If you teach your child ASL (american sign language) as a baby could it prolong them from talking????

Question

I ask this because it seems like my 3 older children said more words at age 2 then my 2 year old says and we did start teaching her ASL. we diddnt do that with the three older ones.

Answer 1

Your 4th child is the luckiest of them all, not only does she sign, (So does my 2 year old) but she has 3 older siblings that probably do a lot of talking for her. Most children with many siblings say less, they do not need to. When it is snack time in your house and the the older ones ask for a snack, they most likely all line up...that is how it works in my house...If I give to one, I then go around and ask each of them or just hand to the rest of the kids. Why speak? Some kids also just are later talkers than others...my middle son did not speak until he was 3 and 1/2, but when he did the things he knew far surpassed what we thought he knew. Your daughrer will be fine as long as you keep asking her questions and encouraging her to do both sign and speaking. Keep up the good work as it is hard to find good parents out there these days.

Answer 2

Teaching your child some simple signs will NOT cause a delay in verbal language. There have been many studies done in this area. Using sign language actually promotes communication and helps to reduce frustration b/c a child's motor skills of hands are more developed that the very fine motor skills needed for verbal speech. Think about how precise and small the movements of the tongue, lips and jaw are to produce different sounds which are combined to make words. It's a lot of work!! Another reason teaching sign language won't inhibit verbal speech is that most parents are not fluent in sign. You are just teaching a few words/phrases to get immediate wants/needs met. There are some theories on language development that younger children don't speak as early as the older sibs b/c they don't have to speak as early as the older sibs. The older sibs will speak for the baby. However, if you have ANY concerns, get your child evaluated by a speech language pathologist. He or she can let you know how your' child's speech development is.

Answer 3

It might, just because she already has a way to communicate with you, so she does not have to talk. For some children (like my son) it helped give them the power to communicate so that he would start talking. My son did not say much more than Momma, Dada, and firetruck until he was almost three years old. He is the youngest with two VERY talkative siblings. He could not get a word in because they talked SO much. This could be a similar case with your daughter.
ASL is a very complex language, yet the way it is set up makes it very easy for young children to understand. Your daughter knowing ASL now and when she gets older can only be beneficial for her and for others.

Answer 4

I am sure it depends on the child. With my oldest son I started signing with him when he was a newborn, I would always say the word at the the same time so not only did he see the sign, he heard the word. He was talking before most children were talking and by 14 months old speaking in 3-5 word sentances plus signing.

Answer 5

The child may be less inclined to use verbal words because she is already communicating so well with ASL. The words will come. The advantages of ASL outweigh the slight delay in spoken words. The child is better adjusted, can communicate more efficiently, and is less likely to become frustrated or angry when they can't find the right words to express themselves.

Answer 6

Not at all, in fact it will actually help. When they get mad, instead of throwing a tantrum, they will actually do it all in sign language and fluster their hands. I babysit a downsyndrom child....hes 2 and they found that the only reason he cant talk is because he has fluid in his ears. To him everything sounds like hes underwater. But because I can sign to him, you can tell he really does understand, and comprehend, and wants to talk...he just doesn't know how because he cant properly hear the words, therefore mimic the sounds of the words.

Did this help at all?

Answer 7

You will get mixed opinions on this,but I think it can be good and bad.
Good that the child will be able to talk to those who cannot talk and if for some reason you child is unable to speak verbally such as throat surgery or a sore throat,it will still be able to communicate with someone.
On the other hand,your child may not want to learn to talk verbally or will be slower to learn to say new words.
You will need to get the child to speak the word as well as to sign it at the same time.

Answer 8

No. I don't think so. I taught my dd a few signs when she was really young. She started talking in two word sentences when she was about 17 months old-and she hasn't shut up since!!!(She's 4.5). My son is one and he also knows a few signs, and he says words and speaks paragraphs of gibberish. I just think every child is different and will talk more when they are ready. Don't sweat it!

Answer 9

i don't think so. i think it just helps them communicate better when they can't talk, but they'll communicate with words when they learn. i didn't do asl with any of my kids, but my second born didn't talk until about 2-2.5 years old. if they feel they don't need to use their words they won't. i used to pretend that i couldn't understand what my daughter wanted (even tho i did) and she eventually started to talk because she wasn't getting the things she was asking for! it sounds mean, but it worked!

Answer 10

I've heard it can but I didn't teach my son that and at two he isn't talking anywhere close to what my first born was. Part of it could be that your older ones talk for her and she doesn't need to talk. I have to tell mine to use his words, and he has made some improvement if you are really worried have your her check.