Sign, sign, everywhere the sign

For those of you who knew Maïa as a baby, you are probably already familiar with Baby Signs. For the others, here's the low-down:

Baby signs are based on the premise that infants and toddlers can understand far more language than they can communicate back because their little mouths and vocal cords are not mature enough to form many words. Baby Signs are based on American Sign Language, but there are many variations to accomodate small fingers and hands.

It was observed that children of deaf parents who used sign language acquired language at a faster rate than the average. These children had a wide vocabulary from very early ages. It was only then that science could prove what many parents knew all along: babies understand what we say to them. The problem is that they can't always answer back.

Drs Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn developed the Baby Signs method, based on what they observed in the children around them, namely Linda's daughter. The researchers found that children who learn baby signs actually acquire (spoken) language more quickly than the average. The reason for this is simple: the more a child can describe the world around her, the more her parents or caregivers will speak to her and name the words (and signs) for other objects. It's a cascading effect.



This is Maïa at 16 months signing "again."

As expectant parents, we had heard about this method, and we were curious to know more. We bought the book, and I was immediately sold. Derek didn't come around right away, however. So I taught Maïa signs like "again" and "all done". It wasn't that I necessarily wanted to give Maïa a headstart; mostly, I wanted to ease the frustration that comes along with not being understood. Instead of crying or throwing a tantrum when we offered her a cracker, Maïa simply (but adamantly) gave us the sign for cheese (rubbing palms together). And Maïa has always loved her cheese, so we saw that one a lot! There's a lot less guess-work involved here. Once Derek witnessed the usefulness (not to mention the cute factor) of baby signs, he was on board 100 percent. In fact, he's the biggest baby signs advocate I know. I remember some days, in the heyday of Maïa's signing, coming home to find Maïa had learned three signs that day (Derek was the stay-at-home parent for a year).

So now it's Solanne's turn. I've been signing "again" to her for a couple fo months now. She would do it on cue (if asked), but today was the first time she did on her own. We were playing a little clapping game, and she wanted to keep playing, so she signed again! I was thrilled to do it again: we played for quite a while!

Solanne has a few other signs, too. She can say bird, bye-bye, no, cat, horse, and bear. The last three aren't exactly signs, but rather sounds (purring, clicking, and growling, respectively). But since the point is communication and not finger gymnastics, we still consider them all very useful additions to her vocabulary.

Over the next few months, I look forward to keeping you all in on Solanne's latest signs. There's a whole magical world out there, and I can't wait for Solanne to tell us all about it!