Signing with Babies

• A language skill, using their hands, that enables them to express their needs, wants and thoughts long before they can speak.
• Vocabulary that provides communication skills to a baby that enables them to express their desires or demands, This greatly helps to reduce parental frustrations of the "whining, crying and screaming guessing game".
• Incresed early learningn due to consistent partental involvement.
• A fun, playful activity that all members of the family can participate in with thier baby.

Signing is an early language skill for babies that has reduced communicaiton frustrations not only in families but has also worked will for early childhood prodessionals and caregivers. The findings of a study at Ohio State University, with teachers in a day care center using ASL signs, demonstrate an infant's ability to communicate. In this study, the signs were introduced and used naturally with their children. Signs and words were spoken together and were part of everyday life. The results of the study showed that signing “made communication between teachers and infants even more effective.” (Grabmeier p2)

Why does signing work at such an early age? The reasons are simple.

• Babies can use their hand long beofre they can master complex muscles needed to speak. "Simply as a muscular skill(speaking) is by far the most complicated and diffucult skill that most of us ever learn" (Holt p84). Researcher and author marilyn daniels found that "from a purley developmental point of view, babies achieve the ability to construct language with thier hands at least six to twlelve months earlier than they do with their vocapparatus."(Daniels p. 174) Babies are phusically capable of signing words much sooner than they are able to use speech.
• Babies are not lacking in understanding of language. "Keep in mind the principle that (babies) can understand much more than (they) are saying" (White P.92) They are onlyonly lacking in the traditional verbal means to communicate. Signing gives babies a non verbal yet real language skill that allows them to express themselves.

Signing with babies has also been shown to increase vocabulary, both spoken and signed. Why? Again it's simple, it's because children who sign can elicit much more communicaiton, many more responses and words from adults and older children around them. This provides them with a language-rich learning envirnonment that allows them to develop, remember and use lots of vocabulary.

Studies by Acredolo and Goodwyn, Ph.D. funded by the National Institues of Health, found that children, by 12-14 months could have twice the usable vocabulary than non-signers. Additional studies in the 1980's and 1990's demonstrated that infants not only learned sign and used it to communicate as yound as 8 1/2 months, but that newly verbal infants and toddlers who used sign had significantly larger vocabularies.

Babies really benefit from signing.  “Research on the development of the brain indicates that experiences and opportunities afforded to children during the early childhood years are critical to the development of neural pathways that govern cognitive, motor and socioemotional learning and development”( Kieff & Casbergue p 6).The combination of spoken words and signing provides a wonderful opportunity to children that “actually triggers the brain's growth” according to Marilyn Daniels. She goes on to say that signing and the “increase in language activity stimulates the development of the brain by stimulating the formation of more synapses, or connections among brain cells…Using sign language and English in tandem provides a much richer language base for brain activity and brain growth and development.” (Daniels p122)

For more information visit the key points page.

Signing with Toddlers

Toddlers benefit greatly from using sign. It is a fun and playful activity that involves them in their learning. Signing stimulates brain growth, develops fine and gross motor skills, increases usable vocabulary and stimulates language development.

Signing with words or signing with songs provides for a varied and rich learning environment allowing toddlers to explore their world using as many of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences as possible. Singing and signing has children learning verbally, physically, musically, visually and more.

A child's basic need to communicate coupled with a rich and stimulating language environment seem to be the main factors that propel children's early language learning." (Strickland p 1). Signing enhances learning language because to sign for communication requires that everyone must “pay attention”. Parents, teachers, caregivers and children must look at each other to communicate. This direct involvement increases the connection between the signed and spoken word, provides for more parent / child and teacher / child interaction and many more ways to communicate and to learn.

The We Sign video and DVD series provides parents, teachers and caregivers with a wonderful and fun tool that will enhance vocabulary, improve language skills, reduce communication frustrations and create a rich learning environment that actively involves young children and fosters a real enthusiasm for learning. We Sign tm gives babies, toddlers, preschoolers and all young children a “Jump Start of Smart.”

We Sign™ Bibliography

We Sign™ Bibliography | Top^  

Daniels, Marilyn, Dancing With Words, Signing for Hearing Children's Literacy, Bergin & Garvey, Westport, CT, 2001
  
Grabmeier, Jeff, Infants Use Sign Language to Communicate, Ohio State School, Ohio State University article 1/27/01.
 
Holt, John, How Children Learn, Perseus Books, Cambridge Mass. 1983.
 
Kieff, Judith E., and Casbergue, Renee M., Playful Learning and Teaching, A Person Educational Company, Needham Heights, MA, 2000.
  
White, Burton L., Parent's Guide to the First Three Years, Prentice Hall Inc. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1980 p 92.) ^Top^