Yesterday, I got to talk a little about Infant Sign Language, which is sign language for babies so that they can communicate before they can talk. (Ideal for 8 months - 2 years old)
The topic started because we were talking about receptive and expressive language. Receptive language is the ability to UNDERSTAND what is being said, and expressive language is the ability to COMMUNICATE what you want to say. Receptive language in babies is developed first, and usually far earlier than most parents realize because a baby does not have the ability to tell anyone what they understand. Using signs, however, enables a baby to develop their expressive language at an incredibly young age and in turn helps them learn to speak sooner.
Let's use my 3rd daughter as an example. She did her first sign when she was 10 months old by "panting" for DOG. Every time she would see her favorite stuffed dog, she would "pant" and we would say "Yes! That is a dog!" At 10 months old, she was able to tell us about something that she was interested in, and we were able share in her interest! By the time she was 12 months old she was using multiple signs like EAT, DRINK, MORE, and ALL DONE. What this meant is that without the need for whining, pointing, and grunting, she was able to tell us what she needed and learned early on that we understood her.
Signing provides the ability for a child to engage in a conversation before being able to speak. One of my favorite example is when my daughter was 13 months old. During the night she had thrown up in bed, but didn't cry so I didn't know. In the morning when I went to get her I said something along the lines of "Oh no! You got DIRTY in your SLEEP. Lets go have a BATH and clean you up." Naturally, as children love repetition, she went through these signs a few times as we went through the process of cleaning her up. However, the best part for me was a conversation we had AN HOUR later while eating breakfast.
She looked at me, put down her spoon and signed DIRTY.
I said "That's right. You were dirty this morning."
She then signed SLEEP.
I said "That's right. You got dirty while you were sleeping."
She then signed BATH.
To which I replied "That's right! You had a bath this morning to clean up!"
And then she went back to eating breakfast.
It was amazing to me to have her bring up a subject that I was NOT thinking about, and realize that I would have had NO IDEA what she was thinking about it if she didn't have the ability to sign to me. Her expressive language was very well developed even at the young age of 13 months old!
I feel very fortunate that I accidentally discovered The Baby Signs Program 11 years ago, and that I've had the privilege of enhancing the expressive language of my children at very young ages! What fun we have had!
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