Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Enhancing Communication and Safety

Celebrating National Baby Safety Month with the Baby Signs® Program

Welcoming a new baby into your life is an exhilarating experience, accompanied by immense joy and a strong desire to keep your little one safe. As parents and caregivers, ensuring the safety and well-being of your baby becomes a top priority. This National Baby Safety Month, let's explore an innovative way to enhance communication and safety for your baby: Baby Signs®.

The Importance of Baby Safety

September is celebrated as National Baby Safety Month, a time when parents, caregivers, and communities come together to raise awareness about the safety measures necessary for infants and young children. From creating safe sleep environments and securing furniture to practicing car seat safety, this month encourages everyone to take proactive steps to protect the youngest members of our society.

Baby Signs®: A Gateway to Effective Communication

In the journey of parenting, communication takes on an entirely new dimension with the arrival of a baby. While babies may not be able to verbally express themselves, they are incredibly receptive to communication cues. This is where the Baby Signs® Program comes into play. Baby Signs® is a program that teaches babies and toddlers simple sign language to help them communicate their needs, feelings, and thoughts well before they can speak.

How Baby Signs® Work

The Baby Signs® Program utilizes basic American Sign Language (ASL) that are tailored to suit the motor skills of pre-verbal infants and toddlers. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to use these signs in conjunction with verbal language to create a comprehensive mode of communication. The benefits of Baby Signs® extend beyond enhancing communication – they can also play a significant role in promoting safety.



"I Know What To Do" music from the If You're Happy & You Know It album and the MORE Sign, Say & Play™ Safety Class"

Baby Signs® and Safety

Expressing Needs: Babies often have a difficult time conveying their needs, leading to frustration. By teaching them signs for essentials like "eat," "milk," "diaper," and "sleep," parents can respond more effectively to their baby's needs, reducing instances of discomfort and distress.

Emergency Signs: Teach your baby signs that relate to safety, such as "help," "hurt," or "hot." In the event of an unforeseen situation, the baby's ability to use these signs could potentially alert caregivers to any issues they may be experiencing.

Identifying Allergies or Discomfort: Signs like "hurt" or "hot" can empower babies to indicate when something is wrong. This could be especially valuable in cases where a baby is too young to verbally express discomfort, such as experiencing an allergic reaction.

Instructional Signs: As babies grow into toddlers and begin to explore their surroundings, teaching signs like "stop," "dirty," and "wait" can contribute to their safety by helping them understand boundaries and potential hazards.

National Baby Safety Month and Baby Signs®: A Perfect Pair

As we celebrate National Baby Safety Month, incorporating infant sign language into your parenting toolkit can be a wonderful way to enhance both communication and safety. By giving your baby the means to express themselves and enabling them to understand important safety-related signs, you're taking proactive steps to ensure their well-being.

Incorporating the Baby Signs® Program into your daily routine doesn't require extensive effort. There are resources available online, including videos, books, music, and classes, that can guide you through the process. By dedicating time to learn and practice these signs, you're investing in your baby's development and safety.

National Baby Safety Month serves as a powerful reminder of the responsibility we have to protect and nurture our youngest family members. This September, consider the incredible potential of Baby Signs® in enhancing communication and safety for your baby. By embracing this innovative approach, you're not only providing a means for your baby to express themselves, but you're also empowering them to participate actively in their own safety and well-being journey.



Teach your baby safety signs like Afraid, All Done, Dirty, Fast/Slow, Gentle, Hot, Hot/Cold, Hurt, Listen, Mask, Quiet, Sit Down, Stop, Up/Down, Wait and Wash. Order the Safety Signs Printable Poster Pack!

Resources and additional safety tips:

https://www.jpma.org/page/baby_safety_month
https://www.safekids.org/blog/5-tips-new-parents-during-baby-safety-month
https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education/Safety-Guides/Cribs-Kids-and-Babies/Baby-Safety-Month


#BabySigns #babysignlanguage #BabySafetyMonth #EarlyCommunication #ParentingTips #SignLanguageForBabies

Friday, September 17, 2021

How My Baby Signs® Journey Began

How My Baby Signs® Journey Began

"When I started the Baby Signs® program, I was in a dysfunctional marriage with three children under the age of 3 and a full-time in-home childcare provider.
 My son was 2 years and 7 months, and my twin daughters were 11 months. My son was going through his “terrible two’s” with some significant tantrums. I was overwhelmed with no self-esteem, no confidence, and no support system. I was desperate for anything to help. Parenting was a job I couldn’t fail. I couldn’t fail my childcare children.

