Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
Sign communication with babies and toddlers
Linguistic evaluation
Language acquisition
The basis for language development is partially genetic and partially created during infancy. The
period from birth to the fourth or sixth year of age is considered to be the ‘sensitive phas’ when
children learn a language easily1.
A newborn child is no ‘tabula rasa’. Even during the pregnancy, certain basic requirements for
learning processes are being fulfilled; this means that ‘learning’ (committing to memory) starts
already within the uterus. There is, for instance, the following evidence for the beginning of the
perceptual and cognitive development within the uterus:

The reflex of sucking at a finger in month 5/6 of the pregnancy: this is only possible because
of existing tactile and motor skills.

Sound perception in month 5/6 of the pregnancy: the heart rate accelerates at a sound
volume of more than 105 dB.

Sound perception in month 8 of the pregnancy: the heart rate slows down when two
syllables are exchanged (BABI > BIBA) after a previous presentation of ‘BABI’.
Perceptive-cognitive skills after birth:
The studies monitoring the sucking and the duration of the focusing of the gaze in combination with
head movements led researchers to assume the following skills and learning processes (I will not
deal here with the problems concerning examinations at an age when no linguistic production is
available to be checked):

Until the end of year 1: Recognition of three-dimensionality

Gravity (objects fall down if you let go of them)
Objects influence each other when they touch.
Important basics of language acquisition are for instance:

Object permanence (objects exist even when they are no longer visible)

Connections between (linguistic) communication and daily occurrences as created by the
child in the context of its general development (perception, motor skills, etc.)
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author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
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
Interaction with objects and persons in the environment (cf. Schrey-Dern 2006: 10, Zollinger
2010: 11) as a holistic understanding with all senses

non-verbal pragmatic-communicative skills

Play and social behavior.
Basically, one may assume that children are able to communicate and perceive language from very
early on (not just – according to some literature – from month 9 on). Otherwise their language
development from month 10/12 on could not be explained. It must be noted, however, that during
early interactions with children, their expressive spoken language skills sometimes are not sufficient
to communicate their intentions, wishes, etc. (they do this partially in a compensatory fashion, in a
nonverbal way – as far as that is possible -, e.g. by taking adults by the hand and leading them
wherever they want to go).
Some important steps of language acquisition happen during the first year; the basics of vocabulary
and grammar are acquired during the first two to three years (cf.Penner, Weissenborn&Friederici
2000; Weissenborn 2000, 2003; as well as the contributions in Weissenborn&Höhle 2001).
Influencing factors are the genetic determination of the language acquisition process and the
cerebral development, e.g. the lateralization of the language centres (Locke 1997; Penner,
Weissenborn&Friederici 2002).
According to the fact that linguistic communication plays the central role in the socialization and the
acquisition of knowledge of the growing child, a normal language development is indispensable for
an intact socialization process, the cognitive development and for their performance in school
(Interview Weissenborn).
The same holds for natural sciences and mathematics, linguistic knowledge and reading skills
(cf.Baumert et al. 2001).
For a positive development, a rich linguistic environment and motivation foran exchange using
language are necessary both in the family context and in community institutions. Parents often show
such supportive and motivating behaviour spontaneously (cf.’Motherese’/’Mutterisch’/’baby talk’).
For children suffering from severe deprivation or isolation that experience the first contact with
language years after they were born there is a danger that their language skills (especially
concerning grammar) remain below average (cf. Curtiss 1977).
Therefore it is important for the parents, educators, teachers and therapists to:

have a comprehensive knowledge of the internal (biological) and external (dependent on
experiences) requirements of language acquisition

know about the techniques for the early recognition of possible risks and evidence that
language development may be affected or for an existing deviation from normal language
development

