FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Question 1: Does signing with babies delay their speech development?

Research clearly indicates that babies who sign tend to have a stronger command of verbal language and also begin speaking at an earlier age than babies who don't sign.

I have had countless parents and caregivers confirm these findings with their personal experiences and observations.

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Question 2: Are the SIGN with your BABY materials necessary?

Answer:
Many years went into developing the SIGN with your BABY materials so that parents would have success. The process of correctly using signs with your baby is as important if not more important than the concept. I have observed many parents who added stress to their lives when attempting to communicate with their infants, so I developed the materials to offer parents an easy step by step method to enhance the communication they share with their babies and reduce stress caused by the inability to have that wonderful communication.

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Question 3: Why is the SIGN with your BABY program based on American Sign Language?

Answer:
Since the birth of the United States, ASL has been evolving to become the accepted sign language in North America. It is now standardized throughout the United States and Canada. The advantage of using a standardized sign language as a foundation is that most people who share knowledge of that language will be able to identify and respond to the signs that your baby knows. ASL structure is compatible with the nature of language development in infants. One sign can relate an entire concept. Young children begin communicating using one-word sentences (or in this case, one-gesture sentences) to express complete thoughts or needs. ASL signs are also very iconic, in many cases resembling the objects or activities they represent. SIGN with your BABY provides a foundation for continued learning of ASL in later years.

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Question 4: Was this program developed for deaf children?

Answer:
No, my SIGN with your BABY program and products were developed for hearing babies and hearing parents. However, because the program is based on American Sign Language, it is also useful with deaf children. Many professionals are recommending it for use with special needs children.

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Question 5: What is the optimal age to introduce signs to our baby?

Answer:
I suggest you begin learning the signs anytime. Your baby will be ready to learn signs around the eighth month. The SIGN with your BABY products will guide you through this process. Starting earlier will not hurt the process but it may frustrate you if your baby does not produce any signs in the first few weeks. A baby needs to develop memory, dexterity, and cognition adequate for recognizing, retaining, and producing signs. It is never too late to start.

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Question 6: How long will it take for our baby to produce the signs?

Answer:
That depends on several factors that I discuss in detail in the book: how old your child is, how frequently the caregivers use the signs, and how interested the child is in communicating. Some parents get results in a few days and others wait several weeks. Consistently using a few signs on a daily basis is the key to making this program work.

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Question 7: Why is our baby not signing even after we have been using signs for a while?

Answer:
I do not advocate teaching signs to babies. I advocate augmenting your spoken language with signs giving your baby the opportunity to draw from their inner resources. Babies should observe the physical dimension signs give to language and then produce the signs when they are ready to express themselves. Force feeding signs or housing grand expectations by the parents are counterproductive to the communication process. Over-anticipating your child's needs will also prevent your child from drawing on his/her inner resources to attempt to communicate with the you. Allow a few seconds or moments for your child to attempt to communicate with you after you have followed the correct process and age-appropriate timetable for signing.

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Question 8: What scientific research supports the idea of signing with babies?

Answer:
The first SIGN with your BABY research was conducted in 1987 as part of my Masters Program at Alaska Pacific University. The process of learning and teaching signs was part of my masters and doctoral program. Additional Research in this area is continuing today at Ohio State University, see the following:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/1999/1/SIGNLANG.OSU.html.

A recently released longitudinal study was conducted at the University of California at Davis by Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn. The study, which followed babies through their eighth year, indicated that signing with babies has many benefits including a strengthened parent-child bond, increased interest in books, enhanced verbal language development and higher IQs.

Question 9: What if my childcare provider doesn't use signs?

Answer:
It is important to tell your childcare providers which signs your baby knows so that they may help to meet your baby's needs. Most childcare providers embrace the idea of communicating with babies through signs when they discover that signing greatly reduces the frustration levels for both the babies and themselves. I'm getting a lot of positive feedback from childcare providers who are using SIGN with your BABY. They've indicated that the reduced frustration has resulted in an overall reduction in the noise levels within their classrooms. In many cases it has also reduced or eliminated the biting problems.

It may help to print the information at the following link and give this to your childcare provider: http://www.newswise.com/articles/1999/1/SIGNLANG.OSU.html.

This article contains information regarding signing with preverbal babies in a classroom environment.

Please also tell your childcare provider to visit the 'Signing in Childcare' section of the SIGN with your BABY Web site at http://www.sign2me.com/daycare/main.htm to obtain more information on teaching the SIGN with your BABY program in a childcare environment.

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Question 10: Can we introduce signing in a bilingual environment?

Answer:
Many families use signs as the common denominator for teaching several spoken languages. Initially, as speech begins, your baby may mix various words from different languages together in one sentence. Research indicates that eventually young children in these environments usually straighten everything out and become fluent in several languages. It is very unlikely that you will overwhelm your child if you blend the languages within the fiber of your day using experiential learning and teaching. Make the languages part of everything you do.

-- Top --

Question 11: Are the SIGN with your BABY materials being developed in languages other than English and ASL?

Answer:
The only version other than ASL that's available at the moment is the UK Edition of SIGN with your BABY. We are currently working on other versions. Check our Web site for updates.

-- Top --

Question 1: Does signing with babies delay their speech development?

