SIGN with your BABY®
SIGN with your BABY is revolutionizing the way adults view and interact with preverbal babies. Perhaps for the first time in history, infants and toddlers are able to express their wants, needs, and observations in a manner that is clearly understood by their adult allies. Recent research, coupled with the experiences of parents and childcare professionals, is confirming that using ASL signs offers a host of significant benefits.
When Joseph Garcia began working as an Interpreter in the late 1970's, he noticed that hearing babies of deaf parents could communicate their needs and desires at a much earlier age than children of hearing parents. Joseph began to research the use of American Sign Language with hearing babies of hearing parents at Alaska Pacific University in 1987. The results were extraordinary. His research showed that hearing babies who are exposed to signs regularly and consistently at six to seven months of age can begin expressive communication by their eighth or ninth month. This process helps to accelerate the acquisition of verbal language as well.
As a result, Joseph began developing a practical system for teaching the process to parents, a program that first reached store shelves in 1999 in the form of the SIGN with your BABY® Complete Learning Kit. Since then, hundreds of thousands of parents and caregivers have successfully used this program to establish two-way communication, improve daily interactions, and strengthen relationships with their children.
Scientific research is revealing that a baby can understand and express much more than what was previously thought. Consider the fact that hearing babies can understand spoken words early in life, though spoken words are frequently more abstract than signed words. The sounds "m" and "ah" have no inherent meaning but, when combined to form the word "mama", babies quickly learn to associate this symbol with the nice woman who feeds and takes care of them! To some degree, all words and signs are abstract symbols. If we consistently use the word "mama" in context, most babies will learn to understand what this symbol means. If we also use the sign for "mama" whenever we say that word, babies will come to understand and relate this symbol as well.
Incorporating signs into your daily routine does not require fluency in American Sign Language. Rather, it teaches that even a few simple gestures can make a big difference in empowering and meeting the needs of a child. Parents and caregivers should start slowly by introducing several ASL signs that represent ideas babies can understand, like "more", "eat", and "milk". When babies are able to replace some of the screaming, whining, and crying with a few simple hand gestures, it can dramatically improve their relationships with caregivers.
With each day, more and more people are coming to recognize the power of signing as it changes the way they view and interact with preverbal children. We invite you to visit the following links for more information about the growing community of parents, educators, and professionals who embrace the benefits of signing with babies.