I just started using sign language with Ben my 10 week old.  I know that it’s going to be a long time before he signs back to me, but speaking from experience I know that he will start to understand very soon.  With my other children I started to sign to them early on.  Some parents get disapointed our frustrated when their child doesn’t sign to them right away, but you have to realize that your infants motor skills aren’t up to speed.  Most children can cognitively understand what you are saying long before they are physically able to respond back to you.  They typically have a harder time physically forming words verbally than using signs.

My philosophy on how many signs are when do you add them is that it depends mainly on the parent.  If you are certain that you can be consistant and use the sign language on a regular basis, then I think it’s fine to use as many signs as you want.  I believe that the child will be able to understand what you are communicating, even if they can’t respond to you yet.

As a hearing parent we don’t with hold some of the words we verbally speak to our children just because they can’t speak to us yet, so why would we be hesitant to avoid additional signs just becasue our baby can’t sign back?

Deaf parents of hearing children don’t with hold any signs with their children  in infancy, and what do you know, the children understand completely what their parents are saying.  So in summary, I feel that if the parent is willing and able to maintain using the signs consistantly, then by all means add on!

Using signs to teach colors is very useful. With my daughter we introduced colors very early. Your child can typically identify colors long before they can speak. Just like when you’re signing, you should always mention the color of the object you are describing or using.When my little girl could already use words and we would play color games, if she ever forgot I would simply sign the color and she would be able to figure it out. Having a visual symbol along with a verbal symbol to represent something will often help with memory and organization.

Andrea Burton Ploehn, Signing 4 Baby

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

My grandson is 7 months old. He is already standing up against the furniture and trying to walk.  When we feed him cereal or veggies we use the sign “more”.  He has not yet produced the sign, but he waits and smiles and then is very patient letting us manipulate his hands.  You can see the process for learning as we go.  The important thing for us to do is to keep signing with him.  I also use other simple signs when he is watching me as I work around the house or play with him.  The eye contact and my attention that focuses on him is valuable for his personal development as well. He can sense the connection and feel the love that comes with the attention he receives.  Sign Language is amazing.

Deborah Parrish M.S.

“How Can I Give My Children

The Social Skills,

Intellectual Development,

And Self Confidence That

They Will Need To Be

Successful In Life?!”

I’m sure that as a parent you have felt the same way too, so I started to research ways that would not only work well, but also be a lot of fun for the kids.

That’s when I stumbled across something that changed my life.

Let me explain…

One day while researching online I found a site that talked about the benefits of baby sign language!

It was interesting to me because I had actually studied sign language in high school and college, but didn’t realize how beneficial it was to teach my kids!

After reading this I started to become obsessed with learning more.  I began brushing up on my sign language and learning how to teach it to my kids.  I ended up buying stacks of baby sign language books; I searched the internet for as much information, resources and research that I could to decide the best way to teach my kids!

An amazing part of the story is that my aunt has a master’s degree in deaf education.  I explained to her what I was learning about, and she told me that she actually had a lot of experience using sign language with newborn babies!

“That’s When I Decided To

Use Sign Language

With My First Child”

A few months later my little girl was born.  We named her Annie.

At first she would just stare at me, but soon I noticed she started to respond to the signs I would teach her.

The first sign she recognized was “eat.”  As soon as I signed “eat” she would instantly start looking for what food I was going to give her!

Right after that she started to make signs to communicate back to me!

• When she was hungry, she would sign “eat”
  

• When she was tired, she would sign “sleep”
  

• When she was thirsty, she would sign “milk”
  

• And the list goes on and on…

As she grew older, it got even better!  In fact, before she was even a year old, every time she would get frustrated and start to throw a tantrum, I would just ask her to sign what was wrong to me…

… and 9 times out of 10 she used the sign to get her point across and the conflict was resolved!!!

By the time Annie turned 18 months old, she knew over 150 signs and could speak in full sentences!  By 21 months she had memorized “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and was speaking almost like an adult when most of her friends could only say a few words!

After seeing the benefits from Annie, we did the same thing with our new baby Brandon, and have had very similar success.

I have loved using baby sign language and I hope that as many parents as possible will be able to experience the same benefits and joy as our family has.

Andrea Burton Ploehn

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

As a family we like to play games. We were playing hide and seek one night and Brandon started signing “where, I don’t know”. He kept looking for Annie but he just couldn’t figure it out. He did this when he was about 13 months old. Not many children can say full sentences like, “Where is Annie, I don’t know where she’s hiding”. With sign language though, he was able to communicate this exact thought.

When we can give our hearing babies the advantage of both ASL and English the benefits are fantastic. In her book Dancing with Words, Marylin Daniels explains that “Sign language has the unique capacity to tap into the natural exchange between hand and brain, optimizing the emergence of language in the child because of the physiological advantage of American Sign Language (ASL) over English.”

Games are a great time to reinforce signing. Your child is already doing something that they enjoy and when you add a sign to that environment then they automatically associate enjoyment with the signs.

The other day I was in the store and Brandon was signing, “Sad baby”. I looked around and there was a baby in the other line crying. I hadn’t even noticed him crying, but Brandon was really concerned. I thought it was amazing that at his young age he connected a baby crying with the baby being sad. Insights like this have let me know that I can teach even more advanced things and give him a jump-start.

Researchers Acredola and Goodwyn show in a study that “signing babies scored higher in intelligence tests, understood more words, had larger vocabularies and engaged in more sophisticated play. Signing Babies were followed until they were eight years old and on average scored 12 points higher on intelligence tests”.

Using baby sign language is such a great tool for parents, it really does help you tap into your children’s emotions.

Andrea Burton Ploehn

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

My mother-in-law (Shauna) loves the fact that my children use sign language.  She watches in amazement as they effortlessly use the signs as a normal part of their day.  She’s probably one of my biggest supporters.  This past year she has started being a nanny for a cute little family of three, the youngest is 10 months old. Recently she was talking with the mother of this family (Mindy) and they started discussing baby sign language and Mindy asked if she could buy my product “Signing 4 Baby”.

This last week we were visiting our family and Mindy came over with her cute little girl.  It had only been about a month, but they told me she was already signing “eat” and “more”.  Shauna couldn’t believe that the baby picked up sign language so quickly.  She asked me if I could start teaching her some sign language so that she would be able to participate.

It’s such an exciting feeling to realize how intelligent these little infants are.  What a great connection to have, not only between parent and child, but grandparent and child.  I think it’s great to get as many family members involved in doing sign language as you can. (Plus, it’s pretty fun to use sign language with my husband when we’re out at the movies or something).

Anyone that’s thinking about learning sign language should at least try it, even if it’s just a few signs.  I promise it’s contagious, you’re going to love it!  So get the whole family involved today!!!

Andrea Burton Ploehn, Signing 4 Baby