I saw the Baby Signs® program on TV. I ordered the parent kit. I thought I’ve blown money on worse things, and it shouldn’t hurt anything so was worth a try. My expectations were VERY low as it seemed too good to be true. If the program did work, I doubted my ability to teach sign language when I had never signed before.

When the parent kit came, I did not start right away. It took a week or so for me to build up to it. I thought about the things we do every day. I started with signing eat, drink, bath, etc. Help and sorry were also among the first signs, I introduced.

When I started learning and teaching sign language, I realized how busy I was. Introducing sign language made me stop, make eye contact, and then say and sign. I didn’t realize how much I was talking at my children instead of talking to them. By taking that time to talk to them while signing, I actually saved time and energy as it was more effective.  That was one of my many light bulb moments.

I figured my two-year-old son would be my interpreter. He picked up on the signs immediately. He started effectively communicating his needs through sign language decreasing tantrums by over 50% in the first few days. When he saw how I understood the signs, he looked for other ways to communicate his needs if he did not know the sign. No tantrums!! It was AMAZING!! He then started “teaching” his sisters and our childcare children. When he communicated with other children, they responded in a different way than they did to me. I will never forget the first time I saw him walk up to a childcare child (approximately a year younger than him) and start signing to her. She was not only receptive to him, but she also started signing back. I stood there just watching them. I could have watched that all day.

One of my daughters picked up on signing within a few days. I remember her calling for me, I turned and looked at her. She signed to me, and I understood her. I do not remember what she signed, but I will never forget her light bulb moment when it just clicked. She was unstoppable after that. Watching her and her brother communicate and understand each other was another AMAZING moment. She also started communicating with our childcare children.

My other daughter seemed to understand the signs but hadn’t started signing back. I was rocking with her one day when she spontaneously signed “dad”. I asked her if she wanted to talk to her dad. She just looked at me and it was clear that was her light bulb moment. We called her dad and she got to hear his voice. After that, she was signing all the time. Seeing her and her siblings communicate effectively with each other through sign language was awe-inspiring. She also started communicating with our childcare children.

I had enjoyed doing in-home childcare before but adding sign language put it on a completely different level! I was learning so much from just observing them! I tried numerous times over the years to get pictures or video of what I was seeing. Every time they saw the camera, they stopped. I quit trying to get pictures or video as I didn’t ever want them to stop.

Shortly after we started signing, my husband moved out. Shortly after that, I noticed one of my daughters started having “spells”. The first one that definitively stuck out was when she was 12 months old. She was sitting at the table eating a cherry tomato. Cherry tomatoes were like candy to her. She had just put one in her mouth when her bottom jaw fell open and the tomato dropped out. Her reaction after that was what concerned me. She started crying and it was obvious she was scared. As her “spells” progressed, I needed more information as her pediatrician was not getting what I was saying. I am medically challenged but knew something wasn’t right. I knew I needed more information.

I started working with her through sign language. I trusted her and needed her to give me as much information as she could. She started signing “help” during her “spells”. That let me know when I needed to start documenting what she was doing and how she was acting. Her “spells” resembled tantrums at times. I knew they weren’t tantrums as she was telling me differently.

I learned quickly how easy it was for medical professionals to dismiss her signing “help” during her “spells”. They did not understand the power of a hearing child signing. At 19 months, she was finally seen by a pediatric neurologist. He was very skeptical at first but listened. He was very thorough questioning me for 45 minutes about what she was doing. Because she was able to sign when she was having “spells”, I had the answers I needed. My answers were consistent with her tests. She was diagnosed with Childhood Epilepsy having Complex Partial seizures. Her pediatric neurologist said that it is very rare that a child having Complex Partial seizures is seen at 19 months. Typically, they are in kindergarten or older with developmental and/or learning delays.

She was put on medication to control her seizures. She had regressed to the point where she had would spend most of her day in her exersaucer crying or just there. She stopped running, playing, walking unless it was necessary, etc. She rarely smiled or laughed.