intervention at the earliest possible stage (preventive, promotional/encouraging, and
therapeutic measures).
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
Up to 20% of the children who are educated monolingually in German show linguistic deficits (for
the children with another linguistic background, the numbers are partially even higher). The studies
at the school entry argue that more than 30% of the children would need a promotion of language
skills (cf. Pochert et al. 2002). The origin of these linguistic deficits often lies in the language
development during the first three years. Other long-term studies are necessary (cf. Weissenborn
2001, 2003), including a comparative evaluation of diagnostic and promotional measures.
Linguistic developmental disorders can be diagnosed reliably with the aid of tests from an age of 4-5
years on.
From the age of about 10 months, the ability of the children to discriminate the sounds other than
their mother tongue declines, but the ability to discriminate rhythmical characteristics of their
mother tongue increases during the first year.
The declining ability to discriminate the sounds not belonging to their mother tongue and the
development of segmentation preferences according to the rhythm of the mother tongue limit the
second language acquisition to a certain degree only after the fourth or fifth year (Meisel 2003). Up
to the age of 3-4 years, the acquisition follows the principles of the first language acquisition very
closely. During later acquisition, certain system limitations (‘deficits’) may appear – in contrast to the
first language acquisition of the mother tongue or simultaneous bilingual language acquisition – first
of all, in the phonetic area (‘mother tongue accent’), and then in the grammatical area (Flege et al.
1995).
The children who grow up with several languages can differentiate between them from the
beginning, and they also show the same developmental stages as monolingual children (Meisel
2003). However, this does not mean that the children have the same knowledge of both languages
from the beginning. The studies of Holowka et al. (2002) show that it is the knowledge of both
languages together that corresponds in quantity and quality to the skills of a monolingual child of
the same age. This means that a child who is learning a second language operates at the same point
of time with fewer words than a monolingual child. This indicates that at this early stage the capacity
for language learning processes is biologically limited. Until now, however, there has been no
evidence for the conclusion – as parents often fear – that an early second language acquisition
before the age of 3 has negative consequences for the acquisition of the first language.
...But it is essential to clarify by controlled studies whether the children who began their second
language acquisition before the age of three actually have the same language skills in their mother
tongue when they enter school as the children who do not learn a second language (Interview
Weissenborn).
The second language should only be provided by native speakers of this language because the
phonetic-rhythmic characteristics of the language that is being acquired contain information the
learners need for building up their knowledge of the language.
Gestures and signs in the development of language
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author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
Within the language development of children, gestures represent an important developmental stage
(Vogt 2007: 13); with their aid, they develop strategies to get in contact with their principal caregivers:
Gestures can be regarded as movement of body parts with the aim of communicating. They reinforce
or substitute spoken messages (Vogt 2007: 13).
Gestures are already used during the first few months in the form of rhythmical and coordinated
hand movements; sometimes it is difficult to decide whether they are being used in a
communicative way as adults understand the term.
For the children with severe hearing impairment who are educated bilingually, the importance of an
early use of gestures is undisputed; a comprehensive offer of sign language gives them the chance to
learn it as their mother tongue or preferred language (Leuninger 2007: 159). However, this is beyond
the scope of Baby Sign.
They gain the attention of an adult with whom they want to interact or when they want a certain
object by using gestures, facial expressions and gaze. Some examples are indicative gaze, postures
and grabbing gestures; these may be understood as the preliminary stage to first words (i.e. actual
language signs). Children who use gestures are able to name objects at an earlier point of time than
other children and they often have a larger vocabulary (Vogt &Scheibert 2006: 181).
Summary
It is plausible to assume that the original language acquisition mechanisms are no longer or only
partially available after the fourth or fifth year. This means that there is a relatively narrow time slot
for an especially economic development of language.
Increased educational activities concerning language are therefore recommended for the children
before the age of 3 (also because of high plasticity of the brain during that period). The same holds
for sign language.
Developmental stages of language acquisition2
‘First babble phase’
The babies produce ‘the expressions of emotions, gurgling and bubble sounds (controlled through
tactile stimuli within the mouth)’. From month 4 on, we also find ‘slurping and hissing sounds, vowel
sounds and first syllables’.
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author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
‘Second babble phase’
Melodic patterns are created, and the babies consciously imitate sounds (echolalia controlled by the
hearing), produce chains of syllables such as ‘BABABA’ and a multitude of sounds, and they imitate
the rhythm of language.
Gradual assignment of verbal expressions and gestures to situations
Approximately from month 9 on, the child realizes that it can influence its environment through its
behaviour. From this moment on, gestural communication increases.
Month 9 to 12: ‘Referential gestures’
From month 9 or 10 on, the children use gestures to communicate with their environment.
Month 10 to 14: First words
Usually from month 12 on, the children produce their first words, which are often based on the
reduplication of simple syllables like in ‘MAMA’, ‘PAPA’.
Month 18 to 24: Reaching the ‘50-word milestone’
The child masters 20-50 words and reaches the first stage of forming questions (‘what’ (is that) with
the respective intonation). This leads to a significant increase in vocabulary (primarily nouns, verbs
and adjectives) and combinations of two or three words which do not (quite) correspond to
grammar. At the age of 24 months, the child masters even more sounds with complex production
requirements. If the child has not achieved approximately 50 words by the age of 24 months, it is
diagnosed to be a ‘late talker’ and shows a certain risk for a delayed language development.
Month 30 to 36: First use of ‘me’ and a large increase in vocabulary
The vocabulary keeps increasing and new words are created. The number of sentences containing
several words increases. Grammatical competence develops: the second stage of forming questions
appears (who? how? why?), simple sentences are grammatical, the first combinations of sentences
and subordinate clauses are produced. Difficult combinations of sounds are mastered.
From month 36-42 on, age-appropriate stuttering may appear through the acquisition of sentence
structures.
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author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
Month 48
The child has mastered most of the sounds of its mother tongue (with some possible limitations as
regards S/SH sounds and difficult combinations of consonants like KL-, GL-, DR-, BR-). The vocabulary
keeps increasing and longer sentences are created. Difficult constructions may not correspond to the
norm yet. Subordinate clauses are used.
All of these phenomena may appear in different children with a maximum variation of one year;
however, they should disappear again at the age of 4-5 years.
For hearing-impaired children, the following limitations which influence their language development
in a negative way often occur:

