Baby Sign Language: Teaching Hearing Infants to Perceive Language at an Early Age

Sign language is getting recognition for more than just communicating with the deaf.  In recent years, baby sign language has become increasingly popular among new parents and their babies.  Most infants cannot express coherent words until they reach the age of twelve to sixteen months and often cannot formulate sentences until at least eighteen to twenty-one months of age, making their ability to express themselves very limited (Lovett, 2005).  Now, however, with the help of classes, videos, flashcards, and books, parents have the opportunity to teach their baby as young as six months to sign (CNN Politics, 2006). While some think it is just a fad, research has shown that teaching sign language to hearing babies before they have the ability to speak can have several benefits.  According to research, it has been found that teaching sign language to hearing babies “reduces frustration, biting, and other aggressive behaviors,” “helps parents and teachers be more observant and responsive,” “builds trust between babies and their parents and caregivers,” “allows babies to share their worlds revealing just how smart babies really are,” “promotes positive emotional development,” and even “boosts babies’ self-confidence and builds self-esteem” (Acredolo & Goodwyn, 1985).  

Since hand-speak involves several fewer variables than forming words, which includes coordination skills such lip movement and tongue movement, it can be much easier to for babies to imitate and produce signs than speech at a young age (Lovett, 2005).  Some critics believe that teaching a hearing baby sign language impedes speech development.  However, others claim the opposite, saying that baby sign language can increase intelligence and help to speed up speech development (CNN Politics, 2006).   In this case, baby sign language can be considered a form of “scaffolding” which can be a very important tool to ease children into learning how to communicate verbally. “Scaffolding” refers to the manner in which adults aid a child in succeeding a difficult task by making it easier for them according to their abilities (Goodwyn, Acredolo, & Brown, 2000).  Goodwyn, Acredolo, and Brown describe the process of using gestures to teach a young child how to communicate and eventually learn how to speak: “They obviously understand the concept or category or condition the gesture stands for; they obviously recognize the string of sounds (when voiced by the parent) as equivalent to their gesture; and they obviously have figured out the symbolic function as it applies to language” (2000).  Perhaps the symbolic gestures used in baby sign language serves as an important link to solidifying verbal language in children. 

Overall, it is apparent that baby sign language can help bridge the communication gap between parent and child from a very young age and help children meet their needs, making interaction more positive.  By giving babies the capability of language, it also allows them to perceive the world around them in a whole new light. 

Posted by: Katherine Travis

References:

Acredolo, L. P., & Goodwyn, S. (l985).  Symbolic gesturing in language development:  A case study.  Human Development, 28, 40-49.

CNN Politics. (2006, July 27). U.S. babies finding early voice through sign language. Cable News Network. Retrieved on November 27, 2011, from http://articles.cnn.com/2006-07-27/politics/baby.sign_1_sign-language-babies-mothers?_s=PM:EDUCATION.

Goodwyn, S.W., Acredolo, L.P., & Brown, C. (2000). Impact of symbolic gesturing on early language development. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 24,81-103.

Lovett, J. (2005). Infants and American Sign Language: Tiny hand-signs breaking strong language barriers. My Smart Hands. Retrieved on November 27, 2011, from http://mysmarthands.com/Site/Baby_Sign_Language_Research_Paper.html.

Music Therapy for the Elderly

Music is a part of everyday life, whether heard while shopping, driving, or playing on a stereo, music has the ability to make a person’s day better. Music therapy has been shown to have numerous benefits, including eliminating pain, reducing stress, improving communication abilities, and increasing physical rehabilitation. Music therapy is used in a variety of different cases, from autistic children, to people in rehabilitation, to the elderly. Music therapy is very successful when used with elderly or senior citizens, especially in the case of Alzheimers. Alzheimers patients who slowly lose their mental capacities have been shown to improve remarkably, even for a short period, with music therapy. For example, many nursing homes will have volunteers come in to play music for the residents of the home. Not only does the music help them recognize and remember songs and memories of the past, music also helps them connect with the other people who live in the home. Music is not only beneficial for Alzheimers patients, but also for people with dementia or who are just lonely and depressed to be living in a home. Overall, music is able to improve the health of many and it has the ability of taking away symptoms, whether brightening a person’s day or making someone’s pain go away music is wonderful in helping people of all ages.