As time went on before she was diagnosed, I spent a lot of time with her documenting and making sure she was okay. Signing gave me the tools to explain to my children and our childcare children what was going on. When they could see she was having issues, they played together and left us alone unless it was something that could not wait. Their level of understanding was far more than I ever expected.

There was one night that my daughter had a “spell” and appeared to stop breathing more than once. I was emotionally drained; I knew I wouldn’t be able to do CPR if needed. I believe that God doesn’t give you any more than you can handle. I prayed a lot before, but this time it was different. I didn’t want her to suffer anymore and if it was her time to go, I prayed to take her peacefully and show us how to get through. It was at that moment that I completely trusted God’s plan. God did not take her home that night and I am grateful for every moment since.

After her seizures were under control, she needed to relearn a lot of things. I sat down with my son and other daughter and explained to them that we needed to help her relearn. While I worked with her, she understood on a different level when her brother and sister worked with her. When her brother went to preschool, her sister would work with her, and encourage her. She didn’t get discouraged or frustrated, just kept encouraging her and working with her. The age and the level of understanding that was shown completely blew my mind! She quickly started to relearn and was active again. Her smile and laugh came back.

Five months after being put on medication, I was tucking her in bed. She looked different like something wasn’t right. She signed “help” and pointed to her throat. I asked her if it was hard to swallow. She nodded. Her throat was swelling shut. She had developed an allergic reaction to her medication. Because she was able to communicate what was happening, I was able to give her something to quickly reverse the allergic reaction. We avoided an ER visit among other things. She has been medication-free and seizure-free since.

She relearned everything and continued to progress. After 4-year-old preschool, there was a slight question by her teachers if she should go to Kindergarten Prep instead of kindergarten. I did not have any concerns as I saw how far she had come. I was confident that all of us working together, would be to get her where she needed to be to start kindergarten. She is now a junior in high school. To date, she has never had developmental or learning delays. She goes out for whatever sport she chooses.

My son is a freshman in college and my daughters are now juniors in high school and have received academic honors throughout their middle school and high school years. They work well with a variety of people and can communicate effectively. They are great teachers. The bond they have with each other is by far one of the best benefits! I could go on and on.

When I started using the Baby Signs® Program, I had no idea what it would do for me. My confidence and self-esteem kept building. The bond with my son and daughters continued to get stronger. I realized I didn’t have to have all the answers. They knew I was trying so they kept trying. I didn’t have to be perfect. My approach to parenting changed. When I didn’t know, I asked them for help. If they didn’t like what I was doing, we talked about it. I explained my side and they explained theirs. I asked them for a better solution. They didn’t always have one, but the power struggle was avoided. We worked together.

As a single parent, my children were with me almost all the time. Effective communication through sign language gave us the tools we needed to be able to go to the grocery store, Kmart, and occasionally to a restaurant. I needed everyone to be on the same page. I was typically pushing a cart with children and pulling a cart with our merchandise. We had very few incidences. We were able to attend different classes that were offered in our area and travel to see our relatives who lived hours away. We had options. Being able to go out with my children helped me cope with day-to-day life, but also start to heal with everything that had happened.

Things haven’t been perfect, but we’ve had the tools we needed to work through whatever came up. Our world has been shaken numerous times, but the foundation that was created is still there. We are there for each other.

The support I received from other instructors when my daughter was having issues still brings tears to my eyes. They understood the power of a hearing child signing and gave me much-needed encouragement. I can never repay them for that, but I can pay it forward.

Today, I have confidence, self-esteem and am grateful for a blessed life. Through our greatest struggles came our greatest blessings. I don’t even want to think how different our lives could have been if I hadn’t seen the Baby Signs® ad or ordered the Parent Kit. I will never underestimate the power of effective communication, spoken or signed."

~Heather Casey
Baby Signs® Independent Certified Instructor  

Download a free poster with the ASL sign for HELP. 






