Using Infant Sign Language
to Boost Development
Teaching your infant sign language is an easy way to stimulate your baby's mind and broaden his ability to share
about the world around him. That communication translates into fewer tantrums and more smiles.
At 11-months-old, my youngest, Elena, was successfully ruining every family meal. Her screams and tantrums
were frustrating and disruptive to a normally enjoyable family tradition: dinner.
It was time for action. Time for teaching.
We had successfully used infant sign language with Lauren, but time had slipped away with us and we just hadn't
gotten around to teaching Elena. She was nearly one and didn't know how to "talk" except through screaming and pointing.
Just as before, we kept it simple. We started with five basic signs (All Done!, More, Please, Thank-you,
and Drink). Watch the videos to see these signs in action, and
check out these resources on how to teach your infant to do them.
It worked like magic (as we knew it would!). Rather than screams, our empowered one-year-old was sharing her
desires, and getting them met.
Using infant sign language starts an important parenting precedent. In this family, screaming and
fits of rage don't get you things. Calmly, and politely asking (whether with lips or fingers) is how we share (and possibly
receive) our desires.
"Learning to Sign" Helps in
"Learning to Speak"
{Elena shares
she's "all done"} 
{Elena says "please"
by rubbing her tummy}
Just as crawling encourages your baby to walk by having her taste movement, signing encourages your baby to
talk by having her taste communication.
When dealing with motor skills, the large movements (crawling, grabbing), are developed before the
fine motor skills (tongue and lip movements). You baby's mind will be comprehending and understanding at a rate
that is too fast for his fine motor skills to catch up!
He can't coordinate the tongue and mouth muscles to say
he's thirsty, but he can coordinate his finger to poke inside his mouth to sign "Drink".
Susan Goodwyn, one of the original advocates of baby signing, claims that "when babies are using signs, they pay more attention to
what's going around them in terms of language. They're stimulating the language portion of the brain."
Goodwyn and her fellow signing-expert, Linda Acredolo, conducted a study in 1996 that found that babies taught to
sign at 11 months old tested 11 months ahead of other babies in terns of vocabulary and linguistic ability
by the age of three. The same study showed that at age 8, signing babies scored higher on IQ tests than
babies who were not taught to sign.
Even though this study is not without controversy, it does indicate there are benefits to closely interacting with your baby when
teaching signs. Just signing a few words can make a big difference.
My Elena is proof of that.
Infant Sign Language is So Easy...
Even a Caveman Can Do It
{For my Non-American Visitors: This is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a
popular American Geico Insurance commercial}
Teaching your infant sign language is as simple as repeating the word and the physical action consistently, until he
makes some effort to copy it. Rewarding and repeating the gestures and words reinforces concepts and gestures until it becomes
2nd nature.
What signs do you use? That's up to you! Most baby signing classes and resources use American Sign Language (ASL)
(see Resources below for help). However, you can also make up your own signs.
What specific signs you use really aren't important - as long as you and your baby both understand them. For example, we trained
both our children to sign "All Done" by raising both hands in the air. The correct ASL sign is to shake your
hands in front of you at the same time.
Elena and I aren't in a competition. There isn't a test at age 2 to determine if she's using the correct hand gestures.
The only goal is to communicate. If it's easiest for you to use established ASL signs, use those! If your baby
uses his own specific gesture for something, use that!
When Should You Start Signing?
Many parents start teaching sign language to their infants at around 6-8 months (although, like I mentioned above, we waited
until almost a year). Of course, you can start teaching infants as early as at birth!
The key is patience. If you're prone to impatience, wait until your baby is closer to a year old. You'll more likely to
see the fruit from your teaching sooner. You never want to show impatience or frustration with your baby if he isn't
"getting it". He will sense that frustration. Stay calm, stay persistant, and eventually he'll pick up on it.
I spent some time browsing the web and looking through books to discover some high-quality resources for you to
use in teaching your infant sign language.
The Guru Website for Learning to Infant Sign
Of all the sites I visited, the one site that kept popping up as a reliable source for information and interactive
support is Babies and Sign Language.
After emailing back and forth with it's founder, MJ, I was so pleased to hear her express how passionate
she was about signing and how much she loves helping other parents learn how to communicate in this
way to their babies.
Babies and Sign Language helps lessen frustration and tantrums by teaching your infant signs to clearly communicate
specific thoughts, wants, and needs before speaking. Enhance baby's language, cognitive development, and IQ. Site
features include: detailed baby signing information, tried-and-true tips, baby sign language articles, photos of babies using signs, videos of babies signing, and listings of baby sign language classes in yoru
local area. I found her free baby signing dictionary and glossary particularly helpful.
DVD Series and Books
If you learn best with videos or books, check out one of these excellent series.
|
This kit includes a book, How-to DVD, and Quick Reference Guide. A great resource for the just-beginning.
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