~ Lauren Bonham ~

Reference:

http://healing.about.com/od/sound/a/kmucci_music.htm 

A Macaw's Ability to Vocalize and Understand

Macaws have many different abilities, some of which include their amazing wing span, their longevity, and their ability to vocalize different sounds. Having been around a macaw and taking care of her on occasion, they are fascinating creatures that have the ability to take the sounds they hear and mimic them in the same pitch and tone as they heard. The macaw I know, Missy, is very talented and loves to vocalize. Most macaws use their vocalization abilities to communicate, mark territory, and to identify each other, if living in a flock. In addition to being able to release a loud ear piercing shriek when wanting attention, Missy is able to mimic and repeat nearly every word that is said around her, mimic a person’s laugh identically, and answer simple questions when asked. Overall, Macaws are one of few animals that are able to mimic and absorb the human language, they also display that some animals are able to understand and even communicate back what they hear. Missy is an example of a macaw that understands what is going on and she absorbs all of the communication that she hears which has made her a very smart and sassy bird.

~ Lauren Bonham ~

Reference:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/macaw/    

Music: not only for the hearing

Those in the hearing world are able to appreciate music through sound.  However, what about those who cannot hear?  Frank Russo, a cognitive scientist, and his colleagues at Ryerson University have developed a way for the deaf community to experience music similar to the hearing world.  Using emotion as a musical experience, the team has developed a special chair that can channel vibrations into the same part of the brain that experiences emotion, or the limbic system.  The chair serves to separate different frequencies and channel them to different parts of the body.  In doing so, sound is eliminated as a necessity for experiencing music.

His theory suggests that the brain is able to distinguish motion through changes in pitch in music.  This is done through a newly discovered mirror neuron system (mns) in the parietal and frontal portions of the brain which activates the limbic system and is interpreted as emotion.  Rather than music coming through the primary auditory cortex, the deaf may channel music through the visual cortex, bypassing the auditory system.  From there, the superior temporal sulcus sends the information to mns and the limbic system where it is interpreted as emotion.  Using this theory, the team hopes to develop a new mode of experiencing music through vision and touch.

Link to Frank Russo’s lecture:

http://mindovermusic.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/frank-russo-asks-is-it-possible-to-experience-music-without-sound/

Elizabeth Brothers

Schizophrenic Brain

Have you ever wondered what a schizophrenics brain looks like? Schizophrenia affects over one percent of the American population.  UCLA brain researchers developed a study with teenagers that developed schizophrenia.  The study is supposed to demonstrate how schizophrenia develops in the the brain. "Scientists have been perplexed about how schizophrenia progresses and where there are any physical changes in the brain.  We were stunned to see a spreading wave of tissue loss that began in a small region of the brain.  It moved across the brain like a forest fire, destroying more tissue as the disease progressed." This was reported by Paul Thompson who is an assistant professor at UCLA.

This image shows the differences of the male and female brains that have schizophrenia and brains that do not.   The brains that do not have schizophrenia are labeled NC and the ones that do are labeled SZ.

The studies showed that the 10 percent of the patients with schizophrenia that had gray matter loss in the outer regions of brain, it spread to the rest of the brain within five years.  Teenagers with more of the tissue loss experienced more hallucinations, delusions, erratic thoughts, hearing voices and depression.

Resources

-Shelly Christiansen

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (CIPA) is an extremely rare condition. Congenital insensitivity to pain is a condition in which a person cannot feel pain. The ability to sense touch, vibrations, and heat are not affected but the ability of the brain to recognize pain is missing. Anhidrosis is a problem often linked to congenital insensitivity to pain. This condition prevents the person’s ability to sweat and maintain body temperature. Only about 35 people in the United States have this disease and most people who have it won’t live past age 25.

