June 20th, 2009 by
Sign language is most often thought of in the context of the deaf community. But, as our baby sign language website demonstrates, it can be taught to pre-verbal babies, with numerous benefits for parent and child. Research also shows that sign language is often beneficial for children with special needs which effect their speech and/or social development, such as autism, apraxia or downs syndrome.
Sign Language & Special Needs
Teaching a child sign language usually has great academic benefits, especially for children with special needs. Some children have an impairment that affects his ability to make auditory and visual connections. Sign language helps trigger that area of the brain linked to speech and language development, thus helping to expand the child’s vocabulary and enhancing speech development.
When a child’s speech development is enhanced, so are his social and emotional skills. Children with special needs can be very frustrated when communication becomes difficult. This frustration may manifest itself in the form of depression or tantrums and aggression. Sign language can help remove communication barriers and eliminate much of the frustration associated with the same. By expanding his vocabulary, and eliminating communication barriers, the child will have more independence and greater self esteem and behave in a more socially accepted manner.
Sign Language & Austism
Autism is a developmental disability that often involves a delay and impairment in social and language skills and behavior. It is a spectrum disorder, meaning that all cases are different and they vary in severity. Some children will be able to speak, while some will have no speech at all. Less severe diagnoses include Pervasive Development Disorder or Asperger’s Syndrome. These children typically have normal speech, but have many of the social problems associated with autism.
The use of signing with autistic children has been growing consistently since the 1970’s. The primary purpose of teaching sign language to children with autism, or similar disorders, is to give them an alternative means of communication. Numerous studies have demonstrated that autistic children can be taught signing as a means of communication. Furthermore, through the use of sign language, a portion of otherwise mute children acquire speech. Thus, sign language can also be used to augment to communication with the ultimate goal of developing speech.
There are numerous benefits to teaching sign language to otherwise mute autistic children. Even if she only acquires a few basic signs, this gives the child a way of expressing her needs in an understanding and socially acceptable manner. And by learning a conventional language, the child is made to take account and interact with others. All of the studies show that social awareness increases and tantrums decrease following sign language acquisition. Moreover, by acquiring a language as early as possible, the child may acquire cognitive skills that provide a basis for continued learning and lessen the overall impact of her development disability.
Tags: Autism and sign language, baby sign language, sign language and apraxia, Sign Language and Austim, sign language and down syndrome
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March 14th, 2009 by
Teaching your baby sign language is good for both parent and your child. In this article, we examine the effects of singing with your baby and some evidence of the benefits of baby sign language. You can be assured; signing with your baby is a wonderful thing.
Many people are amazed that children as young as 6 months old can learn sign language, thinking “How can that baby sign, when she can’t even talk?” But babies have always signed, albeit on an informal basis. Babies develop the muscles in their hands before they develop the fine muscles of the mouth required for talking. Thus, babies are equipped to communicate with you with their hands before they can speak. Most babies invent their own signs in order to convey their thoughts. For example, babies often hold their hands out when they want to be picked up and held. This, of course, is a form of communication.
The fact is, a baby knows what you are saying long before she is able to speak. That is, her “receptive language” develops before she is able to talk. The fact that a baby cannot speak does not mean she cannot understand. In fact, babies understand a great deal before they can talk. So be careful what you say in front of your baby! Remember, the reason babies don’t speak isn’t necessarily because they don’t understand. It may just be for a lack of the ability to control the movements of the mouth and tongue that are necessary to talk. Those movements are undeveloped until babies are around two years old. But at a much earlier age, babies can control the hand movements necessary to produce signs. So don’t underestimate your baby. She will amaze you by what she can say, with her hands!
Now that we know how babies sign, the question becomes whether or not they should sign. The single biggest myth about teaching baby sign language is that it can delay a baby’s speech. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is absolutely no evidence that signing is in any way associated with delayed speaking. Research on baby sign language clearly shows that signing children develop spoken words much faster than non-signing children. Signing is physically and cognitively stimulating for your baby. Signing stimulates your child’s auditory, visual and kinesthetic senses. (She hears you speak, sees your movements and imitates your movements.) In fact, research indicates that signing may be beneficial to children with speech development disorders, such as autism. And signing children typically become smarter adults, with higher IQs, than non-signging children. So, have no doubt, teaching a baby sign language is good for her overall development.
Aside from her overall development, there is a more practical reason to teach your baby to sign. Signing allows parents to communicate with pre-verbal babies! The frustration of not knowing what a child wants or needs is a primary source of the stress in parents’ lives. Parents who teach their children to sign avoid much of this frustration. And a child’s ability to communicate at an early age enhances her overall development. Social interaction is crucial to a child’s development. By teaching baby to sign, she communicates earlier and more often. This provides her with another outlet to express her emotions and communicate with other older children and adults. Ultimately, she will be more advanced, cognitively and socially, than non-signing children of the same age. So go ahead, have fun teaching your baby sign language.
Tags: baby sign langauge, baby sign language book, baby sign language dvd, sign language for toddlers, teach baby sign language
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