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.