At first this might seem like a good thing but it is not. Two young girls, Ashlyn Blocker and Gabby Gingras, have run into countless problems caused by this condition. At age 2 Gabby Gingras had to have her teeth removed because she was biting her fingers until they were bleeding. She also broke her jaw and her parents were not aware of it until an infection from it caused a fever that sent her to the hospital. She had her left eye removed at age 4 and her right eye is badly damaged due to her rubbing and poking her eyes repeatedly. Ashlyn Blocker severely burnt her hand when she was young but didn’t cry or feel the injury. She can’t play outside if it’s too hot because her body will overheat due to her inability to sweat and maintain body temperature.

These girls along with their families have to be careful and watch out for dangers that the girls won’t recognize because they can’t feel when something is wrong or causing pain. Pain may be uncomfortable and unwanted but it is our body’s way of telling us when to stop doing something damaging and teaching us what to stay away from. Without these lessons, the world can be an extremely dangerous place. Keeping these girls from danger and harm can be a lot of work. However, Gabby’s parents said that, even if she ends up completely blind or in a wheelchair, they will always love her and protect her.

Sources:

ABCNews.com (2005, December 9). The girl who can’t feel pain. ABC News. Retrieved 11/16/2011 from http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=1386322#.Ts0sj2PyGW5

Gainesville.com (2010, August 6). Congenital insensitivity to pain. Retrieved 11/16/2011 from http://video.gainesville.com/video/441679854001

Oppenheim, K. (2006). Life full of danger for a little girl who can’t feel pain. CNN. Retrieved 11/16/2011 from http://articles.cnn.com/2006-02-03/health/btsc.oppenheim_1_prosthetic-eye-pain-small-bites?_s=PM:HEALTH

Sniezek, S. (2008). Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis. Retrieved 11/16/2011 from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1736

-by Kimberly Kolaga

Monk Meditation

The Shaolin monks of China have an amazing ability to manage pain. They use meditation to control their perception of pain. By focusing on meditating, they can slow their heart rate and relax their muscles. This allows them to reduce tension in their body and lessen their reaction to pain even though the brain is completely alert. Using meditation techniques gives them the ability to perform in shows in which they break bricks on their heads and balance on sharp blades. Their control of their body and mind lets them manage and reduce their perception of pain.

Meditation studies have shown that mindfulness meditation is able to help people cope with pain. One study showed that, after mindfulness meditation training, the participants reported lower pain intensity and unpleasantness when exposed to a heat source. Meditation was shown to reduce activity in the parts of the brain that dealt with pain processing. Some doctors say that meditation can help with postoperative pain and acute pain. However, its usefulness for chronic pain is still unclear. All in all, the brain has shown amazing capabilities of controlling its perception and reaction to pain.

Sources:

Boyles, S. (2011). Meditation may reduce pain. WebMD. Retrieved 11/23/2011 from http://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20110406/meditation-may-reduce-pain

Discovery (2008). Human body: sensation – shaolin monks. Retrieved 11/23/2011 from http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/human-body-sensation-shaolin-monks.html

-by Kimberly Kolaga

Blind man sees with ears!

Have you ever seen someone walking down the street that is blind?  Could you imagine walking down the street not knowing who is around you and where you are headed?  Daniel Kish is a blind man who became blind when he was about 13 years old.  He taught himself a way to see besides using a cane.  What he does is click his tongue and he can tell by the echo of the sound what is around him and where he is at.  He will be walking down the street making all these little clicking noises to dodge tree branches and make sure he makes it somewhere safe.  He said there are some glitches and not everything is perfect, but he still does have a cane when he walks to make sure he is safe.  He has started teaching it to new people to show them a way to see with their ears!  It is a very interesting article and is a great way for the blind to try a different way to go about their day.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/09/tech/innovation/daniel-kish-poptech-echolocation/index.html?iref=allsearch

