Want More?

    If you want more information or want to further research any of the sources I used, please take a look below as this are all the resources I used and found very helpful.

Ayim, M. (1997). Crimes against the Deaf: The Politics of Ableism. Canadian Journal of Education, 22(3), 330-335.

Bosma JF. Anatomic and physiologic development of the speech apparatus. In: Tower DB, editor. The Nervous System, Vol. 3. Human Communication and its Disorders. Raven; New York: 1975. pp. 469–480

http://www.signingtime.com

http://psychcentral.com/lib/teaching-your-baby-sign-language-can-benefit-both-of-you/0002423

Kent RD. Articulalory-acoustic perspectives on speech development. In: Stark RE, editor. Language Behavior in Infancy and Early Childhood. Elsevier; New York: 1981. pp. 105–126. 

Kent RD. The biology of phonological development. In: Ferguson CA, Menn L, Stoel-Gammon C, editors. Phonological Development: Models. Research, Implications. York; Timonium, MD: 1992. pp.http://www.playingwithwords365.com/2012/05/9-reasons-to-teach-sign-language-to-your-hearing-infant-or-toddler/

Nelson L, White K, Grewe J. Evidence for Website Claims about the Benefits of Teaching Sign Language to Infants and Toddlers with Normal Hearing. Infant & Child Development [serial online]. September 2012;21(5):474-502. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 29, 2015.

Meurant, Laurence, Sinte, Aurélie, and Van Herreweghe, Mieke, eds. Sign Languages and Deaf Communities [SLDC] : Sign Language Research, Uses and Practices : Crossing Views on Theoretical and Applied Sign Language Linguistics. Hawthorne, NY, USA: De Gruyter Mouton USA, 2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 10 March 2015.

http://deafness.about.com/od/newtodeafness/a/nonsigningpars.htm

Wrapping It All Up In A Pretty Bow!

      As I wrap up my research on teaching children American Sign Language, I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed putting these posts together for parents everywhere. I sincerely hope that the information here will help educate and empower you to make an educated choice when it comes to teaching your children sign language. 
My children still are learning sign language and even now people will ask “why do you still teach Brooklyn sign if she can speak so well?” My answer is typically along the lines of “why not continue to teach her?” She loves it, we love doing it with her, and who knows, maybe one day she will meet her soul mate or her best friend for life that is deaf and she connects with them on a deeper level because she has the background in sign language. 
While I was doing this research and writing these blogs and contemplating those conversations I have had with multiple people, I cam across this article, “Crimes against the Deaf: The Politics of Ableism.” The article reviews discrimination that hearing people enforced upon deaf people without even consulting them. Meaning, oralists wanted to “enable deaf people to speak for themselves.” The most ironic part of the entire conversation is that they never once consulted deaf people on the policy. 
The conversation regarding the “point” to teach my child sign language when she can speak came to mind while reading this article and I realized that they are very similar situations. Both instances involve a degree of discrimination and negativity toward sign language and the deaf. This should never be the case and it is my sincerest hope that with the information you are now armed with, this is one groups of people and one language you will never look down on again. 

Just for old times sake, let’s learn two more signs!

DOG

CAT

The One,The Only, The Great....Signing Time!

      As I begin to finish this series, I want to leave you with my favorite resource that I have come across while learning sign language and compiling all of this information. Signing Time, under Two Little Hands Production, is a program that has been around since 2012. 
Rachel Coleman started making the videos to help her family and friends learn sign language so they could communicate with her daughter, Leah, who is deaf. The initial videos were so popular and well received, they continued filming the series and they are now on public television, Netflix, and Nick Jr.
The show has won many awards and Rachel has even received an Emmy nomination from it. The company is even still trying to add to their video library by having a Kickstarter fund to make more videos that will go a step further and will teach complete sentences in sign language.
Personally, these are the DVDs, flash cards and television shows that we even still use on a weekly basis. Rachel is fun, engaging, entertaining and brilliant at what she does. She sings catchy songs that the kids can remember so that they can practice the signs with it. Rachel also has her son and daughter in the videos so the children can connect to someone close to their age. My daughter loves watching them and always walks away learning a handful of new signs.
If you are still hesitant about children learning sign language, watch this video and be prepared to be amazed. 

