Vol. 21 •Issue 6 • Page 39
Issue Date: March 21, 2005
Baby Talk with a Twist,Teaching hearing babies sign language provides numerous benefits
By Carol Myers
Attempting to understand the cries, tantrums and fussing of babies is indeed a challenge. However, this is changing as parents, caregivers and babies are discovering a new world of communication and reduced frustration through the use of American Sign Language (ASL).
As it turns out, babies are able to communicate with their hands much earlier than they can coordinate the musculature required to produce speech. Contrary to earlier opinion, babies are capable of symbolic thinking at a younger age than previously believed.
Signing can foster stronger bonds between parents and babies. According Marilyn Daniels, PhD, professor of Speech Communication at Pennsylvania State University, "signing also improves language, cognitive, social-emotional and communication skills among hearing children as well."
Signing with Hearing Populations
Geronimo Cardano, a 16th century Italian physician, was among the first to affirm that people with hearing impairments could learn to understand written combinations of symbols by associating them with the objects they represented. In 1620, Juan Pablo de Bonet published the first book on teaching sign language to people who are deaf that contained a manual alphabet.
In 1755, Abbe Charles de L'Epee of Paris founded the first free school for people who are deaf. Rather than inventing a whole new sign language system, he observed and learned the signs that people with hearing impairments were already using in Paris. The abbe paved the way for a standardized sign language system one that would effectively bridge the gap between the hearing and non-hearing worlds.
In America, the Great Plains Indians developed an extensive signing system, but this was more for the purpose of inter-tribal communication than for people with hearing impairments. Vestiges of this system do remain today, however, and similarities do exist between Indian sign language and the current system.
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, founder of Gallaudet University, the only liberal arts college for people with hearing impairments in the world, recommended using sign language and fingerspelling to help increase vocabulary and language development in hearing children. In 1852, David Bartlett taught Deaf children and their hearing siblings in a family school. He discovered that signing and fingerspelling benefited the learning of the children who were deaf as well as their hearing siblings.
Joseph Garcia, PhD, a child development researcher in Seattle, WA, began studying ASL in 1975. During his contact with the Deaf community, he observed that hearing children of Deaf parents started communicating with sign language at an earlier age than hearing children did with spoken language. This discovery inspired him to research early childhood language acquisition and the role sign language could play in the process.
In 1996, Linda Acredolo, PhD, and Susan Goodwyn, PhD, psychology professors at the University of California in Davis, published Baby Signs. In 1999, Garcia published Sign with Your Baby, which became an immediate hit among parents and early childhood educators. Today, a profusion of books, DVDs, videos, kits, software and classes have exploded on this topic. Furthermore, studies are confirming that teaching sign language to hearing babies enhances brain development and can reduce the frustration that accompanies the terrible twos.
Brain Development Research
Research demonstrates that teaching sign language to hearing babies improves their language, vocabulary and reading skills. "Because ASL is a legitimate language, it is stored in a separate memory store in the baby or child's brain," says Marilyn Daniels, PhD, professor of speech communication at Pennsylvania State University.
When hearing babies learn sign language, their brains develop further than those of babies who learn no second language. Daniels explains that "babies or children who have been presented with ASL or its vocabulary have an additional place for search and recall in their brains."
ASL further enhances brain development in hearing babies, according to Daniels, because "ASL requires babies to use their eyes more than any other spoken language." It is the right hemisphere that processes visual information. On the other hand, "all languages are actually stored in the left brain," says Daniels. "But when babies learn sign language both right brain and the left are used." When both hemispheres are being employed, this also builds more synapses in the brain.
Deficiencies in isolating speech sounds is a main problem for children and adults who experience difficulty with reading and spelling. Studies conducted in Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States demonstrated that of all approaches employed in teaching this skill, fingerspelling was the most effective method.
Acredolo and Goodwyn conducted a longitudinal study funded by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development. The results of their study show that signing children outperformed their non-signing counterparts on a number of scales, including language development and IQ. Those same children were tested at ages seven and eight to compare the original signing babies to their control group. The results indicated that as a group, children who were exposed to signing as babies had an average IQ of 114, compared to 102 for non-signers.
Kimberlee Whaley, PhD, associate professor of human development and family science at Ohio State's College of Human Ecology, has also conducted studies on the benefits of signing with hearing children. In her pilot study, she found that using ASL in a pre-school significantly reduced the frustration level for preverbal children and their teachers. According to Whaley, "it is much easier for our teachers to work with 12-month-olds who can sign that they want a bottle, rather than cry and have us figure out what they want. This is a great way for infants to express their needs before they can verbalize them."
