Sign language for baby - Kelly Berman explores communicating before speech develops

The first time your baby waves ‘hello’ brings such delight because it is a little magical milestone in her development. That simple gesture gives you a window into your child’s mind. It also enables her to communicate with the world. But communicating without speech can be a frustrating process for both parent and baby. Teaching her a simple set of hand gestures could open up a whole new world of communication.

What is baby signing?
Baby signing is an easy-to-learn system of sign language that has its basis in stories and rhymes like ‘The Itsy Bitsy Spider’. The hand movements in these songs enables young children to participate even though they can’t sing the words. Baby signing is a natural extension of the everyday gestures we all use to communicate - such as waving and pointing.

Baby signing was developed by American researcher Joseph Garcia, based on his own observations of deaf children communicating with their parents. It has caught the imagination of both parents and child development experts in the US. But, as Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn point out in their book ‘Baby Signs’, it is not a fixed system of signs bound to either American or British Sign Language. In fact, parents can choose to create their own signs or adapt those suggested.

How does baby signing work?
The important thing to remember when introducing your child to this new world of signs, is to do what feels right for your baby. So take the lead from her: start when she shows an interest in communicating about the things she sees. This is usually about nine to ten months, but may be slightly earlier or later. Start with five beginner signs for the words ‘hat’, ‘bird’, ‘flower’, ‘fish’ and ‘more’. The gestures suggested act out the object or concept in an obvious way. So the sign for ‘hat’ is patting the top of your head with your hand open and palm down, while ‘bird’ is expressed by flapping one or both arms out to the side.

The point with these signs is to use whatever works best for you and your child. You can draw from the 60 or so signs which Acredolo and Goodwyn illustrate in their book, or if your baby responds to a particular aspect of a word, you may want to build the sign around that.

Children learn through repetition, a principle that forms the basis of baby signing. Parents who use signing with their babies tend to repeat words, verbally and with signs, more than those who only speak to their babies. So while a non-signing parent may only ask their child, ‘Do you want more?’, a signing parent will combine the sign for ‘more’ with the questions: ‘Do you want more? More? Okay, I’ll give you more.’

What can baby signing achieve?
The main benefit of baby signing is improved communication between you and your baby. This advantage cannot be overestimated: it sets a good foundation for your child’s self-expression and will stand her in good stead for the rest of her life. Baby signing also empowers your child to tell you what is wrong instead of screaming, whining or crying. It can even enable babies to play a part in problem-solving. For example, one of the parents in Garcia’s ‘Sign with Your Baby’ training video tells the story of her 11-month-old son Sebastian, who warned her that a wasp was trapped with him inside the car. His mother, who hadn’t seen the wasp, could then remove it without incident.

For those who worry that baby signing could interfere with verbal communication, the experts assure us that it has no such effect. They have found that signing children usually learn to speak earlier, and by the age of two have learned on average 50 more words than non-signing babies.

There is no need to continue with signs after a child has mastered saying the word. They will have served their purpose, to open a channel of communication that will continue as your child grows.

For further information visit sign2me website.

Baby Signs: How to talk with your baby before your baby can talk, by Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn is published by Vermilion, UK, 2000.