Baby, Just Give Me Some Kind Of Sign

"Hand signals ease the frustrations of the preverbal - and their parents"

(Monday, June 26, 2006) - A giggling toddler sits in a high chair watching his doting grandfather talk with his fingers. "I'm watching you," Grandpa says as he signs the words, using two fingers to point to his eyes and then to the child, who not-so-perfectly signs the words back to him.
Minutes later, though, without uttering a syllable and to his Grandpa's delight, the boy runs through the itinerary for the rest of his day. "I would like to eat more please," he signs as Grandpa interprets aloud to family members looking on. "I would like a nap - and then later I would enjoy a nice poop."
That exchange, in the opening minutes of the hit comedy "Meet the Fockers," mirrors scenes playing out in homes, day care centers and pre-schools across the country in which parents and caregivers are teaching hearing babies and toddlers sign language to give them a way to communicate before they can talk.
The practice has sprouted an industry of books, CDs, DVDs, toys, Web sites, flash cards and classes - as well as some skeptics who wonder whether it's doing more harm than good.

Better communication
Psychologists Linda Acredolo of the University of California, Davis, and Susan Goodwyn of California State University, Stanislaus, are considered pioneers in the field. Based on their research, including a long-term study funded in 1989 by the National Institutes of Health, they have concluded that teaching sign language to hearing babies between 9 months and 2 1/2 years old leads to better communication, speeds up the process of learning to talk, stimulates intellectual development, enhances self-esteem and strengthens parent-child bonds.
In follow-up studies involving 8-year-olds who had been signing as babies, they found the youngsters scored an average of 12 points higher in IQ than their non-signing peers.
Their trademarked program of 100 words includes the book "Baby Signs: How to Talk With Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk" (McGraw-Hill, $15.95). Baby Signs uses a combination of American Sign Language used by the deaf community and signs that babies or parents make up.
"Some of our competitors are purists about American Sign Language. We're not purists," Acredolo says. "We give American Sign Language signs if they want to use them, but we also say it's not a sin to use something else because the goal for parents is communication."
Acredolo says their research also addresses the concern that signing with hearing babies could delay language development. "The outcome of that study was really definitive that the babies who are encouraged to sign were doing very well in development in comparison to control groups," she says.
Not only does signing reduce frustration, "it enables the baby to share his or her world," says Acredolo. "It's clear that the interest in signing has consistently grown because it works. And there's no downside."

Some parents skeptical
But not everyone's so sure. Deena Bernstein, professor and chairwoman of the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at City University of New York's Lehman College in the Bronx, says she doesn't think children who learn to sign talk any sooner or better than children who don't.
"There's no doubt that parents and teachers should use all means to facilitate the comprehension of language," she says. But how is using the sign for milk - the hand motion of squeezing an udder - "going to help a child learn the word?"
Robert C. Fifer, associate professor and director of audiology and speech-language pathology at the University of Miami's Mailman Center for Child Development, says he hasn't seen any evidence that teaching children sign language speeds up language development. "What it does is allow a method of expression early on for objects that are extremely familiar in their environment," he says.
Babies have to coordinate 90 to 130 different muscles to produce sound and speech, and they usually speak their first word around 1, move to a minimum of two-word phrases such as "go bye-bye" or "go pee pee" at 24 months, grammatical rules and exceptions to those rules at 30 months, and a minimum of three-word phrases at 36 months, Fifer says. He views sign language as a parental choice, neither good nor bad. He does, however, offer a cautionary note: If parents emphasize sign language too long, he says, it may delay their child's speech.

Keeping things in perspective
"There's a developing brain there, and everything has to be kept in perspective when there's capability there for speech," Fifer says. "When you take sign over speech, a child has a potential to be speech-delayed."
Not to worry, says Lindsay Miller, a speech-language pathologist and assistant department director of early intervention at the Building Advocacy, Resources & Community for People With Developmental Disabilities in Holicong, Pa. Children naturally develop the ability to use gestures around 8 to 10 months - to wave bye-bye, shake their head to communicate "no" and raise their arms to be picked up - she says, and that drops off naturally as their language increases. "They want to talk like their mommy and daddy and brothers and sisters."

