It’s amazing how quickly a child can pick up on something if they are interested in it.  Using baby sign language allows parents to open the doors of communication for their child, who otherwise would be limited in expressing things they enjoy at such an early age in life.

Andrea Burton Ploehn, Signing 4 Baby

When I first heard about using sign language with babies, I was pretty skeptical.  I already knew sign language, but it had never crossed my mind to use it with a baby.  After a lot of research, I decided that when I had my first child, I would try it out.  Now after having three children and using sign language with my oldest two, I can honestly say it’s one of the best things I’ve done for them.  My third child is only 1 month old, but I am definitely going to continue using baby sign language with him.

One article I found was done by Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn, which showed in a long term study that “children using standardized language measures, children at 24 months using simple signs to communicate, were on average talking more like 27 or 28 month old.”

The study alsoshowed a “three-month advantage over the children who were not signing. Also the infants using signs were putting together significantly longer sentences. Then at 36 months the children using signs on average were talking more like 47 month old which translates to almost a full year ahead of non-signing children”.

It almost sounds too good to be true, but from personal experience I know that it really does work.  Both my son and daughter have been months ahead of the average.  I had people coming up to me in the grocery store and they’d ask how old my daughter was.  When I’d tell them 15 months, they’d stare at me in shock… because at that point she was saying full clear sentences.  I can’t tell you how secretly pleased I was!

If anyone is trying to decide if they should use sign language with their child, do the research and find all the resources you can.  That’s what I did, and the evidence was overwhelming that the benefits are amazing.

If you have any questions about my experience with my family using baby sign language, feel free to email me. signing4baby@hotmail.com .

Andrea Burton Ploehn, Co-Founder Signing 4 Baby

Lesson 8

Story: One time we were talking about catching something, and Annie started signing cat. If she hadn’t signed that, I never would have known that she misunderstood us. This wasn’t the only time this happened. Sign language helped me to clarify misunderstandings and explain things better so that she knew exactly what I was talking about.

Research: Communicating requires thinking, planning, and decision-making. Each one of these activities stimulates the developing brain in important ways that benefit the child the next time around. Because Baby Signing enables children to communicate at remarkably young ages, Baby Signers enjoy a “jump start” in the development of the neural substrate of language. (Acredola and Goodwyn)

Skill Development: Using signs can reinforce things you are already trying to teach your child. Just like using repetition in signing allows for more success, when you reinforce discipline or a concept in more than one way this also allows for more success. Just like some children learn visually and others audibly, you can ensure that they get as much information as possible to make the connections you are trying to stress.

Andrea Burton Ploehn, Signing 4 Baby

When my children were first verbalizing sometimes it was hard to understand what they were saying. It was amazing how using the sign language helped, I’d ask them to sign the word so that I could tell what it was, and then I could help them verbally say it. This helped a lot with frustration, I know for a lot of kids they get so angry when they are trying to say something to their parents, but the parents just don’t understand.

Research from Joseph Garcia tells us that “Communication, like physical contact is an essential component in our children’s development. …Authorities suggest that 90% of the information we absorb is received through our vision.” Babies are born with intelligence and they learn faster than their muscles develop which would allow them to speak using verbal language. As infants learn sign they can begin the foundation for “mutual understanding” and this manual communication can contribute greatly to the “bonding process.” (Joseph Garcia, Sign 2 Me)

Andrea Burton Ploehn, Signing 4 Baby

A lot of people have been having a hard time knowing how to contact Signing 4 Baby to ask questions.  You can contact Andrea Burton Ploehn directly at signing4baby@hotmail.com We love to hear your questions and stories.  If you have something you just can’t wait to share or ask…email Andrea.  Your stories and questions could end up on the blog!  This is a great way to help other people with questions they may have about baby sign language.

Signing 4 Baby

Many People aren’t sure when or how to start adding new signs.  Here are some basic tips to follow.

How to add signs:

· Make sure that your baby is looking at you. Make the sign in your babies sight-line. Sometimes you have to hold your hands by your face if that is where your baby tends to look.

· During the day, speak like you normally would, but when you make a sign repeat it a few times, the repetition is part of the key to speeding up their language development.

· Remember not to overload your child, stick to the few basic signs and then once they sign 2 or 3 of those, you can add other signs that your child is particularly interested in.

· Pre-speech infants have the intelligence to communicate specific thoughts and needs.

· Sign language makes a bridge for those infants that want to communicate but are physically not able to.

When you reach the point that your baby is ready for new signs, you’ll be amazed at how much they can pick up on and understand.  This is such a fun time for both the parent and the baby, you’re going to love it!

Andrea Ploehn

There is a lot of confusion on when it is a good time to start using sign language with your baby.  Some of the studies say that you shouldn’t start until they are at least 6 months old, others say that you can start when ever you want, and many of them say you need to look for developmental stages to know if they are ready.  As a baby sign language teacher, I have noticed that it is different for every parent.

For instance, if you are already familiar with using sign language, and it’s not something that you have to learn, then it may be very natural for you to use sign language in every day situations.  This parent would be less likely to stop using the signs consistently or to stop using the signs if they haven’t noticed results quickly enough.

