If you teach pre-verbal infants sign language, how well do they make the crossover to speech?

Question

Do they learn speech:

faster- because after already communicating in sign language for some time, they have more confidence that they will be understood- as well- by learning sign language early, the neurons have made more connections which, in turn, enables them to learn at a faster rate?

or slower, because they rely on the sign language, instead of speech, because they know that the signs work and that it may be a control issue with some children over their parents (like, for instance, potty training can be a control issue).

Also, do you have personal experience with this? And what is the best way to assist in the crossover?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I have seen a cfew people do this and I wish I would have done it with mine- your first scenario- faster - is correct. One thing I noticed my friends doing is never just using the sign - they always say the word they are signing and talk to their child. Repeating the sounds your child makes back to them is good also- not like baby talk. If they start saying baba for bottle, then you can say baba back to them then say bottle- do you want your bottle. sign the word and say it properly.
From the things i have seen with language and understanding in babies that learn sign language, I really wish I had known about it when mine were babies!

Answer 2

I think communication is the most important thing, so if signing works for you and your baby, it's great! If your child happens to start speaking a few months later than "normal", so what? He's already been communicating in other ways, and he'll catch up. It's the same for children who live in bilingual households -- many of them start speaking later, but once they do start, they catch up quickly (and use two languages!).

My personal experience is that it's very beneficial to teach at least a few basic signs. My older daughter learned "more" and "all done" right around one year of age. (I didn't start signing with her until a couple months before that.) And once she learned those signs, she made up her own signs for lots of things that she physically was not able to say yet. She didn't say her first real words ("up" and "dog") until about 13.5 months. She's now 3 years old and talks non-stop in very long sentences with a great vocabulary. Her physical skills have always been a little behind her mental capabilities, and I think it was very helpful for her to be able to communicate before she could form the words in her mouth.

My younger daughter learned "more" and "all done", too, but she never made up any of her own signs. She's always been more physical and not afraid to try new things. This includes her willingness and ability to mimic words that we say in a more understandable way than her sister could at the same age. Because of that, she didn't need to rely on signs to communicate much (other than pointing). She's now 21 months old and uses a ton of individual words, but isn't yet speaking in many phrases or sentences.

I honestly believe that signing isn't necessary, but it can only help your child to communicate better. I cannot believe that it would hinder his development in any way.

Answer 3

My daughter is learning normal speach quite well. When teaching the sign language i always used the word(s) associated with the sign at the same time. I continued to do that. At age 20 months my daughter signs and says the words at the same time. I'm going to keep encouraging this because it may become useful one day for her.

Good Luck! I think its a great idea as it helps us as parents communicate with our children earlier and they will grow.

Answer 4

I'm a Infant Toddler Trainer for Child Care Centers and most early research shows that it actually increases their language development. You should ALWAYS pair the sign with the word. You shouldn't just become silent and only use signs that way there is no crossover as you call it.

Check out this site
http://www.babysigns.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/institute.research/research.cfm

Answer 5

A friend of mine did sign language for her son. He is 5 years old now. Although it was cute, he did start talking later than most kids. His Mother had him assessed to make sure he was developing normally. Although there is no concrete evidence that the signing caused him to start talking later, she's convinced that it was because of signing. She did not do it with her next child. Because of this I have decided not to do it with my own daughter now 11 months old.

Answer 6

In my experience, the verbal word usually follwed up the sign fairly quickly.

Answer 7

A buddy of mine did this, and it REALLY slowed down his daughters speech development. She didn't start really talking understandably until she was almost 4 because she could sign almost everything she needed.

Answer 8

I saw a program on this. Studies show that it is slower because they rely on signing more often.

Answer 9

I taught my son to use signing to say the word please. He now says please and still signs it. We tried other words, but hw wouldn't use them. I think that if you associate the sign with a word, they pick up the words a little faster.