Baby Sign Language - Can My Baby Talk to Me?

Baby sign language is making parent's lives easier all over the world. Have you ever tried to soothe your crying baby and felt frustrated that you couldn't understand what she really wanted?

Well you're not alone. In fact, many parents feel the same way. It's difficult at times to know what your baby really wants, and it's not only frustrating to you, but it's frustrating for her as well when she can't communicate what she wants.


Baby sign language involves teaching your baby basic sign language that will help them to communicate their needs, but you may be wondering - can your baby really communicate in this way?

According to new studies, baby sign language is actually quite effective. It all got started with a researcher, Joseph Garcia, who spent some time studying how a baby communicated with his parents who were deaf. The 10-month old was able to communicate fairly well, even at that young age, with his parents. After observing how this worked, Garcia began to promote his sign language for parents who had normal hearing.

Believe it or not, most babies actually can pick up the baby sign language rather quickly. In fact, it's easier for babies to sign at a young age than it is to talk, since they have better control over their hands at an earlier age than they do the muscles in their mouth and tongue. You can actually start teaching babies sign language when they are about six months old, although some are starting even younger. Parents have been amazed at how quickly their babies picked up on the signs.

Teaching baby to sign takes away a lot of the frustration for babies. Instead of having to scream hoping that their parents will figure out the problem, it gives them the freedom to communicate what they need, which is a huge help to both of you.

Some parents are concerned that teaching their baby to sign is going to make them develop language skills at a slower rate. Well, according to studies, this is certainly not the case. In fact, studies show that babies that are taught to sign actually start speaking more quickly. Some signing babies even show a higher IQ later in life.

Baby sign language can be easily taught to your child. There are excellent classes available that can help you to work with your baby, although some parents choose to teach their baby to sign themselves. For parents who decide to do this at home, there are many helpful resources available. You will need a baby sign language chart and an instruction book. Flash cards with pictures are another useful tool.

If you are tired and frustrated at the lack of communication between you and your baby, then baby sign language may be a great choice for you.

Article by Wendy Owen
Do you have trouble find childbirth info on medical sites? http://www.natural-childbirth-baby-care.com aims to inform you all about natural childbirth and baby care without the jargon making it easy and fun to read.

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Interpreting Your Baby's First Signs

As a parent, your baby’s “first sign” is greeted with as much excitement as your baby’s “first word”. For some parents though, the excitement is short lived as parents wonder what their baby is trying to communicate to them through baby sign language.

There are three steps to interpreting your baby’s signs and these can be broken down as follows:

Sign Introduction
When parents introduce baby sign language into their home they generally start with a small number of signs that are a combination of both practical and motivational signs. To understand what your baby is trying to communicate, the first step is to recall what are the baby signs you have introduced into your home. By a process of elimination, see if you can match your baby’s attempt at signing with one of the baby signs that you are using consistently in your home. It is important to remember that the sign language that your baby has created may not 100% resemble the baby signs that you have been using. The reasons for this are highlighted in step 2 and 3.

Your Baby’s Physical Capabilities
Your baby’s physical capabilities and motor skills will depend on the age of your baby. When children begin to sign sometimes the sign will be created in reverse. The reason for this is that each time you sign to your baby, your baby actually sees the sign backwards. An example of this was with my neighbour’s child who I taught the baby sign for cat. When he finally signed back to me instead of rubbing his right hand in an upward motion on his left hand (toward his body), Luke was rubbing his right hand on the back of his left away from his body. If you were to look at me demonstrating the sign in a mirror it would look exactly like the way Luke had recreated it. This is something to consider when interpreting your baby’s signs, are they signing it backwards due to their perception of the way the sign was created.

It is also important to note that younger babies may have difficulty in crossing their arms (for signs such as koala bear) or may use all fingers for signs that only involve one finger (for signs such as Dad). For this reason it is important to notice the location of your baby’s hand when illustrating the sign and be aware of what is within your baby’s field of vision, these should provide some clue into what your baby is trying to communicate. This combined with a process of elimination should help identify what your baby’s attempt means.

Sign Generalisation
As with spoken language, baby’s who are exposed to baby sign language sometimes use one sign to symbolise many different objects or may use the sign in reference to just one item. An example of this was when Luke who knew the sign for cat, saw a dog in the park one day. His response to this was to sign the word for cat. Luke had identified the dog as a four-legged animal and had assumed that it belonged to the same group as a cat. When a baby begins to speak they may often use one word to represent many different objects. In the case of Luke, it was important to encourage his attempts but to also introduce the sign for dog and later to clarify the differentiation between a dog and cat through stories, friend’s pets and stuffed toys.
In summary, when the moment arrives and your baby begins to sign, please remember to greet your baby’s attempt with enthusiasm and encouragement. Through a process of elimination, you should be able to clarify what your baby is trying to communicate and help reduce frustration for you and your baby. And remember, have fun!

Happy Signing!

