Signing with young children will not delay a child's
speech. There is no research out there, that I've found (and I'll keep
looking!), that says this. We are a speaking world and our children want
to communicate with us and they will do so in the way that is fastest for
them. There will come a time that speech will be faster than sign (unless
born into a Deaf family).
It's estimate that 10% of children will have a speech
delay. If a child has no way to communicate, frustrations and challenging
behaviours will occur. So if a child who is signed to falls into the 10%
imagine what a wonderful thing being able to communicate through sign language
is!
As well, the challenging behaviours that we know as
the terrible two's are mainly about communication (and
independence). These behaviours occur because a child wants attention,
wants something or wants to escape a situation. If a child can communicate,
e.g., through sign, many of these behaviours can be averted and child/caregiver
can get on with their day.
How early do children begin to sign?
Most children, who are signed to, begin to sign anywhere
between 8 and 12 months of age. It varies for all children and depends on
what is signed to them. For example, if you sign MUSHROOM to me I will
most likely never be motivated to sign back. If you show me the sign for
CHOCOLATE I'll sign it back very quickly!
How long do they keep signing?
You can continue to use sign as long as your family wants
to. My children are 4 and 6 years old now and we'll sign across distances
or in quiet places. We are introducing fingerspelling to the words they
are learning to read at school as well.
Who do they spend time with?
My children spent time with other children in the
neighbourhood and children who were also in daycare with them. Some
signed, some didn't. My daughter also now in kindergarten has a little
girl with special needs in her class who she signs with.
What exactly is the milestone for beginning to speak - so
how do you tell if a child is talking early or late?
The milestone for first words is typically between 12 and
16 months of age. Each child is different though. There are many,
many speech and language milestones for children 0-3 years of age. Keep in
mind that many of these milestones are language related, not speech related at
all. Signing with young children helps with these language
milestones. This is a good website to look at regarding speech and
language milestones for young children:
http://www.pqhcs.com/firstwords/ages_stages.htm
Happy Signing!
Sara Bingham is the founder of WeeHands and the author of The Baby Signing Book. For more information about signing with babies and toddlers visit the WeeHands website, www.weehands.com.
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