8 Key Tips for Successfully Teaching Your Baby to Sign

1.  Always say the word and sign the word together.

By saying the word as you sign it, you are providing another avenue (auditory) for your baby to learn and understand the word or concept.

2.  Sign the one most important word out of the sentence or phrase you are speaking, and repeat it 2-3 times if possible.

Initially when you are signing, you want to keep it simple.  You should choose the most important word to sign from a phrase or sentence you are speaking.  When you do this, you are highlighting one particular word out of a phrase and slowing down your speech rate, making it easier for your baby to understand this word and grow his vocabulary.  For example, if you are asking your baby “Do you want some milk?” you would say this but only use the sign ‘MILK’ when you say the word “milk” at the end.

You also should try to say and sign the word 2-3 times to reinforce the connection between the word, sign, and object.  Still using the above example, you might say “Do you want some milk?  Yes you do want some milk!  You are thirsty for milk.”  As you can see, you have maximized this opportunity by speaking, signing, and showing the object three times.

3.  Always ’speak’ for your baby when he does the sign.

You should always say the word for what your baby has just signed.  Essentially you are speaking for your baby until he is able to speak for himself!

4.  Give your baby the goods (milk, cracker, toy, point to the picture) immediately after saying and signing the word.

The closer you are able to present the word, sign, and object together the more quickly he will start to associate them together and learn the concept.

5.  Look for small attempts at communication (sign or verbal) and validate them by signing and saying the word again.

Your baby is always trying to communicate with you.  Watch for hand and arm movements and listen for sounds your baby is making.  For example, your baby may be eating food and initially clasp his hands together for the sign “more”.  Since you were paying attention, you can say and sign “More!  Yes, you want more!” again.  This lets him know that you were paying attention to his attempt to communicate with you, and reinforces this attempt.  He is much more likely to do it again since he got a positive response from you (and more food too!).  All babies initially make approximations of signs and with time and increased muscle control, become more accurate.

6.  Give lots of kisses, smiles, and encouragement for any attempt at communication.

This is the easiest tip of all!  Signing should be fun and rewarding for both you and your baby.  When done in a positive way, your baby is encouraged to sign and will want to please you.  Do not ever force a baby to do a sign if he doesn’t want to.

7.  Continue to say and do the correct sign for your baby to reinforce communication.

Babies do not usually make signs correctly to begin with.  For example, your baby’s sign for “more” might start out as a clasp of two hands together, then change to a clap with open hands, then change to one hand using the “flat o” handshape while the other hand remains open, and then finally to using the “flat o” handshape with both hands and make the sign properly.  The same thing happens with speech.  Initially your baby might say “aaa” for ball, then “baaa”, and eventually say it correctly “ball”.  This process is normal, and just like you would continue to say the correct word “ball” for your baby while speaking, you should continue to use the correct sign while signing.  With a proper model, your baby’s sign and speech approximations will become accurate.

8.  Consistency, consistency, consistency.

You must be consistent with using signs each day, and across time.  Only through multiple exposures will your baby be able to learn the new sign and word you are teaching him.  Just like you wouldn’t expect your baby to know how to swim after only a couple lessons, you can’t expect him to learn a sign after seeing it once or twice.  As with swimming lessons, it is only after going all summer long for several years can a person become a decent swimmer.  The same applies to learning to sign.  Consistency is the key.

What is Multisensory Learning (or AVK)?

Multisensory learning happens when more than one sense is used to acquire and retain information.  Learning is typically categorized into three modes or types: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic.

• Auditory learners acquire information best when it is presented verbally- by listening. They succeed best when directions are read aloud, by listening to and giving speeches, and when information is presented and requested verbally.
• Visual learners acquire information best when it is presented visually- by seeing. They succeed best when directions are written, by writing things down, and when information is presented in pictures, movies, diagrams and charts.
• Kinesthetic learners acquire information best when it is presented in a way that can be touched and experienced- hands-on. They succeed best by participating in field trips, science labs, using manipulatives (blocks, felt, props), and by being actively involved in some type of activity.

Every person has a different learning style with one mode usually a strength, but we all usually learn best when information is presented using a combination of all three modes called Auditory-Visual-Kinesthetic (AVK) learning.

Sign language is not only a beautiful language, but a perfect complement to teaching children in a multisensory way because:

• The auditory aspect of sign is when you say the word along with the sign. Of course, people who are deaf do not necessarily speak when they sign. But when using sign language with hearing children, using your voice along with the sign reinforces the sign through the auditory avenue.
• The visual aspect of sign allows for words and concepts to be represented and discussed in a more tangible way with children. For example, the concept of wind. Wind is invisible, so how do you get this concept across to a child? With sign language, your hands provide a visual representation of wind which makes the invisible visible.
• The kinesthetic aspect of sign is when the child makes the sign. Feeling how the sign is made creates additional avenues in the brain to connect the word with the concept.

By combining the auditory-visual-kinesthetic (AVK) aspects of sign language, you are giving your child three avenues to understand, remember, and recall information.  Once older, you will be able to determine which learning style (auditory, visual, or kinesthetic) is your child’s strength and can use that to maximize his potential.

Multisensory learning is especially useful for children diagnosed with a learning disability.  While commonly misunderstood, children with learning disabilities are actually of average intelligence -a requirement to qualify for the disorder.  These children just have a processing deficit that interferes with their learning.  By presenting information in a multisensory way, it greatly assists children with acquiring and retaining information, whether diagnosed with a learning disorder or not.

While sign language is not the only way to present information in a multisensory way, I believe it is an excellent starting point for babies and toddlers learning the foundation of language and for students who have a learning disability.

What Baby Signs Should I Do Next: Life After ‘MILK’

Your baby will likely be engaging more in the environment around her, and this provides the perfect opportunity to introduce new signs.  Food, toys, pets are all great places to start. With my two daughters, the signs they learned unfolded something like this:

• MILK
• FOOD/EAT
• HI
• BYE-BYE
• MORE
• ALL-DONE
• UP
• DOWN
• THIRSTY (I found this sign to be easier to do than ‘DRINK’)
• Foods such as CRACKER, CHEESE, WATER, JUICE, APPLE, COOKIE
• THANK-YOU
• PLEASE
• Animals such as DOG (puppy), CAT (kitty), COW, HORSE
• BATH
• DIAPER
• BALL
• BABY
• BOOK

For example, I taught ‘MORE’ by doing the sign each time before I gave her a bite of food.  After doing this for about a week or two, I helped her put her hands together and said “more” while doing it.  I then gave her a bite of food.  Soon after that she began doing the sign by herself and I would say “more” for her and then give her more food.

I taught ‘ALL-DONE’ by doing it at the end of mealtime, bathtime, changing diapers, car rides…or any daily routine in our house.

You will find that after learning only a few signs your baby will begin to pick up signs more quickly.  I believe it is because she has learned to watch your hands for signs, knows that what you do with your hands means something, and knows she can copy what you do in order to communicate.  She is able to make the connection between the sign and concept/object more rapidly and it just snowballs from there.

The introduction of signs will vary for each family depending on the type of foods you eat, the animals you encounter, and your daily routine but this should provide you with a good starting point.  You will be guided by your baby as to her interests and what her life revolves around, so I encourage you to use signs that will be most helpful and useful for you.

Have questions?  Please email me at Karianne@earlybirdeducation.net

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.