Watch this video and learn the ASL sign for HELP:


© 2008 Baby Signs Partnership. (www.BabySigns.com) 

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

The Benefits of the Baby Signs® Program for Military Families

The Benefits of the Baby Signs® Program for Military Families

by Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program


Although every family with very young children faces challenges, those faced by military families are particularly daunting. Here are just a few of the special situations that make their lives so stressful.
  • Deployment: The issue of “separation anxiety”—the emotional reaction young children have to a parent leaving them (even for a short time)—is magnified tenfold when a parent is deployed. Infants and toddlers have a hard time understanding why the separation is necessary and when it might end.
  • Increased Stress Levels: Military families are plagued by a wide variety of uncertainties—from wondering when the next move will be necessary to worrying about what might be happening to a deployed parent. These uncertainties give rise to high levels of stress for parents that make dealing with the demands of very young children especially challenging. The children, too, feel the stress, making them more likely to sleep poorly, act out, and cling to the remaining parent.
  • Reunification: Whenever a parent returns from being away for an extended period of time, adjustments are necessary on everyone’s part. Tempers can flare as routines are disrupted, wariness on the part of infants and toddlers toward the returning parent can be disappointing, and young children can feel resentful when the returning parent dominates the stay-at-home parent’s attention.
  • Injured Family Members: The painful truth is that not all parents return home as healthy (mentally or physically) as they were when they left. Dealing with such situations when there are very young children in the family poses special challenges. Of course, none of this comes as news to those of you living with these challenges! The good news is that the Baby Signs® Program, while not a perfect remedy, can make things a bit easier for those of you dealing with infants or toddlers. That’s why the Department of Defense continues to encourage our work with child care centers on military bases around the world.

How can signing with babies and toddlers before they can talk make life easier for military
families? First, let’s consider the proven benefits of the Baby Signs® Program as they apply to
any family. Signing with babies. . .


  • Reduces tears, tantrums, and frustration: Because they can use signs to communicate what they need, what they see, and even what they feel well before they have words, babies and toddlers are less likely to become upset or angry. Parents, of course, feel less frustrated, too! 
  • Builds trust between parent and baby: Because signing enables parents to meet their baby’s or toddler’s needs more quickly and effectively, children feel more secure and trusting.
  • Enables babies to share their worlds: Children of any age love being able to let parents know what they are excited about in the world around them—like butterflies, kittens, or airplanes overhead—and are pleased when parents respond with enthusiasm. Signs enable babies and toddlers to do so before they can use words. 
  • Helps babies express emotions constructively. Signs for emotions--like SAD, AFRAID, and ANGRY—help babies share with their parents (more precisely than crying does) what they are feeling, thereby enabling parents to be more effective in the comfort they provide. 
  • Strengthens the parent/infant bond: Quite simply, when people understand us, we feel connected to them. Babies and toddlers are the same. By helping them communicate with their parents before they can talk, signing helps babies and parents grow closer and more loving. 

So, how do these general benefits help military families cope with the specific challenges they
face? Let’s take those challenges one by one:

Deployment: These days, with Skype making communication from far away places easier than ever, signs enable babies to stay in touch with the absent parent in more rewarding ways than would be possible otherwise. Just think how much more connected a baby will feel to a parent who understands when the baby uses a sign and how thrilled the absent parent will be to enjoy a window into his/her baby’s mind despite the miles in between.

Increased Stress Levels: Look at the list of benefits again and you’ll see that there isn’t one among them that wouldn’t help make life easier and more pleasant—thereby lowering tension in the home. Babies and toddlers who sign cry less, are easier to please, feel better about themselves, and feel  more loving and secure. Quite simply, signs make life more fun for everyone.

Reunification: The irony is that having a parent away isn’t the only thing that causes stress; having him or her come home does so as well! For that reason, all the benefits listed above also help military families deal with reunification. In addition, the fact that the baby has been able to “talk” with the absent parent using signs while the parent was away (via Skype)—and that the parent already understands the baby’s “language”—increases the chance that the baby will feel connected to and trusting of the returning parent, thereby making adjustments easier.

Injured Parent: Obviously, dealing with an injured parent raises stress levels even higher. In situations like this, the fact that signs make the normal routines of daily life flow more smoothly is especially helpful. Signs also help substitute caregivers—who may be necessary if the injured parent is hospitalized—interpret the baby or toddler’s needs more easily. And finally, the feeling signs (SAD, AFRAID, and SCARED) can help parents explain the situation to the very young child in simple terms as well as giving the child a way to let parents know how she or he is feeling.