By: Jaclyn Matli

Doggy Sign

Have you ever wondered what your dog was thinking? Or maybe you have asked your dog what they want only to get what could look like a blank stare in response. One woman, Sean Senechal, has tried to remedy this problem. She has taught not only her dog, but also her horse to use a simplified form of sign language. Ms. Senechal’s dog, Chal, is able to let her know that she want water or food or a toy. Chal can also specify what type of food or toy she wants. Ms. Senechal now has published a book and helps others to train their dogs to use what she calls K9Sign. Check out the video below to see the amazing signing dog in action.

http://video.sacramento.cbslocal.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=6096219&at1=Entertainment&h1=Pet+Sign+Language&flvUri&partnerclipid&rnd=85748027


~Post by Amber Kolaga~

Amazing People Who Use Echolocation To See

Daniel Kish and Ben Underwood can ride a bike, play basketball, walk through crowed sidewalks, and across busy streets. Why is this so amazing? Because these two are completely blind! Both Daniel and Ben use echolocation to maneuver in their world without sight. To do this they make clicking sounds with their mouths and listen for the sound waves that bounce off objects in front of them to determine where and what things are. What they do is similar to what bats, dolphins, and beluga whales do. These two people are remarkable in that they have taught themselves to use sounds instead of eyes to see.

Ben Underwood had both of his eyes removed when he was 3 years old because of cancer. Even though he is blind, it doesn’t stop him from doing things like rollerblading, bike riding, basketball, and playing video games. He uses some aids for the blind like speaking software for the computer and a brail writer but he never uses a white cane or guide dog to help him move around. Ben taught himself to use echolocation when he was young. He uses this ability to see his world through sound. He doesn’t consider himself a blind person because, he says, there is nothing wrong with him.

Here is a link to the first of a five part video with more about Ben Underwood:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLziFMF4DHA

Daniel Kish lost his sight by the time he was 13 months. Soon after that he started “clicking.” Daniel is not the first blind person to teach himself to use echolocation but he was the first to break down the process and teach others to use it. He said that he can’t remember teaching himself how to use echolocation so teaching others to do it was a challenge at first. Today Daniel has taught hundreds of blind people to use echolocation through his nonprofit organization called World Access for the Blind.

Here are some links to additional videos and articles with more about Daniel Kish:

http://www.mensjournal.com/the-blind-man-who-taught-himself-to-see

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/09/tech/innovation/daniel-kish-poptech-echolocation/index.html

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/is-it-possible-real-life-bat-man.html

Sources:


Discovery (2010).  Is it possible? – real life batman. Retrieved 11/13/2011 from http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/is-it-possible-real-life-bat-man.html

Finkel, M. (2011, March 1). The blind man who taught himself to see. Men’s Journal. Retrieved 11/13/2011 from http://www.mensjournal.com/the-blind-man-who-taught-himself-to-see

Sutter, J. D. (2011, November 11). Blind man uses his ears to see. CNN. Retrieved 11/13/2011 from http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/09/tech/innovation/daniel-kish-poptech-echolocation/index.html

Youtube (2007). Extraordinary people – the boy who sees without eyes. Retrieved 11/13/2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLziFMF4DHA

-by Kimberly Kolaga

Bonobo Understands Human Speech

Kanzi the Bonobo has the extraordinary ability to communicate in human terms. Researchers have worked with Kanzi and taught him 360 symbols to communicate with. Kanzi is believed to be different because unlike other apes who have been in ape language studies, he was not trained, rewarded or molded but instead observed symbols and listened and learned the language used by the researchers. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, a lead scientist at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa uses conversational context with Kanzi to test his language comprehension. For example, Savage-Rumbaugh will say “I put the book over there, can you go get it?” Remarkably, Kanzi will retrieve the book. More complex sentences such as “I put it over there, can you go get it but not the bottle” are used with Kanzi and he continues to illustrate that he understands (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bonobos/kanzi.html).