Article by Jackie Durnin: Jackie has helped thousands of families reduce frustration with their pre-verbal babies around Australia using simple baby sign language. For more information on bay sign language visit http://www.australianbabyhands.com

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Language Begins at Infancy

Babies have a keen sense of hearing and observation. They are especially very responsive to their mother's voice. The first few interactions between a mother and her baby such as affectionate exchanges and lullabies, gives the baby his first lesson of how important language is in communication. These loving exchanges also provide the baby the emotional security to explore the world around him. Studies have shown that a child's language competency positively correlates to the quality and quantity of a mother's responsiveness to her baby. The more a mother talks, sings, plays and responds to her baby the easier it would be for the child to pick up language skills because it will come naturally to him.

To interact positively with your baby you may try to combine both sound and touch. For example, you can trace your hand over his nose and say in a pleasant and happy voice "you have a beautiful nose". Replicate this with other parts of his body. You may also try singing, reciting poems and rhymes or tell stories with facial expression. The pleasure of the interaction will get him excited to give you a respond. Your baby will want to participate and share his feelings. He might laugh or smile, "coo" and babble, move his arms up and down, lift his legs, or just look attentively.

At this early age, babies pickup the many subtle skills of language. For example a baby will "coo" or babble when his mother stops talking. This is a very important lesson in language where the baby learns to take turns when speaking.

Babies slowly discover through observing the interactions around them, what sounds are important in communication. As early as 6 months, they can reproduce sounds resembling words spoken in the language. At about this time also babies will start to eliminate sounds which are not heard or spoken to them. Thus to increase your baby's range of words and vocal sounds, the people around your baby especially the adults and his siblings should talk and play more with him. Some simple and useful exercises that everyone can practice with the baby are reading aloud books and magazines, pointing and naming the objects around him and even singing an original made up song about the things he observers.

A baby's progress in communication may be subtle and difficult to notice. You will start to become aware of the different cries a baby makes. A certain cry means that he is hungry, while another means that he needs a diaper change. His babbling will also increase in complexity as he becomes more familiar with the conversations and interactions with him and around him. His babbling will start to sound like spoken words. He will start to use body language and jesters to assist his limited language skills for example he might point at the cookie jar when he is hungry. At about 1, his words can be well understood but the meaning or his intentions are still up to interpretation. For example, when he points to a cat and says "cat", does he wants to play with the cat or is he just naming the animal?

It is fun to watch your baby's progress in picking up language skills. His influences come from the world around him. His antics of trying to communicate his feelings, thoughts and needs might sometimes be unconventional and amusing but it is all part of his learning process to learn the norms of the adult world. It will be beneficial to him and yourself if you take this short window of opportunity when your baby has the greatest potential to learn, to teach and impart knowledge through fun, interactive activities. His rapid progress in language skills later during childhood will depend much on his early exposure to language which you and the people around him provide.

Article by Adriana Wright. Adriana is very passionate in early education. Babies have the greatest potential to learn and parents are the best teachers to give their baby a head start. Providing Parents the tools to nurture confident, capable, smarter and loving children has been her lifelong goal. To know more on how you can give your baby a head start visit http://www.teachinginfants.org. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?

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Baby Sign Language 101 - The Signing Baby

A decade ago, if you'd seen a baby using sign language with her parents, you probably would've assumed the baby was deaf. Not so these days. The number of parents enjoying the benefits of signing with their hearing baby or toddler has mushroomed in the past 10 years. But why use sign language to communicate with a child who can hear - and is learning to speak anyway?

Speech is not an easy thing to master, and a baby's passive vocabulary (the words he can understand) is often far more developed than his active vocabulary (the words he can use). Long before he utters his first word, a baby has specific needs and wishes to communicate. Studies have shown that it is easier for babies to reproduce gestures than it is for them to reproduce words. In fact, babies naturally employ symbolic gestures to get their meaning across. By introducing sign language, gestures become an effective form of communication. The signing baby is empowered.

The potential benefits of this are huge. Not only do babies and parents experience the joy of communicating early (babies as young as 3 months have been known to sign "milk"), but toddlers experience reduced frustration when they can express themselves. Toddlers who know several single words may wish to communicate something beyond their verbal capacity - and signing allows this. When parents can respond to their toddler's specific request (even if it is to refuse it), the child is less likely to throw a tantrum. Proponents of baby signing go so far as to credit the practice with eliminating the Terrible Twos. So who do we have to thank for this revelation?

IN THE BEGINNING...
The first people in the US to suggest using sign language with hearing infants and toddlers were Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn (cocreators of Baby Signs), and Joseph Garcia (creator of Sign With Your Baby). Beginning in 1982, psychologists Acredolo and Goodwyn carried out two decades of research into the practice of signing with hearing babies. In 1996 they coauthored Baby Signs: How To Talk With Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk. In 2003, they founded Baby Signs Inc, which today provides workshops for parents and signing play sessions for babies. Garcia - having worked as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter throughout the 1970s - began researching the role of sign language in early childhood language acquisition in 1986. In 1999, he published his Sign With Your Baby Complete Learning Kit, a set of printed and video materials for parents wishing to teach and learn ASL from home.