These are just some of the ways that signing can ease the burden of caring for infants and toddlers as military families struggle with the added challenges they face. It’s no wonder, then, in the words of Barbara Thompson, the Director of the Office of Family Policy/Children and Youth within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, that the DoD has “enthusiastically embraced the Baby Signs® Program.” Here at Baby Signs, we are trying hard to make it easy for you to do the same.
 
Visit www.babysigns.com for more information about Baby Signs® resources to help you and your baby enjoy all the benefits that signing can bring.   

© 2008 Baby Signs Partnership. (www.babysignstoo.com) 


Monday, November 13, 2017

The Baby Signs® Program: A Helpful Tool in Bilingual Settings

The Baby Signs® Program:  
A Helpful Tool in Bilingual Settings

By: Linda Acredolo, Ph.D. & Susan Goodwyn, Ph,.D.,
Co-Founders, Baby Signs, Inc.

  As more and more parents learn the value of exposing their children to second and even third languages early in life, the number of babies being raised in “bilingual homes” is rapidly increasing.  Just what does this mean? In many cases it means that one parent speaks one language to the child while the other parent speaks a second.  In other cases, both parents may speak the same language to the child while a trusted caregiver (grandmother or nanny) speaks another. 

  So, what happens if we add signing to the mix? Will it just add to the child’s confusion?

 The answer is a strong and resounding “No!”  The truth is that, no matter what form bilingual input takes, adding signing to the mix actually makes the child’s job easier, not harder.  Here’s why.

When children first start learning about language, they quite naturally look for one-to-one correspondences between words and the objects (or actions) they label. For example, babies in an English-only environment, upon hearing the word “milk” in the presence of white stuff in their bottle, will eventually learn to associate the two together:

CHILD:  “Hmmm....I get it! The white stuff in my bottle = ‘milk’“

However, life gets more complicated in a bilingual household.  In this case babies consistently hear two words in association with the white stuff in their bottle, a situation which can be very confusing.

CHILD:  “Hmmm….Sometimes I hear “milk,” sometimes “leche.” What’s going on?”

Clearly, what children hearing two languages need to figure out is that both words are equally important labels for milk. And that’s where signing comes to the rescue.  By adding a sign to the mix so that the same visual symbol (sign) accompanies both words (“milk” and “leche”), parents make the job of connecting the object with the meanings of both words much easier for babies. In other words, when the baby hears “leche” paired with sign and then also hears “milk” paired with the sign, the pieces fall into place:  

CHILD:  “Aha!  These words mean the same thing!   
=    ‘leche’    =   ‘milk’ 

In summary, rather than confusing your bilingual child, signs will help smooth the road to understanding and speaking both languages.

Of course, signing has another advantage in bilingual settings, especially in child care classrooms where teachers and families speak different languages: The signs provide a common language so that toddlers who are learning the family language can still make themselves understood. Just such a situation exists at the Center for Child and Family Studies at the University of California, Davis, where graduate students from all over the world routinely enroll their infants and toddlers. In the 18 years since the Baby Signs® Program was first introduced, teachers and parents alike have been amazed at how much more smoothly daily life in the classroom proceeds, with data specifically showing that the teachers are more responsive to the needs of the children.  In addition, the signs have enabled children who speak different languages to communicate with each other.  In one case, for example, a toddler from Israel and a toddler from Taiwan were observed reading a picture book together—with the first girl turning the pages and pointing at objects while the second girl made the appropriate signs!  

Bottom line? Signing is clearly a boon to children facing the challenge of hearing multiple languages, whether at home or in the classroom.

Visit www.babysigns.com for more information about Baby Signs® resources to help you and your baby enjoy all the benefits that signing can bring.   

© 2008 Baby Signs Partnership. (www.babysignstoo.com) 







Sunday, November 12, 2017

Linking the Baby Signs® Program and Literacy Development

Read All About It:

Linking the Baby Signs® Program and Literacy Development
By
Catherine Brown, M.A., CCC-SLP

The buzz word is literacy. All around we hear about the importance of literacy. Parents are told to read, read, read to their children – without much instruction on the “do’s and don’ts” of doing so. We hear about the “No Child Left Behind” program and how government funding these days usually means proving that your program relates to literacy development. We hear more and more about dyslexia and the hope that neuroscience will be able to identify new remedies. With all this emphasis on literacy, it seems particularly important to review the connection between literacy and the Baby Signs® Program.

