive and educational tool to use with your child. Just as they would read a book or sing a song to your child, this is just another stimulating activity they can add into their day. Once your child is signing back you will find that most people in his/her life will feel more inspired to sign as it is a way to interact with the little one.