Sign language, visual communication, systematic visual support of spoken language are not
offered or offered too late.

The implicit message of many governments and institutions –as interpreted from their
practice - is: ‘If you are deaf, i.e. a bit retarded, then it does not matter if you begin to learn
a sign language at the age of 6 or 10 years’.

If sign language is offered, the exposition time is often too short.

The ‘sensitive’ phases from 0-6 years are not taken seriously.

We fail to exploit the plasticity of young brains for language learning and general cognitive
development (e.g. phases like: ‘What is this?’at about 2 years of age or ‘Why?’ at about 4
years).
4-5 years
The child can actively use approximately 2,000 words and understand up to 20,000, and has
acquired simple grammar.
6 years
The child has mastered all standard sounds, the vocabulary is sufficient for multifaceted
communication, abstract concepts are used according to the child‘s age. The child uses
approximately 5000 individual words and grammar. The child can retell and report experiences, tell
stories, and describe thought processes.
Baby Sign‘/Sign communication with babies
Baby signs were developed to offer hearing babies from month 6 on a chance to communicate in a
more differentiated way, i.e. communicate their emotions, wishes and needs before they are able to
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
do so in spoken language, and for as long as the efficiency of spoken language production (with
special regard to vocabulary) is lower than that of sign production (König 2010: 16).
The essential argument made by the promoters of this method is that the use of baby signs leads to
an improved communication; that is, the children are more content because they can communicate
clearly, and the parents get more information about their children’s concerns because there are
fewer misunderstandings:
Sign language helps to tear down the barriers of silence and opens new worlds of communication
between
a
parent
and
a
child.
(http://www.allsands.com/Kids/Education/babysignlangua_rql_gn.htm)
Further arguments in favour are that it promotes the children’s cognitive capabilities (concentration,
perception and information processing, intellectual capacity up to a higher IQ) and leads to
improved social skills, emotional stability, improved self-confidence through communicative
achievements, linguistic creativity, i.e. through ‘inventing’ new signsby themselves, and a faster
spoken language development. Through the development of their fine motor skills as well as the
multimodal linking of acoustic and visual coding, they improve their memory and their imagination:
Baby Sign Language ... gives your baby the ability to express his or her important needs and
thoughts.
A list of its benefits is also given here:

