Every parent has experienced moments when their baby or toddler is screaming in frustration but they just don't know what their child wants. Some parents, however, are starting to use sign language such as ASL to communicate with babies as young as eight months old. These parents and children are not necessarily deaf, but are looking for another tool in their tool box to foster a bond and encourage communication between them.
How Does Baby Signing Work?
Baby Sign Language uses basic ASL signs, which parents use in their daily interactions with their child. Since children gain mastery over their hands much sooner than they are able to use their vocal cords and mouths to form words, babies and toddlers can use signs to communicate many months sooner than they can speak. This is exciting for parent because they can see how much their baby or toddler comprehends once they are able to communicate, and babies gain a sense of control and empowerment when a parent responds to a need they have communicated through signing.
Will Baby Sign Language Delay Speech Development?
Researchers have found no negative effects of using baby sign language alongside regular speech. Babies and young children seem to come primed to learn language in the first few years of life, and some researchers have found that babies whose parents signed to them had a higher IQ score later in life than babies who did not learn to sign. Of course, parents who sign with their children may be providing many other kinds of stimulation, which could account for the higher IQ scores, but there is no evidence that baby signing will interfere with language or speech development.
Signs to Start With
The best signs to introduce early are milk and more. Both are very easy to form, easy for babies to understand, and are often the first signs a baby will make. When babies first begin signing they often have an 'accent' and form their signs less accurately than an adult would. If you want to learn more about baby sign language, check out some of the many books available, such as Joseph Garcia's Sign With Your Baby: How to Communicate With Infants Before They Can Speak [Northlight Communications, 1999] or The Baby Signing Book by Sarah Bingham [Robert Rose, 2007]. Many community centers offer classes in baby sign language, which are a fun, social way to learn sign language and see how other babies communicate using signs.
Enjoy your adventure into baby sign language by keeping it light, fun and meaningful to your baby. Don't be tempted to give up early if you've been signing for a few weeks or months with no response from your baby. Often babies will watch their caregivers sign for some time and then suddenly begin making several signs at once. The moment when you recognize and understand a sign your baby makes is exciting for both of you, and opens the door to a lifetime of communication between you.
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