Although we traditionally think of literacy as the ability to read, it is now recognized that the skills needed in the technologically advanced world that we live in go beyond reading. The National Institute for Literacy actually defines literacy much more broadly as “an individual’s ability to read, write, speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual, and in society.”  Somewhat more narrowly, the “No Child Left Behind Act” of 2001 defines reading skills as “a complex system of deriving meaning from print that requires all of the following:
The skills and knowledge to understand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are connected to print
The ability to decode unfamiliar words
The ability to read fluently
Sufficient background information and vocabulary to foster reading comprehension
The development of appropriate active strategies to construct meaning from print
The development and maintenance of a motivation to read.”

Whether defined broadly or narrowly, literacy is now recognized to start well before the school years. In fact, there is growing appreciation for what are now referred to as emergent literacy skills. These include a variety of behaviors that research has shown predict success in learning to read. And many of these, it turns out, are helped along by signing. Some examples:  

Verbal language skills 
Research shows that children who are strong in verbal language skills have an easier time learning to read. Reasons for this relationship include the following: Knowing lots of words helps children comprehend what is read, guess at words that are difficult to decode, explain problems they are having, and understand explanations and instructions teachers provide. And how does the Baby Signs® program figure in all this?  The NIH-supported research published by Drs. Acredolo and Goodwyn showed that infants exposed to signs during infancy had better receptive and expressive language vocabularies by the time they were two and three years old. In fact, the infants who learned to use signs as infants had verbal IQ scores that remained high well into the elementary school years.

Familiarity with print and enjoyment of books
Ask any Baby Signs® family and you are likely to hear that their children love books. The reason is because the ability to use signs enables babies to take an active role in book-reading. Instead of simply listening passively as their parents name things on the page, signers can provide the names themselves long before they would be able to do so with words. And the praise they receive in return makes them eager to keep exploring new books. In fact, parents even report that their toddlers sit down and read their books by signing to themselves!

Phonological Awareness
This term refers to recognition of the fact that words are comprised of separate sounds (or phonemes)that “cat,” for example, is made of “c” + “ah” + “t.”  Because individual letters stand for individual sounds, it’s easy to see why knowing that words are composed of separate sounds is important to learning to read. And one of the best ways to help children develop this awareness is through the use of rhymes. When a child becomes familiar with a rhyme (e.g., Jack and Jill when up the hill), he or she learns that words can differ in how they begin but be the same in how they end. This realization, by definition, involves recognizing that words are made up of individual sounds. Voila! Phonological awareness.

And what’s the role of the Baby Signs® Program in developing this skill?  One of the most popular ways that parents teach signs is through rhymes and songs, like Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy, Bitsy Spider, and the many songs and rhymes created specifically for the Baby Signs® Program. These rhymes and the rhythm that we expose children to while we are singing and signing help children develop this crucial emergent literacy skill. 



Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Late-Talking Toddlers

Late-Talking Toddlers: 
How the Baby Signs® Program Can Help
By
Catherine Brown, M.A., CCC-SLP

Speech-language pathologists refer to children as “late-talkers” when they are slower to develop verbal/expressive skills than their peers even though they have very good receptive (language comprehension) skills. This pattern distinguishes them from “language-impaired” children who have significant deficits in both language comprehension and production.

In contrast to language-impaired children, most late-talkers do eventually catch-up to their peers in language skills, often without intervention.  However, the frustration that late-talkers feel before they catch up can lead to negative interactions with others that leave lasting impressions.  For that reason, helping late-talkers overcome their problem as quickly as possible is in everybody’s best interest.

To find out if the Baby Signs® Program would help such children, I completed a Masters Thesis using a research design parallel to that used by Drs. Acredolo and Goodwyn in their NIH study.  The fifteen children in my study all fit the formal criteria for “late-talkers”—being significantly behind same-age peers in expressive vocabulary but not for receptive language. Of these fifteen families, five received training in the Baby Signs® Program, five received traditional training emphasizing verbal interaction only, and five received no intervention at all. 