promotes the development of language skills

reinforces language skills already developed

reduces frustration from not being able to express one’s needs

accelerates the development of spatial reasoning

develops the understanding of language for the communication of emotions

creates the feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment

may increase IQ

increases creative thinking

teaches (the elements of) a second language that is formally and nationally recognized (e. g.
ASL)

reduces unexplainable emotional outbursts

improves early literacy skills
teaches the baby how to start (and participate in) a conversation:
Additional benefits of using baby signs are listed:

infants quickly learn to match particular shapes or items with particular gestures
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP

increased creative use of language

enhanced social skills.
Some of the benefits are especially interpreted as long-term benefits (http://www.babies-and-signlanguage.com/baby-sign-benefits.html).
A ‘head start in communication’ of 1- to 2-year-olds and an elimination of many reasons for
frustration, both in children and parents, is advertised (cf.: http://www.babies-and-signlanguage.com/baby-sign-benefits.html
and
http://www.allsands.com/Kids/Education/babysignlangua_rql_gn.htm, http://www.babies-and-signlanguage.com/baby-sign-benefits.html, Bunny Fabulous 2011, Felzer 2000).
Clearly, these advantages can be used outside the family only if the caregivers are familiar with this
method. Therefore König suggests the use of ‘Baby Sign’ in crèches/nursery units in various contexts
(König 2010: 129).
In English speaking countries, ‘Baby Sign’ is already well-positioned in the area of commercial early
learning initiatives for non-impaired children, whereas in German speaking countries it has been
implemented for a relatively short period of time.
Questions

May early signing promote the development of spoken or sign language?

Can visual signs lead to the improved memorization of cognitive concepts?

What is the impact of signs on different linguistic levels (morphology, syntax, vocabulary,
pragmatic-communicative level)?

Can ‘Baby Sign’ reduce language development disorders or delays or even completely
prevent them?

