The Benefits of Baby Sign Language Extend Way

Baby Sign Language is a communication method for use with hearing infants and toddlers before they can speak. It is a simplified version of sign language designed to be easy enough for baby's to spend from 6 months of age. The child characters are often borrowed or modified from the traditional sign language. These baby signs are based on gestures that symbolize the story or meaning of a word and are designed so they can be understood even if you do not know any sign language at all. Baby Sign Language can be taught from birth, although most children have the necessary hand-eye coordination to start signing back to their parents and relatives at the age of 6 months. Since most children do not start talking until they are between 9 - 12 months old, Baby Sign Language gives the child a significant lead in two-way communication. This milestone may seem to be a slight advantage to start with, but research has shown that this little benefit flowing through to have significant developmental consequences later in life.

NIH Funded Baby Sign Language experimental studies

Baby Sign Language is not a new concept, although it still get a lot of media attention worldwide. The first Baby Sign Language studies were conducted as early as the 1989th One of the most reputable and a frequently referenced experimental study is a National Institute of Health (NIH) funded study by Dr. Linda Airedale and Susan Goodwin. This study was designed to determine whether the benefits of baby sign language. The aim was to determine whether Baby Sign Language would delay speech development in children. The children recruited for the study were assigned into two groups: the first group consisted of children who use Baby Sign Language and the second group consisted of children who did not. The children were recruited for the study of eleven months of age. Your speech and language development was followed until they reached three years.

The study assessed regularly speech and language development of children. Language assessments were designed to measure language comprehension and language production.These assessments were conducted at assigned intervals during the study and measured the children's ability to put words in sentences. The child's intellectual development was measured at 24 months.

The average scores of children in the study who were in the group who used Baby Sign Language was found to be higher than the group who did not. At the age of twenty-four months, had signed the children a developmental advantage of three months during the non-signing children. At the time of signing these children reached the age of thirty-six months, had the advantage has increased dramatically from a three month developmental advantage for a comparable twelve months advantage in their overall language skills and understanding.

Since this research was conducted in 1989, there have been many families who are using Baby Sign Language in their homes. To date there has not been a single study that has shown that there can be no downside to using baby sign language. Many children's institutions are also using Baby Sign Language as part of a dedicated program.

Some parents may be concerned if they are using Baby Sign Language with their children that it may delay their speech development. The results of NIH funded study shows clearly that this is not the case. Baby Sign Language facilitates communication between child and parents earlier in life and are believed by some to be an important step in the learning process. Baby Sign Language support in the understanding of words through actions that they understand. By providing a communication method to the child earlier in life, they understand the benefit of communication, they are rewarded with a degree of control over their environment and their needs. It only leads to a thirst for a more complicated language, which is believed to be the reason that the child who sign with their parents speak earlier than those who do not.