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Mama, Papa, Please Change My Diaper (in ASL)
by about.com |
Is there anything cuter than seeing a little baby using sign language? It is more than just cute though -- researchers have found that the use of sign language with babies does help to improve their language learning and IQs. So more and more parents are using sign language with their infants, whether they are hearing or deaf.
It has long been known by parents of deaf children and deaf parents of hearing children, that young babies can learn to sign and communicate in basic ways before they learn to talk. What is new is the type of sign language often being promoted to hearing parents of hearing babies - it is not the true American Sign Language (ASL). Objections to this have been expressed by some people in the deaf community. |
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Is there anything cuter than seeing a little baby using sign language? It is more than just cute though -- researchers have found that the use of sign language with babies does help to improve their language learning and IQs. So more and more parents are using sign language with their infants, whether they are hearing or deaf.
It has long been known by parents of deaf children and deaf parents of hearing children, that young babies can learn to sign and communicate in basic ways before they learn to talk. What is new is the type of sign language often being promoted to hearing parents of hearing babies - it is not the true American Sign Language (ASL). Objections to this have been expressed by some people in the deaf community.
Baby Signing Does Not Hurt Speech Development
One of the best things about this trend being embraced by parents of nondeaf children, is that the research has clearly demonstrated that the use of sign language does not mean that a child will not learn to talk. For years, the deaf community's advocates of ASL had to face the argument that if parents used sign language with their deaf children, the children would not learn to talk. Even today, some parents of deaf children with cochlear implants are told not to use sign language so that their children will maximize the use of sound for communication.
Baby Signing Does Have Educational Benefits
Several articles have been published on the use of sign language with babies. For example, a USA Today (July 5, 2000) article reported on the work of two researchers who had done a study involving two groups of children, one group that was taught baby signing and another group that was not. The researchers found that eight-year-olds who had learned a simple form of baby sign language using invented signs, did better on IQ tests than comparable children who had not learned baby sign language.
Babies Can Use Real American Sign Language
While anything that encourages the acceptance of sign language for communication is welcome, there is no need for parents to rely on a different form of sign language when there is plenty of video and book material available for learning American Sign Language. See Our Sponsored Links. |
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