Does ‘Baby Sign’ really offer all the advantages promised by its promoters?
Terminology
Different terms are used for this method and the visual codingit uses, e.g. ‘Baby Sign’, ‘Baby Sign
Language’, ‘Sign Language for Babies’, ‘Infant Sign Language’, ‘Spelling’3 (German: ‘BabyZeichensprache’, ‘Zwergensprache’ or ‘Babyzeichen’ cf. König 2010: 16, ‘Babygebärden’, ‘Gesten’,
‘Zeigegesten’. In order to avoid misunderstandings, I only use the English term ‘Baby Sign’ in this
text.
A brief history of ‚Baby Sign‘
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
Even before the Baby Sign movement, manual communication methods and signs or sign language
were used to support speech and language therapy, in order to initiate spoken language in children
with an impairment (Doherty 2008: 300, Kiegelmann 2009: 264, http://down-syndromnetzwerk.de/bibliothek/wilken1.html). However, the use of signs with non-impaired hearing children
is new.
Different providers of ‘Baby Sign’ have based their methods on the works of Joseph Garcia, Linda
Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn (Baby Signs 2008; ‘Baby Signs®’ by Acredolo&Goodwyn and ‘Sign with
your baby®’ by Garcia are now brands, cf. https://www.babysigns.com/index.cfm?id=79 and
http://sign2me.com/index.php) that were developed in the USA approximately thirty years ago.
In the year 1982, Acredolo observed her 12-month-old daughter Katewhile playing with her, that she
used visual coding for the objects she could not name verbally yet (cf.
https://www.babysigns.com/index.cfm?id=72). For example: in the garden, Kate pointed at a
rosebush and produced ‘smell’ through a facial expression to express her request to smell the
flowers (before that, Acredolo had given her roses to smell in order to familiarize her with the term
‘flower’). Kate then proceeded to use this sign coding also for situations where she e.g. wanted to
refer to a flower in a picture in a book. When Acredolo and Goodwyn asked some parents whether
they had noticed a similar use of such (also spontaneous) visual coding with their own children, this
was confirmed (for example, a representation of ‘fish’ by the respective mouth action). Acredolo and
Goodwyn then developed the hypothesis that children between months 9-24 begin to use visual
coding spontaneously. This strategy is then often adopted by their parents. They hypothesized that
the use of such means of communication should support spoken language development.
Joseph Garcia started his research into American Sign Language in the 1970s. He noticed that the
children of deaf parents begin to use signs to communicate already at the age of nine months, while
the children of hearing parents who use spoken language began to use spoken words at a later point
of time. So he examined the results of Acredolo’s ‘enhanced gesture training’. He found that the
children who had access to signs from month 6 or 7 on, started to produce them themselves from
month 8 or 9 on.
Vivian König adapted the concept forthe German-speaking sphere (‘Zwergensprache’, König 20042012); besides, there are e.g. ‘Schau doch meine Hände an’ (Bundesverband Evangelische
Behindertenhilfe) or ‘Babysignal’ (Wiebke Gericke); cf. also Kiegelmann 2009: 264.
Target groups of ‘Baby Sign’
With hearing children, ‘Baby Sign’ normally accompanies spoken language. Its promoters also point
out that their method can improve the contact with hard-of-hearing and deaf children (cf. below), as
well as with the children with different impairments (developmental or emotional disorders,
learning disabilities, Down’s Syndrome, Autism, Aphasia, cerebral palsy, difficulties with learning or
producing spoken language, etc.).
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
For a respective justification of promoting the bilingual context for hard-of-hearing and deaf children
cf.Clerc’s children (http://clercschildren.com/).
In the USA, it is believed that – assuming that many persons in the social environment, e.g.
caregivers and other children use ‘Baby Sign’ as well – the whole environment of the child profits
from this communication method (for example, when the child has to go to a hospital, etc.).
Methods of ‚Baby Sign‘4
Usage of signs taken from the surrounding sign languages
In principle, using signs taken from the surrounding sign languages is to be recommended because
this implies access to an existing language. In the USA, children are offered signs from the American
Sign Language (ASL)5; Vivian König uses signs from the German Sign Language, respectively. Almost
all of the proponents encourage parents who are not or only a little competent in the respective sign
language to simplify signs which they think to be too complex or even to create their own in order to
deal with ‘communicative emergencies’, e.g. when the respective sign of the surrounding sign
language is unknown (cf. also below). However, once a sign has been chosen, it should remain stable
(i.e. it should not be constantly modified).
The parents and caregivers are instructed how to use signs during daily activities with their children,
how to create new learning opportunities in certain situations, and also how to motivate other
carers to use signs.
Making and maintaining eye contact is essential for visual communication; furthermore, signs have
to be used systematically and frequently, similar to any other language option.
About the timing of the use of signs
The children of parents who use a sign language as their preferred language have been confronted
with sign language from their birth. Other children may be introduced to sign language from month
6 on, but it is to be expected that they will not begin to produce signs before they are 8 or 9 months
old. König thinks that the best time for the use of baby signs is between month 6 and 9. Naturally,
they may be used before that – similar to spoken language – but it will take longer for them to use
them productively (cf. König 2010: 55).
At the latest, one can communicate with the infant by signs as soon as it can receptively create a
stable link between a sign (coding) and its meaning. This point in time can be established indirectly
via certain indicators (cf. also König 2010: 55):
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP

an interest of the child in persons and objects in its environment and in information about
them (may be perceived e.g. through its behaviour and facial expression; the respective
pointing at things will only develop from month 9 on)

object permanence (the child knows that things which are no longer visible do not cease to
exist; this may be perceived e.g. by searching for them)

activities which may be linked to sign use (waving, head-nodding, head-shaking, begging,
etc.)
imitation of activities (motor skills).
As soon as the child develops the cognitive skills, object permanence, causality and symbol function
during the first two years, it possesses the prerequisites for language according to Piaget (Motsch
2004: 27).
Relation of the baby sign lexicon to the children’s daily life
The signs for ‘Baby Sign’ were created based on observing the interaction with children: they code
important concepts in the children‘s early perception of their environment and their interaction with
their principal caregivers (i.e. objects, actions, qualities in their daily life; cf. König 2010: 16).
An example of the use of baby signs: When we are playing in the garden, Emilia lets me know when
she is thirsty, and she shows me whether she wants some water or some milk. I can rely on that and
do not have to offer her the bottle constantly and worry whether she gets enough to drink. All at
once she stops playing, gets what she needs at the moment, and then we resume playing… (König
2010: 22).
Simplification of adult signs for the use with infants
Basically, it is to be expected – similar to spoken language – that children will simplify the signs
offered to them according to their motor (‘visual articulatory’) skills. As we know from spoken
language research, spoken words do not have to be simplified for the children (only the pragmaticmorphosyntactic representation is simplified through the so-called ‘motherese’); the same holds for
signs and sign languages (cf. also Kiegelmann 2009: 264).
Nevertheless, single ‘baby signs’ are frequently offered in a simplified and isolated version (not –
similar to the spoken language that is offered parallel to the signs – in a sentence or full production),
which might allow for quick and direct learning but also requires a later modification of the sign and
– if a sign language is to be learned as well – its presentation in a natural context of the same
language (cf. the discussion of the difference in function concerning ‘Baby Sign’ for hearing and
hearing-impaired children). However, the communication process itself is not affected by the
simplification of signs.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
Feedback from the parents
By and large, the feedback is very positive. There has been almost no negative feedback, cf. also:
http://www.allsands.com/Kids/Education/babysignlangua_rql_gn.htm,
http://www.derwesten.de/leben/partnerschaften/Baby-Signing-soll-den-Weg-zur-Sprache-ebnenid3426843.html.
Example: A 17-month-old boy has mastered 30 signs that are now beginning to disappear in favour
of spoken language (http://www.allsands.com/Kids/Education/babysignlangua_rql_gn.htm).
Interim summary
‘Baby sign’ shows certain relations to early language learning and early communication: there seems
to be a time window, when the spoken language production skills of infants are inferior to their sign
language production skills, that is, when they can use signed words earlier than spoken words or, at
the very least, more signed than spoken words.
The duration of this period and how important the differences between signed and spoken
perception and production skills are, is not completely clear yet.
Counterarguments
From a linguistic point of view, the counterarguments are partially non-scientific, i.e. when it is
stated that it is inappropriate to teach infants a completely new language, or that there might be a
negative impact on their natural language acquisition through such artificial interference with this
process. Others simply repudiate some of the arguments for ‘Baby Sign’, e.g. that ‘Baby Sign’
promotes cognitive skills (for a summary, cf. Kiegelmann). The Deutsche Bundesverband für
Logopädie (German Federal Association for Speech Therapy) – which is traditionally not very much in
favour of sign language - argues that promotion can turn into a promotion mania: Children
themselves communicate with the aid of gestures and facial expression… it is more than
questionable to direct the natural language acquisition process with the aid of these rationally
controlled systems so that - like a trained ape - a child uses signals which the adults can
unambiguously understand because they themselves have defined their meaning (Dietlinde SchreyDern,
http://www.derwesten.de/panorama/partnerschaften/baby-signing-soll-den-weg-zursprache-ebnen-id3426843.html).
For some concerns, it should be considered that hearing children of deaf parents have always
