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It may sound like pie in the sky, but reducing frustration is only one of several benefits sign language can provide for infants and toddlers. Over ten years of research has demonstrated that using sign language while speaking to hearing infants can; give them the tools to communicate before they can speak thereby reducing frustration, increase verbal language skills, enhance whole brain development, and increase IQ.There are additional educational benefits by using sign language with older children as well.

The reasons sign language is so effective with small children, is that they are seeing a visual representation of what is being said and making the connection between the sign and the word. More components are being used with their learning and infants are using more than one sense when receiving language. Children are using hearing, sight and movement with their learning, not just hearing. Babies are very visual and are able to gesture before they can speak and will use gestures to communicate their intentions before they can talk. Introducing sign language while speaking with infants, builds on this natural ability to gesture and provides them with more tools to communicate six to twelves months before they can speak.

While research has demonstrated that babies as young as six months can use sign language, my son, Lachlan said his first word in sign language at 11 months. At 14 months, he was signing words like, milk,' all gone,' all done,' cracker' and bed.' If he ever grizzled for anything I would encourage him to communicate using sign language instead. I would do my stop' sign and say, stop, what do you want?' he would then stop, and sign to me. I was excited that he could communicate to me at such a young age.

SIGNING & SPEAKING FACILITATES VERBAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

I often hear parents concerned that their babies may not want to speak if they are exposed to sign language. In fact the opposite is true. Since we are talking normally with our children and only signing some key words, children will pay attention to what we say as well as to what we sign. They just want to communicate, and will use any means possible, it is true that children will be able to gesture or sign before they can speak, it is also true, according to Dr. Acredolo, Goodwyn and Brown, that infants who are exposed to speech and sign language have better expressive and receptive language skills than those not exposed to signs.' They mention that just as crawling motivates a child to walk, so too does signing motivate a child to talk.'

SIGNING & SPEAKING ENHANCES WHOLE BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

In addition to better verbal language skills, exposing infants to speech and sign language enhances whole brain development. Dr. Daniels, a professor of Speech Communication and Author, wrote, babies' eyes develop very early, and when information is taken in with the eyes, the right brain is being used. All languages are stored in the left brain, so when babies are exposed to signs and speech, both the right and left brain are being used.' She says, 'This is a wonderful advantage because you are using both hemispheres of the brain, building more synapses in the brain.'

Once, my husband and I took Lachlan to a fun park when he was only 22 months. We put him on a toddler ride. He was fine at first, but then became scared. Instead of screaming or crying, he stuck his hands in the air and signed 'all done' feeling confident that he would be understood. I knew right away that he wanted to get out, and since he was the only one on the ride, the lady operating it was able to oblige and let him off.

Later, when he started formulating words, there were some difficult ones he could not pronounce like crocodile and therefore used signs to convey his meaning. It was also an excellent tool with teaching him his colours. By the time he was two years old, the sign for patience became very handy. If he started to have a tantrum because he wanted something right away, I would say, show mummy patience, and Lachlan would start stroking his chest with his hands. This gave him something to do, distracting him from his tantrum and potentially helping him grasp a difficult concept.

 

SIGNING & SPEAKING INCREASES IQ

In their studies, Dr. Acredolo and Goodwyn discovered that exposing hearing children to sign language can improve young children's IQ. They took a group of 103 children at the age of 11 months and divided them into groups. There were equal numbers of boys and girls in each group. Parents were encouraged to sign to their children in one group. The parents of another group were not given sign language tools for their children and the parents of a third group were asked to expose their children to written vocabulary around the house. The findings indicated that the children, who were exposed to Sign Language from 11 months to 36 months, outperformed the two non-signing groups by 12 points on the WISC-3- intelligent test at the age of 8 years old.

When Lachlan was three, I used Auslan (Australian Sign Language) when singing songs, when telling him stories, when introducing him to numbers and with teaching him the alphabet, and every so often I have told him, in sign language, to say thank you or please to someone, which would prompt him to say it, and I didn't need to say a thing.

WHY TEACH ASL OR AUSLAN & NOT OTHER SIGNS?

Dr. Joseph Garcia and Dr. Marilyn Daniels argue that exposing children to a sign language used by the Deaf community is more beneficial for your child than exposing them to alternative signs for the following reasons.

• It provides the advantage of a bilingual setting. You are exposing your child to a second language, which may create a platform of interest towards other languages and cultures. It furthers brain development as a second language is stored in a different area of the brain than the first language.
  
• It offers the advantage of standardisation and consistency. An increasing amount of child care centres are using Auslan as a way of facilitating communication and fostering calmness in the environment. In America it fulfils high school foreign language requirements. Additionally, exposing children to a second language such as Auslan, touches on topics like cultural diversity.
  
• Deaf people have their own language, culture and way of life. Inclusion, of children who are Deaf or hearing impaired would feel welcomed in a mainstream environment and bilingualism, as parents and teachers would be offering a second language besides English, creating an environment whereby children can become fascinated with other languages and cultures.
  
• Baby Sign Language is easy to use, as it is not mastering full Auslan grammar, it is only grasping some Auslan vocabulary. It can be used whenever you are speaking, as little or as much as you like, so there is no need to pull children out of their natural environment to teach' them signs. Signing is fascinating to watch and do, children are curious, they are captivated and motivated, therefore learning becomes easy, memorable and fun.
  

SIGN LANGUAGE WORKSHOPS

Whenever possible it is always best to attend sign language workshops. Learning ALS or Auslan face to face can diminish any ambiguity that books may cause. It also brings to life the beautiful language and is far more enjoyable and memorable when interacting with others in a class setting. If you are interested in Tiny Hands Talk' workshops visit our website for more information: www.tinyhandstalk.com.au.

REFERENCES

Daniels,M. (2001). Dancing with Words: Signing for hearing children's literacy.

Goodwyn,S., Acredolo,L. & Brown,C. (2000) Impact of symbolic gesturing on early language development. Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour. 24(2): 81-103

Acredolo, L.P & Goodwyn, S.W. The long-term impact of symbolic gesturing during infancy on IQ at age 8,' in Paper presented at the meetings of the International Society for Infant Studies (Brighton, UK, July 2000)

Jenny McConnell
Jenny McConnell is the Founding Director of Tiny Hands Talk. Jenny's experience includes ten years in education, two years teaching in AUSLAN with deaf children and three years in running businesses. She has been trained in Reading Recovery, a specialised Department of Education program focused on literacy (reading & writing) skills.

Visit the Tiny Hands Talk - sign language for all children business Listing.

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