Both Acredolo and Goodwyn, and Garcia were struck by the fact that babies can communicate much earlier through signing than they can through speech. Acredolo and Goodwyn discovered this when Acredolo noticed her 12-month-old daughter using symbolic gestures to communicate. Garcia, through his work as an ASL interpreter, noticed that hearing children of deaf parents would communicate through sign language before they learned to speak - and as a result, could communicate earlier than hearing children of parents who did not use sign language.

SIGNING GOES MAINSTREAM
In 2002, with the debut of Signing Time on American Public Television, hearing children across the US were introduced to a fun way of learning ASL. Designed for kids aged one and up, the show has since wrapped its second season and expanded to include Baby Signing Time (for babies aged 3 to 36 months). Host and cocreator Rachel de Azevedo Coleman originally devised the program as way to enable more children to communicate with people like her daughter Leah, who is deaf (Leah and her cousin Alex, who can hear, also star in the show). With her lively presenting style, smiling face and beautiful singing voice, singer-actress Coleman is a big part of Signing Time and Baby Signing Time's appeal. So, too, are the catchy, playful (but never infantile) original songs composed by Coleman and her father, Lex de Azevedo - a renowned composer of film scores.

Two years after Signing Time's debut, the hit movie Meet The Fockers put baby signing even more firmly on the map. The Ben Stiller comedy features a signing baby as well as Garcia's Sign With Your Baby book. The real-life baby had actually learned to sign from watching Signing Time.

Article by Madeleine Fitzpatrick
Visit BrillBaby to learn more about baby sign language [http://www.brillbaby.com/teach-baby/signing.php] and your baby signing [http://www.brillbaby.com/teach-baby/signing.php]

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Using Sign Language With Toddlers

How many parents currently have a toddler going through the “terrible two’s” and wonder is there something out there that could help? Baby sign language could be the answer you are looking for. Many parents ask me “Is it too late to introduce baby sign language to my toddler?” and I always say definitely not.

A lot of the time parents of toddlers think that as their toddler is no longer a baby, that baby sign language is not an option for them as their child is too old. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Baby sign language has been found to benefit children of many different age groups.

When your child enters the toddler stage, they generally have quite a small vocabulary. The reason for this is that there are still some letters/words that they physically cannot get their tongue around. How many times have you seen your toddler trying to get their point across but they do not have all the words they need to do so?

Many toddler tantrums are a result of when toddlers are unable to express themselves to their satisfaction.
Baby sign language when used with toddlers can help with these frustrating moments as they offer your toddler a mode of communication that allows them to be understood.

So how do you begin to introduce my toddler to baby sign language? The first step is to incorporate 5 signs into your toddlers’ daily routines. These five signs usually revolve around eating, drinking, sleeping and playing.

Be sure when introducing signs to your toddler, that you are incorporating signs that will be both practically useful to you and your child but also signs that are motivational for your toddler. Practical signs include eat, drink or sleep. Motivational signs may include teddy bear, book or play.

It is important that when you say the word that you also sign the word. Consistency is the key. For more tips on how to incorporate baby sign language into your home, you can read my article on the 10 steps to signing success .

So what are the benefits of introducing baby sign language to your toddler? Dr Kimberlee Whaley conducted a study in November 1999 researching the use of ASL (American sign language) signs with babies and toddlers in the preschool environment. Dr Whaley said that “We’ve known for a long time that there is a lot of thought going on in young infants’ heads, but they don’t have the skills to use spoken language….however they do have the motor skills to use sign language.” This study as well as the work of Dr Marilyn Daniels highlights the benefits of introducing sign language to older children.

The benefits of introducing sign language to toddlers include the following:

• Baby sign language helps to reduce frustration for toddlers and allows them to use signs where they are unable to express themselves verbally.
• Baby sign language supports different modes of learning by using both hearing and sight to teach your toddler. Some people learn best through hearing while others are more visual learners. Baby sign language involves you the parents saying the word followed by providing a visual of the word through sign language.
• Baby sign language provides an insight into what your toddler is interested in and their personality.
• Baby sign language provides your toddler with a strong foundation for language development and vocabulary building. With the help of baby sign language, your toddler can engage in two-way conversations with their family and care givers.
• Baby sign language can stimulate brain development in your toddler. Dr Daniels noted in her research how sign language uses both the left and right hemisphere of the brain in comparison to a spoken language that only uses the brain’s left hemisphere.
• Baby sign language can enhance your toddlers’ confidence and self-esteem, as they are now able to express themselves through baby sign language.

When your toddler begins to develop a larger vocabulary and can then get his tongue around all words, he or she will typically start to sign less and less frequently.

It is up to you if you wish to encourage your toddler to sign or if you only use baby sign language communication tool while your toddler is not fully verbal.

Start baby sign language with your toddler today and help reduce those frustrating moments for you both!
Happy Signing!
Article shared by Jackie Durnin: For more information visit http://www.australianbabyhands.com .

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