What,
When,
Why and
How
is Baby Sign
Language?
Babies and toddlers as young as
9 months of age can learn to use American Sign Language and simple gestures to
communicate long before they can talk. How would you feel if your baby could
“tell” you that he is hungry, thirsty or wants his diaper changed before he
could actually talk? These are just a few examples of what a baby can
convey to you through the use of Sign Language. Wouldn’t you rather have your
baby communicate with you than deal with tears? The Baby Signs®
Program is simple and easy to learn, use and teach to your baby.
Developed
by “Dr. Moms” Linda Acredolo, Ph.D. and Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D., the Baby Signs®
Program features ASL signs and very simple gestures that hearing babies can use to
communicate before they can talk.
Drs. Acredolo and
Goodwyn have spent over 20 years teaching, researching, writing and sharing with
others the wondrous results of their work on signing with babies. The results of
their research are directly reflected in their best-selling book Baby Signs:
How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk.
For detailed information about the Baby Signs®
Program, visit www.babysigns.com.
Contrary to the assumption that using Baby Sign
Language will delay language development, clinical studies have proven an
increase in cognition and advanced language skills in children who used
Sign Language as infants. For more information about the Baby Signs®
Research, visit www.babysigns.com.
Click
here for the full research article.
When
should I start to
use
Sign Language with my
baby?
You may start as
early as 6 months of age. Depending on when you start signing to your baby, you
can expect your baby to begin signing back to you as early as 9-10 months of
age. Using sign language with infants and toddlers is helpful for any child that
is not yet using words, not speaking clearly or talking. Language develops
differently for each child, so babies and toddlers alike can benefit when they
have a means to communicate. We talk to babies from the day they are born – why not sign, too?
should I use
Baby Sign Language?
The majority of families who learn to
use Infant Sign Language with their babies do so as a means to enhance the
parent-child bond by reducing frustration and promoting communication before
their baby can talk. Why wait until your baby is 2-3 years old to
communicate? Families who use Infant Sign Language with their babies find
that they benefit tremendously starting as early as 9 months of age.
Babies can learn to "tell" you not only about their needs and wants, but express
to you how they feel and engage you in what they are interested in about their
world.
Two decades of
research
have proven that using the Baby Signs®
Program:
Increases positive interactions with your baby
Allows your baby to share their world with you
Jumpstarts intellectual development
Enables your baby to communicate successfully
Helps your baby learn to speak earlier
Strengthens the parent-infant bond while building trust with your baby
Promotes positive emotional development
Boosts your baby’s self-confidence
can I learn
Baby Sign Language?
By
attending a workshop or hosting a home-based class, you can join the thousands
of families and educators who have already discovered this revolutionary new way
to communicate with hearing babies.