Researchers have also created about 45 tests to measure Kanzi’s length of attention, ability to chase a target and memory and perception skills. Kanzi has also demonstrated his comprehension of human speech while playing Ms. Pacman. For example, researchers will tell Kanzi the directions for the game and he will play the game just as a human would. This YouTube shows researcher Savage-Rumbaugh asking Kanzi to cut onions with a knife, put pine needles in a refrigerator, put salt in water, pour Coke in water and carry a TV outside. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dhc2zePJFE. It is amazing that apes cannot only understand language but some of them can express their thoughts and feelings by pointing to one of the hundreds of symbols on lexigram keyboards.

-Sarah Rohler

Advancements in Hearing Technology: Bone Conducted Sound

Normally, humans perceive sound by means of air conduction, in which sound waves from the air travel through the pinna and enter the external ear canal, then transmit vibrations through the eardrum to the ossicles and then finally to the cochlea in the inner ear.  However, bone conduction works differently by transmitting vibrations directly to the cochlea through the skull bone.  Air conduction is used to transmit most sounds except for the sound of our own voice, which is transmitted via bone conduction.  Many researchers are investigating the use of bone conduction in new types of hearing technology such as hearing aids and headsets. 

According to the article “Better Than A Hearing Aid? Better Hearing with Bone Conducted Sound,” researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed an alternative to hearing aids which involves the detection of vibrations through the skull bone (ScienceDaily, 2009).  The technology requires a Bone Conduction Implant, or BCI, which does not require permanent skin penetration like commonly used Bone-Anchored Hearing Aids (BAHAs) do (ScienceDaily, 2009).   When tested in two-way communication systems, bone conduction has been found to produce better quality of sound especially in loud environments (ScienceDaily, 2009).   When the difference in sensitivity between bone conduction and air conduction sound from the field of surrounding sound was estimated, bone conduction was found to be 40 to 60 dB lower than air conduction (ScienceDaily, 2009).   This shows that a hearing device using bone conduction would cut down on the distraction of external noise.

Likewise, bone conduction headsets, or “bonephones” use a similar concept to transfer sounds to the listener through bone conduction by creating vibrations against the head through the temple and cheekbones.  These types of headsets are small, lightweight, and more comfortable than many standard headphones and they function without covering the ears of the listener.  Since bonephones bypass the eardrum when delivering sound, they are much safer than normal headsets, which are notorious for causing hearing damage.  Bonephones can be extremely useful for people suffering from middle or outer ear disorders, including aural atresia and microtia.  The only major disadvantage of bonephones is the fact that they often require more power than regular headphones.  Although many have suggested that stereo separation is not possible by means of bone conduction, the research team at the Sonification Lab at Georgia Tech has show that it is possible using the Coordinate Response Measure (Walker & Stanley, 2009).  In a study, they asked participants to identify a target speech signal lateralized with interaural time or intensity/level differences. They found that participants performed better when sound was delivered through bonephones rather than normal headphones, meaning that bonephones produce greater sensitivity to interaural time and intensity/level differences.  Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology Sonification Lab continue working to develop three-dimensional audio impression with bonephones (Walker & Stanley, 2009).  

Overall, bone conduction hearing devices can be useful in a variety of settings: at home for personal use, in the office, and even underwater.  Although such devices have mainly been used in the past for military purposes, they are now becoming more widely available and popular among the general public.  Perhaps the future of hearing devices lies in bone conduction technology. 

Posted By: Katherine Travis

ScienceDaily. (June 22, 2009). Better than a hearing aid? Better hearing with bone conducted sound. Science Daily. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622194227.htm.

Walker, B. N. & Stanley, R.  (2009). Bone conduction headsets (“bonephones”) research.  Georgia Institute of Technology Sonification Lab. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/research/bonephones/.