learned a sign language and have not suffered from a smaller spoken language vocabulary than the
average hearing child. This shows that not only deaf but also hearing children develop an ability to
adopt gestures and signs from their environment in early years and use them themselves.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
If it is suggested to parents to use the method of Baby Sign, many of them are concerned about a
possible delay in their children’s spoken language development. Another concern is that visual
communication methods are only useful for impaired people, especially for hard-of-hearing and deaf
people,
who
cannot
perceive
spoken
language
and/or
produce
it
(https://www.babysigns.com/index.cfm?id=72).
Add to these political and moral concerns a question like the following: ‘Does the hearing population
have the right to ‛hijack‛ sign language?’ (Doherty 2008, 300).
All of these doubts can be dispelled with the current research results and it can be argued that sign
language users even profit from the use of signs by hearing people because the number of people
who are familiar with it increases. Marylin Daniels added: ‘... ASL is a legitimate language … stored in
a separate memory store in the baby or child’s brain.’ (cf. Snoddon 2000).
Kiegelmann mentions another argument partially against ‘Baby Sign’:’Baby Sign’ may be regarded in
the context of- pedagogically not always positively rated - trend towards learning activities for
children as early as possible.
Research results about the use of sign (language) for non-impaired children
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
In a long-term study, 102 test subjects were divided into three groups: the first group was the
training group in which the children were offered ‘Baby Sign’. The second group was a control group,
in which the parents offered the children more spoken language. The third group was also a control
group in which the participants did not receive any special instructions on how to communicate with
their children. The result was that the children of the training group showed advantages in several
linguistic areas. There was no evidence of any delay in language development because of signs used
to reinforce spoken messages. Other results showed that the children adopted and used signs if
encouraged by their parents and that the use of signs also stimulated their abstract thinking
(Goodwyn, Acredolo & Brown 2000).
It also seems that the children profit from an early use of signs even years later. The communicative
development of children who grew up with ‘Baby Sign’ was generally faster than average:
The signing babies were ahead of the pack at almost every measure at every age. They were learning
to comprehend language faster. They were learning to talk faster. They were putting words together
faster and doing better on the infant IQ tests at two years (Linda Acredolo quoted at
http://www.allsands.com/Kids/Education/babysignlangua_rql_gn.htm).
Also in a study by Daniels, the children who learned the ASL signs had a vocabulary that was up to
20% larger than that of non-signing children. The point of departure for their study was that hearing
children of deaf parents often know more than the average vocabulary.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
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The manual method of communication also promotes the use of spoken language. Through this
‘centering’ on language, e.g. grammatical structures can be grasped more easily.
As to communication in daily life, the studies delivered unambiguous results, namely:
Children from the age of month 6 to year 3 were offered the ASL signs in everyday communication
situations. The result showed that this means of communication may be used very well with
children, even if the parents were skeptical at first. Especially the children’s ability to express
emotions like rage and anger with signs instead of with fits of anger was remarkable (Ohio State
University 2011).
‘Emotional intelligence’ is the ability to perceive, understand and deal with one’s own emotions as
well as with the emotions of other people (Rayel 2005). Early linguistic possibilities of expression
help us regulate our emotions and behavior (Vallotton 2008: 29, Lovett 2008). Vallotton studied a
kindergarten group where the educators and parents offered the children signs to reinforce the
spoken messages in various everyday situations. A comparison with parents who did not use signs
showed that the parents who used ‘Baby Sign’ were less stressed in their education, had a more
loving interaction with their children and better a condition for dealing with conflict situations.
Signs proved to provide a good means of self-regulation for children, for demanding rituals of selfregulation and for expressing their emotions, wishes and needs. Parents or educators could
