ORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 5 — When Jacqueline Turner's
daughter Riley was only 8 months old, she could let her mother know
she was thirsty for milk by pumping her fingers against her palm. Or
that she wanted more cereal by touching her fingertips together. Or
ask for a ball, or her stuffed dog, or a book — all without saying a
word. She used hand gestures taught to her by her mother.
Why teach signs to a baby who is not deaf? Mrs. Turner, a
Spanish-language interpreter from Beaverton, said she bought a book
and video about teaching signs to babies to help eliminate the
frustration Riley had in not being able to communicate, as well as
Mrs. Turner's own frustration in not understanding her.
"It makes her feel that she's more in control of a situation and
has choices," Mrs. Turner said.
For hearing and deaf children, the ability to gesture tends to
develop ahead of words. Babies can wave bye-bye to Grandma months
before they can talk, for instance.
In interviews last fall, Dr. Elizabeth Bates, one of the leading
researchers in the field and the director of the Center for Research
in Language at the University of California at San Diego, talked
about the development of this type of communication. (Dr. Bates died
in mid-December.)
"It has to do with how easily one can imitate and reproduce
something with a great big fat hand as opposed to the mini, delicate
hundreds of muscles that control the tongue," Dr. Bates said in the
interview. "You can also see somebody using a hand, which you can't
do with a tongue."
Recent work in neuroscience has shown that the areas in the brain
that control the mouth and speech and the areas that control the
hands and gestures overlap a great deal and develop together, Dr.
Bates added.
Teaching simple gestures, or signs, to babies before they can
talk is a way to jump-start the language and communication process,
and stimulate intellectual development. It can also confer a host of
related benefits, including increased vocabulary, a deeper
parent-child bond, enhanced self-esteem and decreased tantrums
during the "Terrible 2's," proponents say.
Research by two child development experts in California has
perhaps drawn the most interest.
Dr. Linda Acredolo of the University of California at Davis, and
Dr. Susan W. Goodwyn of the California State University at
Stanislaus used their own set of signs for a study, in July 2000,
sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. They presented their
findings at the International Conference on Infant Studies in
Brighton, England.
They found that second graders who had been encouraged to use
their signing system during the second year of life had an advantage
of 12 I.Q. points over children who did not use any such system.
Also intriguing has been the work of Joseph Garcia, the author of
the best-selling book and video series "Sign With Your Baby: How to
Communicate With Infants Before They Can Speak."
Mr. Garcia, an American Sign Language and early child development
researcher, noticed that the hearing babies of deaf parents could
communicate their needs and desires at a much earlier age than
children of hearing parents.
His research found that through signs, parent-infant
communication could begin at 8 months, rather than waiting for
comprehensible speech to develop at 16 to 18 months.
In an era of competitive preschool admissions tests, not
surprisingly, this research has set off a boom in demand for
classes, books and videos. "Baby Signs: How to Talk With Your Baby
Before Your Baby Can Talk," a book based on Dr. Acredolo and Dr.
Goodwyn's signing system, has been a best seller and has spawned a
spinoff company that trains teachers.
But giving a baby an edge is not the reason to sign, Dr. Acredolo
cautioned. "It's not a `better baby' gimmick," she said. "We really
feel the gift is to the parent-infant relationship. The main reason
to do it is to enable the baby to communicate what they need and
see, to share their world with you."
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