Overall, the signingtime.com website has a lot of information, resources, and ideas for parents and children to become immersed in the world of sign language.

Before you leave to take your kids to the park or put them down for naps, here are two more signs you can quickly learn. 

How to Get Started Learning

At this point, you have probably decided if you are or are not going to teach your child sign language. If you have chosen to do so you are probably thinking, “okay, this is all great information but how do I start?” 
Like I said in my last post, there are many resources to utilize while learning sign and how you choose to start is completely up to you.
If making the commitment to a class will encourage you to attend and learn than I highly suggest finding a local instructor and starting from there. This is a great resource to find a local Signing Time Insructor.
If that one hour a week doe not seem feasible just yet, start with watching the DVDs or the television program so that you and your child can see how much fun and how engaging they are to watch and learn to sign with. 
Again, if the time commitment to watch a show doe not fit in your schedule, start with a set of flash cards or an app on your phone. Keep the flash cards with you in the diaper bag so no matter where or when you end up getting stuck somewhere you can review a couple of signs with your child. 
Once you have chosen what format you want to use to learn sign language, just start with a sign or two until you know it well enough to recall it easily from memory. You do not have to wait to learn more signs until your child is signing the ones you have started with. Just continue to learn new signs and use them in conversation with your child consistently and they will start to use them when they know it and are comfortable with it. 
The day my daughter signed back “milk” when she was thirsty and wanted more to drink, my husband and I basically danced around! We were so excited to see that it was actually working and she was learning the signs. Once she learned one sign, it seemed she learned them faster than ever. By her first birthday she was signing about 10 signs and they were all easy words that applied to her daily life that we could easily use in daily conversation so she had plenty of time to learn them. 

So relax and learn a couple right now! Try the sign and say the word together so that you can associate one with the other and can engrain it in your mind with the physical movement of the sign. 

So Where Can I Find the Information to Teach/Learn It

       The main issue people have cited with learning sign language is the lack of time they possess to learn it. Well, I am here to tell you that if I can do it, you can do it! 
Just a little recap, I go to school full time, have two children (one of which is in multiple classes a week), am married, work two part time jobs, have siblings that I help out constantly, have four dogs, work on projects at my house constantly, keep my house in livable conditions on a daily basis, and yet still I found time to learn sign language with my daughter. So I repeat, if I can squeeze it in, anyone should be able to.
When my daughter turned six months old we enrolled in a beginners sign language class. My husband, my daughter, and myself went once a week for six weeks for an hour each class and started learning the very basic signs that we would start teaching our daughter. These signs ranged from milk, more, eat, mom, dad, the alphabet, and so on. Really in the scheme of things it was not a huge time commitment but we were able to take a lot away from the class, not to mention the great family activity it provided us with.
After that class we focused on the signs we knew from there for a long time. Then when Brooklyn was around one and a half she started to show an interest in our iPhones, I know, it’s crazy how young they are intrigued by such things. My husband and I were both anxious to learn some new signs as our daughter loved signing and we wanted to continue to foster that interest, so we downloaded an app for children to learn sign language on, much like the ones below. We were able to learn a new sign while waiting in a doctors office or while waiting for our food at dinner. It was quick, easy, and we could immediately use it with our daughter. 

Then one day when my daughter was two we had the genius idea to replace her Disney movies she was allowed to watch in the car with educational dvd’s. This is the only time she watches television so we figured we may as well make it educational.
I went to the library to check out their selection of learning disks and was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they had an entire section of sign language disks aimed at children. We checked one out and I put it on immediately. My daughter learned 5 new signs that day being in the car for 40 minutes! And because the instructor not only signs the word she is teaching but also orally explains what to do, I was even able to get the gist of a few of them while I was driving (not using my hands to actually sign, of course). This was a genius idea and it has truly paid off. Brooklyn now teaches her brother signs anytime she learns a new one and is always so excited to watch her video. One would never know that she is watching something educational by looking at the smile on her face. 
There are many videos you can buy or rent to watch and learn, as well as apps, flash cards, posters and classes you can take to learn sign language like some of the options shown. There are even children's sign language television shows you can watch with your child!