Some parents are sold on signing; others remain skeptical.
Before giving birth to her son, Jamie, now 26 months old, publicist Robin Nolan, 42, a former Manhattanite now living in Carson City, Nev., says she was excited about the idea of teaching him sign language. Then she saw a TV program promoting the technique and found it "creepy. ... It was mainly because the child couldn't take his eyes off the parent. It was unnatural."
Besides, she adds, "As a parent, it is our job to figure out what our children need."
While not for some, Syosset resident Deborah Martin, assistant dean for enrollment management at Hofstra University School of Law who has studied American Sign Language, began signing with her son, PJ, when he was 8 months old. Now 3 and talking in full sentences, he also knows many signs, including eat, more, help, please, thank you, sorry and milk. And his favorites include French fries and ice cream.
As PJ caught on, Martin says, she noticed he wasn't as frustrated when trying to communicate. If he was thirsty, he could ask for a drink. If he dropped his cup, he could ask for help. If he wanted two cookies instead of one, he could ask for more. All, she adds, "instead of crying."
Part of the curriculum
Martin's son goes to the Diane Lindner-Goldberg Child Care Institute in the Joan and Arnold Saltzman Community Services Center at Hofstra University, where young children are taught about a dozen signs as part of the curriculum.
On a recent morning, 17- to 22-month-olds were signing the words for "more" snacks and for "cow" and "pig" in group songs with their teachers. While babies will be babies and wail when they're hungry, sad, tired or wet, the child-care center's director, Donna Tudda, says signing has helped cut down on the biting and frustration "that toddlers experience because of their lack of spoken language."
Lee Scott, a speech and language pathologist and vice president of the Primrose Schools, which provide child care and preschool in 11 states, says it was first tried at their site in Atlanta and last fall became mandatory in all 135 schools. The teachers start with the babies at 5 or 6 months and teach basic signs such as more, eat, bottle, sleep and - one of the most important signs - diaper change, Scott says.
If parents are considering teaching their babies to sign, Scott says don't force it. "Do it naturally in your speech."
Start with some basic signs - help, drink, ball and play are some she recommends - and always speak while signing. "They want to be hearing the spoken word with the sign," she says. "You don't want to take that away. That's how they're learning sounds."
Manhattan mother Elyssa Stern, founder of Divalysscious Moms, whose company plans daytime events in the city for women and their children 6 months and older, ranks baby sign language up there with baby massage and baby music. She enrolled with her son, Jackson, in a weekly 45-minute Baby Fingers class, which incorporates music into the teaching of American Sign Language, when he was 5 months old and has hosted Baby Fingers events. Stern says Jackson started babbling at 6 months, and now, at 16 months, he's speaking a few words.
"It helps with their visual and gross motor skills," she says. "He's just learned that it's another way of communicating besides his words. I believe exposing your child to that can't hinder. It can only help."
In fact, it helped save one Westhampton mother's life.
Kristin Comeau, 34, who works in sales, has taken classes in American Sign Language as a hobby and began teaching it to her daughter, Ruby, at 5 months old. In February, Comeau suffered a serious allergic reaction, dialed 911 but couldn't speak. She signed "help" to Ruby, 3, who took the phone and spoke to the operator, saying that her mother needed help and giving the family's address.
While praising Ruby's signing, cool head and ability to memorize her home address, Comeau says she never feared for her life. Mother and daughter are still signing, and they've picked up a new student - little brother, 10-month-old Nick - Comeau says, "whether he likes it or not."


RESOURCES

There are a variety of resources out there, including books, Web sites, DVDs and flash cards, for parents and caregivers who want to teach babies and toddlers to sign, either using informal gestures or American Sign Language. Here are a few:

BOOKS

"Baby Signs: How to Talk With Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk, New Edition," by Linda Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn, Douglas Abrams (McGraw-Hill, $15.95)
"Signing Smart With Babies and Toddlers: A Parent's Strategy and Activity Guide," by Michelle E. Anthony and Reyna Lindert (St. Martin's Griffin, $15.95)
"Baby Sign Language Basics: Early Communication for Hearing Babies and Toddlers" by Monta Z. Briant (Hay House Lifestyles, $8.95)
Sign Babies ASL Flash Cards, Set One: First Words, by Nancy Cadjan (Sign Babies, $10.99). Also: Set Two: Around the House; Set Three: Animals; Set Four: Family Life.

MULTIMEDIA

Sign With Your Baby Complete Learning Kit (ASL-based Book, Training Video & Quick Reference Guide combination), by Joseph Garcia, $49.95
"Baby Wordsworth," an upcoming title from Baby Einstein, includes basic signs taught by Marlee Matlin, $19.99 for DVD; $14.99 for video.
Sign Language for Babies: 50 Easy Words to Learn - From Sleep
to I Love You, 50 flash cards and a 20-page guidebook, by Parenting Magazine (Hay House, $9.95)

WEB SITES

www.babysigns.com
www.sign2me.com
www.signingtime.com
www.signbabies.com
www.tinyfingers.com
www.mybabyfingers.com
- PAT BURSON

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