I don’t remember exactly how or when I was first exposed to the idea of using sign language with babies. I do remember that it made complete sense to me, and I so I pursued it with my children.
When a pre-verbal child has a vocabulary of signs, there are a number of benefits. Frustration levels are reduced because the child has more tools to express him- or herself. Parent and child can actually have “conversations” about objects or concepts that interest the child. For instance, Micah may get really excited about something in the distance, pointing and squealing. Then he signs “balloon” and immediately I know exactly what has gotten him so worked up. It is a stepping stone to other concepts like colour and shape. And it helps to cement concepts. Micah knows the sign for “hot”, and he often wants to touch the side of my coffee mug, and follows with the sign. Or he may point at a steaming pot and make the sign. He also knows the sign for “potty”. This is a handy one. Especially effective when he is tired of riding in the cart at the supermarket. Knowledge of some sign language has proven useful with all members of my family, including Andrew. In lieu of yelling across a room, or in a milieu where we needed to keep our voices down, we can sign!
Of course, most toddlers and parents develop their own type of sign language, often involving much pointing and grunting, and this can be a highly effective form of communication. Working with actual American Sign Language (ASL) signs gives more structure and depth to this communication. I think it is an excellent base for language development, as the child learns from a very early age that there is more than one way to express a word or an idea. I believe that is an advantage in the case that a child is subsequently exposed to an additional language- for instance spanish, in our case.
How to start signing with your baby? As early as about six months you can start associating signs with objects and concepts. My two hour baby signing workshop instructor suggested choosing three concrete and three abstract signs. A concrete sign could be “milk”, “ball”, “car”. Examples of abstract signs are “more”, “hot”, “sleep”. Each time you offer the child milk, you would make the sign for milk. Before tickling them again, sign and say “more?” Etcetera. In that way the child begins to make the connections. Try to be consistent. In the neighborhood of about nine months of age (in my experience, anyway), the baby will begin signing back to you. Once they have mastered a couple of signs, you can begin adding more, according to the child’s interests. For instance, if your child loves airplanes, you can look up the sign for airplane and begin using it whenever you see an airplane. In that way the vocabulary grows! You and your child can learn as many or as few signs as you like. How can I learn new signs, you may ask? There is an excellent online ASL dictionary which actually shows a very short Quicktime video of many signs: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
Some parents are worried that speech may be delayed as a result of using sign language. In my experience there was no noticable delay in speech development. I believe that use of sign language actually enhances speech development because the child is able to communicate and practice those language skills he or she learns through observation in daily life.
Micah, 16 months, demonstrates baby signing.
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Re: signing resulting in delay of verbal language acquisition, when Lauren started speech therapy, every word mattered to the speech therapist whether it was spoken or signed. To me, that validated the process for me. If people who are professionally involved in language development value signing on equal footing with spoken words then it definitely is the right way to go.
For my kids, I found I needed to move their hands for them the first few times so they could see and feel, from their perspective, what the sign was supposed to be like. It cut the acquisition time down significantly.
Funnily enough, hubby and I use signs when we’re too far apart to hear each other yell. “More” and “help” came in very handy sometimes especially if he’s on the mower and I need him in the house.