Answer:

Research clearly indicates that babies who sign tend to have a stronger command of verbal language and also begin speaking at an earlier age than babies who don't sign.

I have had countless parents and caregivers confirm these findings with their personal experiences and observations.

-- Top --

Question 2: Are the SIGN with your BABY materials necessary?

Answer:
Many years went into developing the SIGN with your BABY materials so that parents would have success. The process of correctly using signs with your baby is as important if not more important than the concept. I have observed many parents who added stress to their lives when attempting to communicate with their infants, so I developed the materials to offer parents an easy step by step method to enhance the communication they share with their babies and reduce stress caused by the inability to have that wonderful communication.

-- Top --

Question 3: Why is the SIGN with your BABY program based on American Sign Language?

Answer:
Since the birth of the United States, ASL has been evolving to become the accepted sign language in North America. It is now standardized throughout the United States and Canada. The advantage of using a standardized sign language as a foundation is that most people who share knowledge of that language will be able to identify and respond to the signs that your baby knows. ASL structure is compatible with the nature of language development in infants. One sign can relate an entire concept. Young children begin communicating using one-word sentences (or in this case, one-gesture sentences) to express complete thoughts or needs. ASL signs are also very iconic, in many cases resembling the objects or activities they represent. SIGN with your BABY provides a foundation for continued learning of ASL in later years.

-- Top --

Question 4: Was this program developed for deaf children?

Answer:
No, my SIGN with your BABY program and products were developed for hearing babies and hearing parents. However, because the program is based on American Sign Language, it is also useful with deaf children. Many professionals are recommending it for use with special needs children.

-- Top --

Question 5: What is the optimal age to introduce signs to our baby?

Answer:
I suggest you begin learning the signs anytime. Your baby will be ready to learn signs around the eighth month. The SIGN with your BABY products will guide you through this process. Starting earlier will not hurt the process but it may frustrate you if your baby does not produce any signs in the first few weeks. A baby needs to develop memory, dexterity, and cognition adequate for recognizing, retaining, and producing signs. It is never too late to start.

-- Top --

Question 6: How long will it take for our baby to produce the signs?

Answer:
That depends on several factors that I discuss in detail in the book: how old your child is, how frequently the caregivers use the signs, and how interested the child is in communicating. Some parents get results in a few days and others wait several weeks. Consistently using a few signs on a daily basis is the key to making this program work.

-- Top --

Question 7: Why is our baby not signing even after we have been using signs for a while?

Answer:
I do not advocate teaching signs to babies. I advocate augmenting your spoken language with signs giving your baby the opportunity to draw from their inner resources. Babies should observe the physical dimension signs give to language and then produce the signs when they are ready to express themselves. Force feeding signs or housing grand expectations by the parents are counterproductive to the communication process. Over-anticipating your child's needs will also prevent your child from drawing on his/her inner resources to attempt to communicate with the you. Allow a few seconds or moments for your child to attempt to communicate with you after you have followed the correct process and age-appropriate timetable for signing.

-- Top --

Question 8: What scientific research supports the idea of signing with babies?

Answer:
The first SIGN with your BABY research was conducted in 1987 as part of my Masters Program at Alaska Pacific University. The process of learning and teaching signs was part of my masters and doctoral program. Additional Research in this area is continuing today at Ohio State University, see the following:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/1999/1/SIGNLANG.OSU.html.

A recently released longitudinal study was conducted at the University of California at Davis by Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn. The study, which followed babies through their eighth year, indicated that signing with babies has many benefits including a strengthened parent-child bond, increased interest in books, enhanced verbal language development and higher IQs.

Question 9: What if my childcare provider doesn't use signs?

Answer:
It is important to tell your childcare providers which signs your baby knows so that they may help to meet your baby's needs. Most childcare providers embrace the idea of communicating with babies through signs when they discover that signing greatly reduces the frustration levels for both the babies and themselves. I'm getting a lot of positive feedback from childcare providers who are using SIGN with your BABY. They've indicated that the reduced frustration has resulted in an overall reduction in the noise levels within their classrooms. In many cases it has also reduced or eliminated the biting problems.

It may help to print the information at the following link and give this to your childcare provider: http://www.newswise.com/articles/1999/1/SIGNLANG.OSU.html.

This article contains information regarding signing with preverbal babies in a classroom environment.

Please also tell your childcare provider to visit the 'Signing in Childcare' section of the SIGN with your BABY Web site at http://www.sign2me.com/daycare/main.htm to obtain more information on teaching the SIGN with your BABY program in a childcare environment.

-- Top --

Question 10: Can we introduce signing in a bilingual environment?

Answer:
Many families use signs as the common denominator for teaching several spoken languages. Initially, as speech begins, your baby may mix various words from different languages together in one sentence. Research indicates that eventually young children in these environments usually straighten everything out and become fluent in several languages. It is very unlikely that you will overwhelm your child if you blend the languages within the fiber of your day using experiential learning and teaching. Make the languages part of everything you do.

-- Top --

Question 11: Are the SIGN with your BABY materials being developed in languages other than English and ASL?

Answer:
The only version other than ASL that's available at the moment is the UK Edition of SIGN with your BABY. We are currently working on other versions. Check our Web site for updates.

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