As you can see, sign language is not some sort of secret language or special club one must be approved of joining. It is accessible and fun to learn and like anything, the more time you put into it the more signs you will know and the more fluent you will be able to sign, but regardless, even if you only put a little time and effort into it, you, and your child, are sure to reap amazing benefits.

To prove how accessible sign language is, take one minute and learn a new sign right now!

MILK

Where Is All the Information?

As I said earlier, most of the information I wanted and needed, was spread out all over the internet. It was nearly impossible to find one place that covered everything from the physical limitations of speech, to the benefits of signing and why people chose not to teach their children sign. This was what prompted me to tackle putting all the information in one place to make it easier on us time lacking parents.
The next issue I came across was that when I did find an article that covered all the information I wanted, it was written in a scholarly format using medical jargon or was written for someone that had a significantly expanded vocabulary. Now, I do have a college degree and am continuing my college education currently, but does that mean I have the time, patience, or will to look up every third word in an article so I can understand what I am reading? Absolutely not, and I know you don't either. 
These issues then made me think about where parents are getting their information. As I asked around, I found out that most parents were indeed, not getting the information they needed. Some told me that they had looked online and had quickly become overwhelmed so they just threw in the towel before even taking a swim. It is with that in mind that I hope this accessible and easily located information makes its way into the hands of parents everywhere that are interested in teaching their children ASL.
The other disappointing piece of information I was given was that when parents had asked their pediatricians about teaching their children ASL they were briskly brushed off as it being an “unimportant topic not to be stressed about.” I was astonished a doctor, an individual we are supposed to trust and take at face value, would be so dismissive about something a parent clearly had an interest in. Now, if this is due to ignorance or disdain for the subject matter, I cannot say, but I will say that I hope with the help of this blog parents will be empowered with the knowledge they need and hey, maybe will even educate their health professionals. 
With that piece of negative news out of the way, let’s get back to having fun learning some sign language!  

All Done

Why Doesn't Everyone Do It Then?

      Now, after reading about the benefits of teaching ASL to young children, you may be wondering why parents would ever choose not to teach their children. I thought the same thing so I went out and asked some of the “mommy groups” I am a member of to give me their reasons why they didn't teach their children.
  The overwhelming most common reason parents gave was that they just did not think they had enough time. Understandably so, people are busy, parents are a special kind of busy. On top of meeting our own needs we are responsible for meeting the needs of our own little people. Now making sure everyone is fed, clothed, loved, bathed and everything else, learning a new language and teaching a language to a child can seem very overwhelming! The thing is, there are ways to do it without feeling overwhelmed, which I will cover later this week. 
  The second most popular reason parents gave for not wanting to teach their child ASL was because they actually thought it would delay their children’s speech. Now, I can understand why they would think this but more and more research is proving that this is not the case. Parents may believe that allowing their children to sign will give them reason to not actually use their voice to speak but the opposite is actually true. “As our babies grow they will naturally transition from signs into words but will continue to use their hands and facial expressions to highlight and emphasize their message.”
  If either of these were a concern you had, I hope I have started to put them at ease. If time was your concern, consider this, in reading these four posts you have already learned four signs! Pretty amazing, right? 

So Why Should I Teach My Child ASL?

       When I first started researching teaching my daughter ASL, I was overwhelmed by all of the information on the internet. There are so many websites citing the benefits to teaching ASL to infants but it seemed like each website only covered one or two benefits. None of them seemed to have all the benefits in one place or the website was missing other crucial information, such as the physical aspect of learning to speak or where I could get the information to learn ASL myself. That is what sparked my idea to publish this series of blogs, so parents could have all the information in one place and to not overwhelm you with the thousands of results that pop up on Google when you search “teaching children ASL.” 
  Just for an idea of what I was up against this is just a sample of what 33 websites claimed as benefits for teaching ASL to hearing children. As you can see, there is no consistency to what each website puts up, just that there is a consistent six benefits to teaching children ASL.  

Nelson L, White K, Grewe J. Evidence for Website Claims about the Benefits of Teaching Sign Language to Infants and Toddlers with Normal Hearing. Infant & Child Development [serial online]. September 2012;21(5):474-502. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 29, 2015.