When to Sign to Your Baby
Acredolo and Goodwyn recommend modeling signs from birth. After 6 months, however, babies are more apt to possess the memory for signs and the motor skills to produce them. The indicators of readiness among babies for teaching sign and demonstrating an interest in communication include one of the following:
At least 6 months old.
Brings toys or objects to you and looks for a response.
Waves bye-bye or brings both hands together for a clapping motion.
Shakes his/her head "yes" or "no."
Takes an interest in picture books or finger plays.
Becomes frustrated when an adult does not understand his/her needs.
Lifts up arms when he/she wants to be picked up.
Points at objects.
It can take several months before a baby will respond and start signing. If a parent or caregiver started at 6 months, it is possible that the child may be signing back by 8-9 months. The majority of babies do not begin signing back until they are closer to 12 months old.
As a rule, babies will start with the signs or gestures that involve facial gestures, then whole arm signs and gestures (bye-bye-clapping), then progress to hand signs (hat, milk), and finally signs involving various hand shapes and requiring better dexterity (cat, pointing).
Parents are advised to incorporate signing into daily routines and begin with three basic signs relating to food: "milk" (bottle or nursing), "more" and "eat." Babies will not always produce signs accurately due to limited motor coordination, but approximating a sign is acceptable, since communication is the goal.
Suggestions for Occupational Therapy
Sign language has been used with special populations that include people with language delays, autism, Down syndrome and deafness for many years. Many pediatric therapists are familiar with basic signs as a means of communication with language-delayed and Deaf children. However, the benefits of using sign language as a multisensory approach with hearing and verbal children warrants further investigation.
The fact that neuropathways responsible for language rely upon the same neuropathways for motor coordination is an important factor. Therapists have successfully implemented sensorimotor interventions to facilitate language development with this population based on this knowledge. By improving motor coordination through movement, the brain develops the capacity for learning language. According to Daniels, "signing is an excellent way to employ motor coordination and language simultaneously."
Sign language utilizes multiple modalities: auditory, visual and kinesthetic input. Teachers typically employ visual and/or auditory modalities in the classroom for instruction. Students who do not respond to these more traditional methods may benefit from instruction in sign language.
Laura Felzer, MEd, a sign language teacher, contends that "because signs are so vivid, dramatic and fascinating, they may serve as a powerful motivating force in helping youngsters want to learn to read." Popular television programs such as Sesame Street capitalize on the motivating aspect of communicating through signs by having a Deaf actor, Linda Bove, teach her young audience to read, write and fingerspell.
Presenting sign language as an instructional tool in the classroom and during therapy can also help improve visual processing, fine-motor coordination and planning, and reinforces the spoken word with the symbol. For those children who learn kinesthetically, signing is an excellent way to incorporate this sensory modality into the standard classroom lesson and therapy session. Signing also strengthens the right and left hemispheres of the brain, which is critical for learning.
The process of signing extends beyond just getting children to communicate earlier. It is a system that has the potential for changing the way parents interact with their babies. For example, child development experts have suggested that a parent communicating with their baby is less likely to engage in abuse or neglect.
When babies can communicate their needs, wants and feelings before they can produce speech this gives them a sense of empowerment. Sign language is opening up an entirely new range of opportunities for hearing children and those with special needs who have not yet been exposed to signing. Research on the benefits of sign language for all populations can now be instrumental in the importance and effectiveness of using multisensory methods in education for all students.
References available at www.advanceweb.com/OT or upon request.
Carol Myers is an occupational therapist in Boulder, CO. Her interest in sign language started when she first worked with deaf and nonverbal children. She has encountered many parents who are discovering the benefits of signing with their hearing babies and toddlers.
Benefits of Teaching Sign Language to Hearing Babies
Enables preverbal children to communicate their needs, wants and feelings
Reduces frustration
Accelerates communication and results in earlier verbal skills
Promotes a closer child/parent/caregiver bond
Promotes active learning
Bridges the gap between receptive and expressive language
Enhances fine-motor skills and coordination
Learning a second language becomes easier
Accelerates learning and increases word retention
Builds higher self-esteem and confidence
Results in fewer temper tantrums
Results in a more peaceful environment
Enhances sibling relationships
Encourages childcare workers and teachers to meet the needs of the children in their care
Enables pre-verbal children to communicate with each other and reduces conflicts
Enables communication with the Deaf community
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