I have always wanted to teach Emma how to sign before she was verbal. I had allllll these ideas of things I was going to do when I had a baby. That was before. I cannot find the time with a full time job and one year old to
research the best signing programs and actually
implement them with Emma.
I have read many blogs where people (friends, even) are successfully teaching their babies to sign. Signing is proven to be a great pre-verbal agreement with children to get them used to communicating.
Being a teacher, I love "research based" theories. I know that language is super important and forms a child's educational background. Many people know that talking to your child ("regular talk" and baby talk), reading to and with your child, and now signing, are ways to help your child to become verbal earlier and in more advanced ways.
When Emily, the Communications Coordinator for Primrose Schools, contacted me and asked if I would share an article she wrote on signing, I jumped at the chance! Like I said before, I am a big fan of signing and am trying to work on it now with Emma. I still think she could pick it up and become a fan. :D
So, I hope you will read and enjoy the article that was co-written by Emily. It's copied below. Any questions? Send them my way!
Also, who has signed with their kids and what were your results???
Children Should Learn Sign Language Early to Earn a Competitive Edge
One of the keys to surviving in a tilted economic system in which opportunities to achieve a decent standard of living will be limited is versatility – and the ability to communicate articulately in a variety of ways with the widest possible audience. This includes bilingual ability as well as the ability to communicate in non-verbal ways for the benefit of the disabled – primarily the deaf.
At the same time, a growing shortage of qualified interpreters fluent in American Sign Language has led to more career opportunities – and if current trends continue, it's likely that skilled ASL interpreters will have little problem securing lucrative employment in a society where such a commodity is destined to be in short supply.
Signing Before They Can Speak
A great deal of research has clearly demonstrated that the early years – ages 2 to five – are the best time to educate children in different modes of communication and language. This goes beyond the spoken word (though it is an optimal time for children to learn a second language); many young children have an aptitude for signing as well.
This is not as odd as you may think. As you know, many indigenous peoples around the world,
including American Indian nations, have used sign language for centuries to facilitate communication with other tribes with whom they do not share a language. Some paleontologists and anthropologists theorize that Neanderthals – who apparently lacked the vocal mechanism to produce many spoken words – depended a great deal upon hand gestures to communicate.
In fact, recent research suggests that sign language is innate. An article published in the Boulder Daily Camera in 2003 presented strong evidence that babies as young as six months old communicate with their hands:
"...by 6 to 7 months, babies can remember a sign. At eight months, children
can begin to imitate gestures and sign single words. By 24 months, children
can sign compound words and full sentences. They say sign language reduces
frustration in young children by giving them a means to express themselves
before they know how to talk." (Glarion, 2003)
The author also cites study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development demonstrating that young children who are taught sign language at an early age actually develop better verbal skills as they get older. The ability to sign has also helped parents in communicating with autistic children; one parent reports that "using sign language allowed her to communicate with her [autistic] son and minimized his frustration...[he now] has an advanced vocabulary and excels in math, spelling and music" (Glarion, 2003).
The Best Time To Start
Not only does early childhood education in signing give pre-verbal youngsters a way to communicate, it can also strengthen the parent-child bond – in addition to giving children a solid foundation for learning a skill that will serve them well in the future. The evidence suggests that the best time to start learning ASL is before a child can even walk – and the implications for facilitating the parent-child relationship are amazing.
Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas
Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the
Zionsville child care facility, a member of the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose Schools (located in 16 states throughout the U.S.) and part of the network of
Indiana child care preschools delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum.
Emily Patterson
Communications Coordinator
Primrose Schools
epatterson@primroseschools.com
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