  When I first started teaching my daughter, and more currently my son, sign language, I hoped with all my heart it would allow them a much earlier way to communicate their needs to myself and their dad. This is the most popular benefit cited to teaching children sign, online, from my own personal experience and of those close to me that also taught their children sign language. The idea that, instead of your baby crying until you eventually figure out what they need, they can actually sign to you what they want, when they want it, has such a strong appeal that it seemed crazy to me to not try it. Low and behold, it worked! When my daughter was 10 months old she started signing for milk, more and eat. She could tell us what she wanted, which eliminated the frustration of guessing when she was hungry or thirsty. This was enough success for us to continue teaching her and to decide to teach our son as well.
  Another benefit of teaching a child ASL is an increased language or speech development. I can whole heartedly say that I believe my daughter not only speaks more fluently and has a larger vocabulary than other children her age because of sign language. Now, I know some of you may be shaking your head and thinking I look at my child with rose colored glasses, because honestly, who doesn't look at their kid that way? I will admit, I do look at my children that way but when we go to the park or anywhere else children of the same age group are around playing with my daughter, she is almost always the most intelligible person there. 
  Other reasons typically cited are an increase in IQ, reduced frustration, tantrums and emotional outbursts (because they can actually tell you what they want instead of throwing a fit and hoping you figure it out), an increased parent/child bond, and an increase in self-esteem or accomplishment. 
  Now I can also personally say my daughter had and still has very few tantrums or outbursts for things because she knows she can tell us what it is she wants or feels and we will address it accordingly. We have built the trust with her that she can tell, or sign, things to us and we will discuss it with her so that her needs are met. 
  Through learning ASL with our daughter, we were able to do something with her, learn something new together as a family, and bond with her on a level that we never thought possible before. It brought more laughter and fun to our house that we ever imagined to be associated with learning a new language and for that I am especially fond of ASL. 
  The last benefit, an increase in self-esteem and accomplishment in the child, was a benefit I had never even considered until I saw how excited, happy, and giggly it made my daughter to learn a new sign and to then try it out. Still to this day, though she can say anything she wants to, she loves learning new signs and loves showing off what she has learned to people. I hope that the excitement to learn is deeply rooted in her heart and mind and she never loses that.
      As you can see, there are many benefits to learning ASL and teaching children ASL. Are some of these benefits you knew about or are these news to you? Either way, keep those benefits in mind as you consider ASL and if it is right for your family. While you are at it though, here is another new sign to keep you excited for more!  

The Physical Limits to Speech

 How’s life in the trenches today? Is it a day you contemplate having a dozen children because they are just so cute and sweet and who can have too many of these little angels? Or is it a day you are questioning every life choice you have ever made that lead you to believe you could rase a child? A day where, no matter how hard you have tried, you still raised your voice and yelled at your child after they asked for the umpteenth time “why can’t I?” A day where your child snuck into the kitchen and dumped all the flour on the kitchen floor because it reminded her of that one time she played in snow and you just do not think you will both survive the rest of the day. 
  Those days are a harsh reality when you are a parent. The bad days make the good days that much sweeter. Though knowing that doesn't make it any easier to get through the bad days when they happen. And they do happen, and they happen to all of us. 
If you have a child, you have gotten through the hard stages of their inability to communicate their needs. If you have a really young child, you may be in the midst of this experience as you read! I am here to tell you that we do all get through it…eventually. With that being said, let’s look at why babies can’t speak right out of the womb.

