How to Communicate Using Baby Sign Language

(This post originally appeared as an article in the June 2009 issue of giggle Magazine)

The physical act of speaking -speech- is an extremely complex task requiring fine motor control of over 100 muscles in your mouth, face, and neck.  Each word requires a different configuration of most of these muscles, so it’s no wonder the average child takes about 2 years to speak!   Baby sign language bridges this gap between your baby’s ability to understand the world and her ability to communicate to the world.  Just because she isn’t able to communicate with you verbally, it does not mean her brain isn’t ‘on’ and working.  With sign language she is able to use the larger muscles in her hands and arms to communicate with you until the fine motor muscles used for speech have become more fully developed.  By using baby sign language, you are taking advantage of your baby’s ability to learn and communicate even though she’s unable to verbalize any words yet.

There are many positive effects when you as a parent or caregiver are able to communicate effectively with your child from the earliest age. Using sign language with your infant or toddler allows you to begin communication many months ahead of normal ‘verbal’ communication.  You’re also able to reinforce what she learns by adopting positive interaction strategies such as following your child’s focus of interest, making eye contact, speaking slowly, and using key words. This means that one sign can quickly lead to two, two signs to four, four to eight, and so forth. Additionally, you will get many great benefits by communicating earlier with your baby such as:

• Establishing a strong bond with your child early on.

• Greatly reducing or eliminating tantrums and frustrations because your baby is able to communicate her wants and needs clearly (e.g. You know she wants ‘JUICE’ rather than ‘MILK’).

• Learning to read at an earlier age. Research clearly shows that ‘typical’ babies who sign also learn to read early, speak sooner, have larger vocabularies, and higher IQs.

A good time to start introducing sign to your baby is when she is about 6-8 months old.  I recommend using American Sign Language (ASL) because everyone who comes into contact with your child can use the same signs. ASL is a language in its own right, so any signs used by your child can then be understood by those who know that sign system. What this really means for your child is that people will be less likely to get confused about the meaning of a particular sign so long as they are familiar with ASL.

For your baby’s first sign, ‘MILK’ is a great one to start with.  The sign ‘MILK’ is made by opening and closing your hand (e.g. imagine milking a cow) and is the perfect introductory sign because it’s an easy sign for your baby to make. Also, since babies drink milk so often during the first year of life, you are provided with numerous teachable moments every single day.

Remember these 3 keys to success when introducing your first sign:

• Be consistent – use the sign frequently throughout the day, whenever a teachable moment presents itself

• Never sign in silence – always say the word along with doing the sign (i.e. say “milk” and sign the word ‘MILK’ together)

• Reinforce the meaning of the sign (i.e. give your baby the goods (milk!) immediately after saying/signing the word)

There are numerous books and resources available to learn baby sign language that can be found by doing a simple internet search.  I recommend books that specifically use ASL signs and have clear pictures with descriptions on how to make each sign (such as Teach Your Tot to Sign: A Parents’ Guide to American Sign Language, by Stacy A. Thompson).  I also recommend using songs with sign language as a fun way to learn new signs (such as “Pick Me Up! Fun Songs for Learning Signs, by Sign 2 Me) and using signs while looking at picture books (such as the Priddy books).

Personally, baby sign has been an extremely rewarding experience for me with each of my daughters (3 years and 1 year old).  It has opened a line of communication between us that I never imagined possible at such an early age.  My goal is for parents and caregivers to learn about the benefits and experience the joy of using sign language with their babies.