Once again, science confirms that sign language is better for everyone. :-). In a recent study published in the Journal for Applied Behavioral Analysis, several infants were trained to use sign language (either instead of crying or regardless) with astounding results.
At one time, it took only about 10 days of training to induce infants to learn a particular sign and use it without being prompted, and this was true even for a different infant, also of very young age, with down syndrome!
The study provides solid evidence for the development of earlier-than-speech communication in very young infants (one of them was 5 months old. They can barely sit up that age!)
It was also shown that sign language does not hinder in any way the onset or quality of spoken language development. (that is, there was no evidence suggesting otherwise)
Bottom line: teach your babies to sign for a better tomorrow!
Hat tip to Cognitive Daily (press the link for a more detailed account).
Tags: Deaf, Science, Sign Language
Obsessed With Reality 2.0 
January 6, 2009 at 2:54 am |
That girl is so cute, even though she looks a bit retarded. All babies should be blond
January 8, 2009 at 8:19 am |
Amazing – But how can they be sure it doesn't affect future ability to learn spoken languages?
January 11, 2009 at 8:53 am |
If you think signing is better you might get a kick out of this post. It compares ASL to the Arabic in the koran.
February 7, 2009 at 10:40 am |
This is the best part of the article. When I started reading, I was worried about this. You know, one would think that maybe kids would rely so much on signs that they “wouldn’t bother” to speak anymore.
I spent a few days taking care of the growing and development program of a local health centre. Saw many kids learning to speak, in different stages of development. This is really interesting and I had not considered it.
If only normal doctors and nurses thought about children’s development, nobody would have come up with this. Love interdisciplinary stuff, it’s so inspiring.
January 6, 2009 at 3:51 am |
She's cute because she's signing!