  I know when we first brought my daughter, Brooklyn, home from the hospital I wished with every bone in my body that she could just tell me what she wanted when she wanted it. Sadly, it doesn't work that way and as my husband and I took our daughter to all of her pediatrician appointments we slowly learned that every few months she should be moving through five stages toward developing speech. 
  Our pediatrician explained to us at her newborn check up that she would go from just making reflexive phonation, such as coughing and crying noises to cooing, sounds that resemble vowels, in the first month alone. At her three month check up he told us that she should start, if she wasn't already, making clear vowel sounds with a variety of new sounds such as yells, raspberries, or screams, and that this stage was called expansion. Three months later at her six month check up, we were told that she should be starting to “babble,” or more technically canonical babbling, which occurs anywhere from five months to ten months of age and is when infants start producing strings of consonant-vowel syllables, such as “mamama” or “bababa.” Lastly, at her one year checkup we were informed she should be speaking meaningfully, which occurs anywhere from ten to eighteen months of age, and is when infants mix both babbling and meaningful speech to produce long intonated sounds. The doctor also explained to us that the time period allotments to each stage would vary with each child and not to worry if our child seemed “behind” schedule because a wide variance can exist before anything is truly “wrong” with the child. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you ask, this was not the case with our little Brooklyn, as she was speaking in three to five word sentences at her first birthday, which makes for a funny, smart and a very opinionated one year old.
     Next, we learned that there are two critical factors involved in infants’ abilities to speak, and those are anatomical change and vocal learning. We basically learned that infants are not physically ready to speak no matter how much we teach them in the first days of their lives. Young infant’s vocal tracts are very different from adult’s and actually resemble that of a nonhuman primate  than that of an adult human! So all those times you call your infant your “little monkey,” you actually are not far off. Infant’s not only have a vocal tract that is, of course, much smaller than an adult’s, but it also has a broader oral cavity, a tongue mass that is proportionally larger and more anterior (frontal), and a more gradually sloping oropharyngeal tract. 

These physical differences start undergoing dramatic changes in the first six months of life as it develops into one that resembles that of an adult human. These anatomical changes contribute, at least to some extent, to the stages seen in infants’ vocalizations, which explains why those squishy newborns cannot tell us that they are still hungry at three in the morning when it seems you have fed them every hour on the hour.
     If you want to continue reading more information about the physical aspect of speech, Infant vocalizations in response to speech: Vocal imitation and developmental change, is a great and thorough article to look at. 
     Are you having fun yet? If not, try learning this sign and see if that helps!

You, Your Kids, and American Sign Language

     Hey parents! As most of you know from experience, there are never enough hours in a day to get everything done that you need or want to do. That usually means that things like reading for pleasure, or even reading to research the newest and best ideas for your little ones, is a hot commodity and usually done while a baby naps or a toddler plays at the playground. Because I know and live that life everyday, I am here to make information easy to find and even easier to read. 
Every week I will focus on multiple topics; making them condensed and comprehensible for you to read while waiting in the parking lot picking your child up from school or while your daughter is in dance class.
I will start by discussing the use of American Sign Language in the home with hearing and deaf children alike. Studies show that there are many benefits, which will be covered in a later post, to teaching ASL to all children and while you may have reasons to not learn and teach your child, I am here to put those concerns to bed. 
Now, if you are thinking that there is already a ton of information out there about ASL, you would be right. There is a lot of information. The problem with most of that information is that it is incomplete, meaning one place does not cover all aspects of teaching children ASL, which means finding all the information you want is time consuming and probably more work than you can juggle. The other problem is that most of the information and research out there is written for a scholarly audience, and lets face it, very few parents have time to translate and decipher the language present in a scholarly article or the length that is usually associated with such articles.
Since most of you are probably not native users of American Sign Language, it is likely that you will be using some sort of combination of ASL and your native spoken language. That is okay! This can help you in the beginning of your learning. 
If at a young age, children are given adequate exposure to language they begin learning long before they can physically speak. Though they can’t talk yet, that does not mean they can’t express themselves. 
Sign language, in hearing, deaf or anywhere in between, has been proven to promote early communication since children can use their hands much earlier than they can master the verbal skills required to express themselves. 
Marilyn Daniels, associate professor of speech communication at Pennsylvania State University, and author of a book promoting signing for hearing children’s literacy, says, “signs can encourage communication at least six months before most children start to form basic words...[which] not only increases the parents’ bond and interaction with their babies, it helps reduce a major source of tantrums and stress for infants.” 
Garcia has been researching this subject since 1986 and says many children exposed to sign at the age of seven months “would be signing back in eight months,” and that by nine months some babies can master as many as seventy-five individual signs (Brady 2000). 

This may seem impossible to parents as they are beginning their sign language journey, but taken one sign at a time and engaging with your child will not only prove beneficial, but also fun. So fun, that you can actually learn a useful sign right now! And don’t forget to come back tomorrow and learn all about why babies can’t communicate with you orally right away.