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So Many Reasons to Sign

For most parents, learning to sign with infants and toddlers is an entertaining, educational way to jump start early communication. For Rachel and Aaron Coleman, it was a necessity.

When the Colemans found out their daughter Leah, then 14 months old, was deaf, they immediately began learning American Sign Language (ASL). "We had no idea when she would be old enough to let us know what she could hear, with or without her hearing aid," says Rachel. "It seemed like a very safe bet to use sign language because she doesn't have to be able to hear it or have the skill of speech to communicate."

While the family quickly became fluent in ASL, Rachel grew frustrated that so many people couldn't communicate with Leah. She was especially distraught to watch the hearing children on Leah's soccer team exclude her because she was deaf. Rachel decided to introduce sign language in their neighborhood preschool and was delighted to see immediate results.

"These same kids who didn't want to be with Leah because she can't hear and can't talk were running up to her and signing 'hi,' 'ball,' and 'friend,'" Rachel recalls. "It completely transformed their relationship."

Hoping to reach a broader audience, Rachel--a professional musician--and her sister Emilie Brown founded Signing Time to teach basic ASL in an entertaining, engaging way. After reading numerous books, watching hours of videos, and attending several classes, Rachel and Aaron had been struck by how dull most sign language education media was. "It wasn't created to entertain and hold a child's attention," says Rachel, "or an adult's."

With Signing Time videos and DVDs, Rachel and Emilie not only engage children in learning sign language, they promote literacy by introducing simple concepts through spoken words, written words, pictures and signs. And while Rachel's and Emilie's family had to learn sign to communicate with little Leah, what they've learned from sharing Signing Time with the world is that the benefits of signing with infants and toddlers are universal.

Why Signing is Special:

Taming Tantrums: Studies consistently show that when pre-verbal children learn to communicate their wants and needs through sign, they're less likely to resort to crying and tantrums. They're also better able to participate in shared activities by expressing what they see, what they like, and what they want.

Like many children who are introduced to sign as newborns, Emilie's son Alex became familiar with many signs long before he could make them himself. One day, when Alex was about 8 months old, he began to cry, so Emilie made the sign for milk. Alex stopped crying immediately, knowing his needs were about to be met. By 10 months old, Alex could make the sign himself, further reducing his incidents of crying. "It was like (he thought), 'I don't have to cry anymore,'" recalls Rachel. "'I have another way to communicate.'"

Accelerating Communication: Some parents worry that teaching children to sign will delay speech, but research has found quite the opposite. Studies have shown children who are taught to sign before they learn to speak actually speak earlier than their non-signing peers. According to one report, "The symbolic gesturing experience seems to 'jump start' verbal development."

All babies use symbolic gesturing to communicate, waving "Bye Bye," for example, and holding their arms up when they want to be held. "Those are natural signs babies use," says Rachel. "What we're doing is giving them a bunch more." Why stop at "Bye Bye," she adds, when you can help your child tell you when he's hungry, tired, or has an earache in the middle of the night?

Boosting Brain Power: Signing also seems to accelerate cognitive development, with one study showing an increase in IQ of between 8 and 13 points for children who learned to sign versus those who didn't. The difference was still evident when the children were tested years later.

While Rachel has read all the research, she's more impressed by the results she's seen with her own family and those she's heard about from parents who've used Signing Time. Although deaf children are expected to begin reading late and remain several reading levels behind their hearing classmates, for example, Leah began reading at age 2. Now in fourth grade, she's reading at a seventh grade level. Why? Because with sign language, says Rachel, "she got language before most hearing children."

A Special Gift for Special Kids: Other studies have shown that sign language can benefit special needs children in remarkable ways, helping accelerate speech in autistic children, for example, and in children with certain conditions causing delayed speech. It's also been shown to help children with Down Syndrome become more confident in their ability to communicate.

But Rachel doesn't need the research to prove sign language can create miracles for children with special needs. When her second daughter, Lucy, was born with cerebral palsy and spina bifida, doctors said she would never speak or sign. Now 6 years old, Lucy is fluent in sign and has learned to speak.

A few tips to get you started:

More Milk: Begin with simple signs such as "milk" and "more" and use them consistently. With hearing children, reinforce the signs with the spoken word. (You don't have to use the "real" word: "Baba" for bottle is fine, if that's the term your family uses.)

Hand in Hand: As children get a little older, says Rachel, help them make signs by moving their hands into the proper positions. Give your child a Cheerio, she says, then make the sign for "more." Ask, "Do you want more?" Help your child make the sign for "more," then give her another Cheerio.

When To Start?: Anytime is the right time to begin signing with your child, although their age will determine how quickly they'll progress. If you begin signing with a newborn, it will take several months before they understand the signs and even more time before they can make the signs. Still, the earlier you start, the earlier your child will be able to communicate with you.

If you start with a pre-verbal toddler whose comprehension is already developed, he's likely to begin signing within a few months. A preschooler might begin mimicking signs immediately.

Remember, acquiring a second language and sign language is a language is always a good idea. Although exact numbers aren't available, there are an estimated 500,000 people in the country who communicate through sign language, making ASL the third most common language in the United States. Shouldn't you and your kids be able to communicate with them?

At Baby Classroom, we're proud to carry Rachel and Emilie's Signing Time DVDs as well as other DVDs, books, and flash cards to help you begin signing with your little one today!