On the other hand, if the parent is just learning the signs and it doesn’t feel as natural to use the signs in every day situations, then it becomes more difficult to maintain continuous use of the signs.  Many of the parents I’ve taught get so excited to start using the signs with their children that they begin when the baby is really young.  After a few weeks or maybe a months of signing with their baby, they tend to forget about how important it is to use the signs on a consistent basis.  Most of these parents end up not using the sign language for a few months and then pick it back up when they notice that their child is a lot more interactive… and at this point, the baby usually starts signing very quickly with them.

So with this information in mind, I believe that it is okay to start using sign language with your baby as soon as the parent is ready to use it consistently.  I think what happens is a lot of parents start using sign language with their children early on, months before the baby will actually be able to produce a sign.  Then when the child hasn’t started signing back to them, they don’t see the results and they tend to give up, or just forget to use the sign language.

I tell parents that if they are ready to use the signs everyday (and for those who are just learning it only has to be 1 to 3 signs, it’s very simple), then they can start signing any time they like.  The truth is, if you are watching your child closely, there are many others indicators to let you know that your baby is picking up on the signs and comprehending this visual form of communication.  I’ve mentioned before that my daughter didn’t start actually producing the signs back to me until she was almost 11 months old, but she was most definitely comprehending the signs before she was 6 months old.

I hope that this information has cleared up any confusion about when to start using baby sign language.  If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

Andrea Ploehn, Founder Signing 4 Baby

I know that sometimes it can be confusing when you first start to use sign language with your baby.  It’s hard to know if you’re doing it right, or if the baby is responding how they should.  One thing that I found was helpful was to look for the different stages of signing.  We like to call it the baby sign experience.

The stages to look for are:

1.  Entertainment- at first your baby will just watch you, he thinks it’s fun to see your hands moving, and your facial expressions.

2.  Comprehending- your baby will begin to understand your signs, even though he wont be able to imitate the sign himself.

3.  Sign Success- your baby will be able to produce a sign on his own.

4.  Sign Trials- your baby will experiment with signs, using them in different contexts.

5.  Signing Feast and Fun- your baby has gotten to the point that he fully understands that using signs represents other objects, emotions, actions, etc… He will then look to you for more signs so that he can continue to more fully express himself.

These are the basic 5 stages of baby sign language.  If you want more details and specific examples of the stages you can visit the signing 4 baby home page at www.signing4baby.com

I would love to hear your stories and answer any questions you may have about your baby.  Write in and ask questions about what stage your baby may be in, and let us know the things you have noticed in that stage.

Remember to be consistent… and I promise the results will be amazing!

Andrea Ploehn, Signing 4 Baby Founder

I started signing with Annie at 6 months, but she didn’t start signing back to me until 11 months. Even though your baby might not be signing yet, don’t forget that there’s a lot still going on.  For instance, One stage that I thought was fascinating was when she started to comprehend the signs. The first one I noticed her recognizing was eat. When she’d start to fuss I’d sign eat and she would instantly stop crying and start reaching for her food.

It was amazing… it made me pay attention to how much she probably understood and I just hadn’t noticed. This stage of her signing happened in the first month I signed with her. So remember to pay attention and look closely so you don’t miss out.

Andrea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(October 2007)

This article is about the usage of sign language to communicate with infants and toddlers.
Contents

1. Development
2. Purpose
3. Vocabulary
4. Need-based
5. Highly motivating

1. Development

In the United States, teaching sign language to non-signing families to communicate with their hearing infants and toddlers was developed by Linda Acredolo, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and Susan Goodwyn, professor of psychology at California State University, Stanislaus.[citation needed] Their research began in 1982, and produced a 1985 article in Human Development titled “Symbolic gesturing in language development: A case study.”

Joseph Garcia, an ASL interpreter and a leading proponent of use of ASL in communicating with infants and toddlers, began with his graduate thesis in 1986, an analysis of the role sign language could play early childhood language acquisition. His research indicated that babies who are exposed to signs regularly and consistently at six to seven months of age can begin using signs effectively by the eighth or ninth month.

2. Purpose

These proponents believe that while infants and toddlers have a desire to communicate their needs and wishes, they lack the ability to do so clearly because the production of speech, which requires coordinating the lips, tongue, breath, and vocal cords simultaneously, lags behind cognitive ability in the first months and years of life.[citation needed] This gap between desire to communicate and ability often leads to frustration and tantrums.[citation needed] Proponents believe that hand-eye coordination is possible in advance of the acquisition of verbal skills, and that infants can learn to express their needs using simple signs for common words such as “eat”, “sleep”, “more”, “hug”, “play”, “cookie”, “teddy bear”, etc., before they are able to produce understandable speech.

3. Vocabulary
This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (October 2007)

Proponents have identified two main categories of words used, those which are “need-based” and those which are “highly motivating”.

4. Need-based

Need-based signs include such signs as “drink”, “food”, “sleepy”, “hot”/”cold”, “change me”, etc. “Drink” or “thirst” can be expressed by mimicking drinking out of a bottle. “Eating” could be expressed by making a similar motion, or by rubbing one’s stomach.

5. Highly motivating

Highly motivating signs focuses on items of interest or entertainment to the child, such as signs for “doggy”, “toy”, “friend”, etc. A parent can encourage growth in the child’s vocabulary by teaching them signs for items that the child desires and seeks out.