Over the course of the 8-month study, all three groups of late-talkers were compared with two other groups of children: (a) children of the same age who were developing normally (Age-Matched), and (b) younger children who were at the same level of expressive vocabulary (Language-Matched) as the late-talkers. 

When comparing the expressive vocabularies of the groups four months after the study began, the results provided support for the utility of the Baby Signs®  Program as an intervention with late-talkers. Specifically, the signing group was the only group whose average expressive vocabulary score was no longer significantly behind their age-matched peers.  In contrast, the group experiencing the traditional verbal intervention and the group experiencing no intervention at all both remained significantly behind their same-aged peers with scores much closer to the younger, Language-Matched children at both the 4-month and 8-month follow-up.  

In addition to helping boost their expressive language skills, the availability of signs also helped the families in the signing group deal with frustration and worry about their slow-to-talk children.

Once these parents were able to see how much about language their children did know, they were reassured, and once the children were able to use signs to get their needs met without tantrums and tears, family life was better for everyone.  

In the years since completing my thesis project, I have used the Baby Signs®  Program with many children in my clinical practice who show early language delays. I continue to find it an invaluable tool for families. However, I want to emphasize that any parents who have concerns about their child’s language development, or any other aspect of development, should consult a speech-language pathologist, developmental specialist, or their pediatrician for professional advice. Every state has programs available to provide services for families who would like help or information.

An especially useful resource for parents specifically concerned about their child’s language development is the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). They have a wonderful brochure called “How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?” that includes a developmental chart with yes/no boxes at each age. It helps parents decide when the time has come to seek professional help. Not only does the chart indicate when parents should seek such help, it also provides information to help them find an appropriate professional.

To obtain a single copy of this brochure, visit www.asha.org or contact the ASHA Action Center at 1-800-638-8255 or email actioncenter@asha.org.



Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Keeping the Bough from Breaking: Signing and Attachment

Keeping the Bough from Breaking:
Signing and Attachment

By Linda Acredolo, Ph.D
The Baby Signs Partnership

What do you think is the optimal age for a child to be adopted?  If you’re like most people, your answer is “at birth.”  It just seems like common sense to us today. 

Unfortunately, however, for centuries of adopted children that was not the typical answer.  Even as late as the 1930s and 40s, well-known developmental psychologists argued that adoption at age 2 made the most sense—in order to ensure that the adoptive parents knew what they were getting!  What no one knew then, but we know now, is that by waiting until age 2, adopting families were quite likely to be getting a child whose future emotional development had been put at risk.  As hard as it is to believe today, no one thought it mattered what happened to a child during the first two years as long as his or her physical needs were taken care of. 

Recent research has drastically changed this early view of infancy.  We now know that a secure emotional bond with loving parents during infancy lays the foundation for future emotional development, including whether children view themselves as loveable, trust other people, and are capable of feeling empathy. Research has also provided clues as to what factors determine whether a child will develop a “secure” vs. “insecure” attachment with a parent. Specifically, we now know that the most important ingredients are sensitivity and responsiveness on the part of the parent—in other words, the ability to read the baby well (know what he or she needs) and the willingness to meet those needs in a timely fashion. 

The bottom line of the attachment relationship, in other words, is very sensible:  Children fall in love with those who meet their physical needs for food and warmth, comfort them when they are hurt, protect them when they are frightened, and, in general, make them feel respected, understood, and loved. 

And here, obviously, is where the Baby Signs® Program enters the picture.

  • Because signs make the task of “reading” the preverbal baby so much easier, they help parents provide the baby what he or she needs to feel secure. 
  • Second, parents who are intently watching for signs are automatically paying closer attention to whatever the baby does, thus increasing the chance that even non-sign signals will be detected. 
  • Third, because they reveal to parents how much smarter their baby is than he or she looks (after all, babies do drool a lot!), signs convince parents that there’s truly “somebody home in there,”  somebody who is capable of feeling loved and secure or anxious and rejected.  That leads to the understanding that it really matters what a parent does.
  • Finally, signs enable babies to share their worlds with their parents, thereby increasing the joy that each takes in the other’s company. 

For all these reasons, signing increases the probability of a secure attachment. That’s the formal way of saying (as we often do!) that the Baby Signs® Program helps forge bonds of love and affection that can last a lifetime.