recognize and fulfill the children’s needs better and make them feel that they were being
understood (Vallotton 2011: 5). Vallotton assumes that signs – like spoken language signs – offer the
children the possibility to think by way of concepts. Because the former are often regarded as more
‘concrete’ (iconic) and therefore easier to understand than ‘abstract’ (non-iconic, symbolic) spoken
language words, they may be easier to use.
Examples:
Melissa (11 months) was sitting in my lap near the gate of the snack room, waiting while her
caregiver set up her snack. Ruby (another infant) was standing in front of Melissa, holding onto the
gate and watching her own caregiver. Melissa was looking at the back of Ruby’s head, which was
about an arm’s length away. Melissa reached out her hand to touch Ruby’s hair. I said, ‘You are
looking at Ruby’s hair and want to touch it. We need to be gentle.’ I stroked my arm gently to sign
‘gentle.’ She touched Ruby’s hair with one index finger, very lightly. I said, ‘Yes, thank you for being
gentle’ (Vallotton 2008: 31).
After a snack, I carried Helene (12 months) into the nap room. As I sat down in the rocking chair with
Helene in my lap, I started to sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’ Helene gestured ‘monkey.’ So I sang
‘Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,’ using the gestures with one hand, repeatedly until her eyelids began
to droop. I continued rocking her and let her fall into a deeper sleep before attempting to set her
down on the mat. Each time I knelt to lay her down, Helene would awaken and gesture ‘monkey.’ I
sang the ‘Monkeys’ song each time until her eyelids again drooped. After the third time I was finally
able to place her down asleep on her mat (Vallotton 2008: 32).
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
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Kiegelmann researched the levels of stress within ‘Baby Sign’ families and families that do not use
this means of communication with a questionnaire. She did not notice any significant differences
with respect to the levels of stress, but with respect to the socio-economic status of the families:
‘Baby Sign’ is mainly used by families with a higher social status.
Kiegelmann does not want to confirm the assumption that ‘Baby Sign’ is the exclusive reason for
signing infants to show an improved spoken language development and higher intelligence and for
suffering less from fits of anger: the development of children who attended ‘Baby Sign’ courses was
a little bit higher than average. Kiegelmann also attributes that to the fact that parents who use
‘Baby Sign’ interact more with their children. Her summary:
At any rate, it does not seem to harm, i.e. delay the language development. And if mother and child
have fun playing with their fingers, … Anyhow, that’s at least something to be said for that.
(Kiegelmann 2009: 270)
Marshall, too, writes that until now there have been too few scientific results to prove the positive
influence of ‘Baby Sign’ (Marshall 2007: 13).
SCHOOL
Examining the influence of ‘Baby Sign’ in schools showed that its use had positive effects on both
educators and children: the educators respond better to younger children, conversations spring up
faster, and the contact with the children is more cordial (Vallotton 2011: 5). The educators feel that
they know the children better and that they achieve higher attention through signs.
Felzer (2000) presents study results showing that the use of visual means of communication has a
positive influence on reading competence: Fingerspelling has been used since the 19th century to
improve reading skills. Every letter is represented by a certain hand form. The second method
(somewhat misleadingly termed as ‘spelling’ by Felzer) codes words or phrases with signs.
Fingerspelling and signs help children with normal intelligence to learn to read before they enter
school.
Vernon and Coley developed a program that assists children with reading difficulties/dyslexia
through fingerspelling and signs. The program was not published, but achieved good results during
the test phase: hearing and deaf children were taught together, using visual methods. For both
groups, a positive influence on reading, talking and writing could be observed:
Because signs are so vivid, dramatic and fascinating they may serve as a powerful motivating force in
helping youngsters want to learn to read (Felzer 2000).
In addition to its role as additional support for children with reading and writing difficulties, manual
communication is also useful for the people with a visual impairment: Fingerspelling can aid these
people in learning new words and reading them in Braille.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
Baby Sign‘ vs. sign language for a bilingual hard-ofhearing or deaf child
With regard to the use of ‘Baby Sign’, Doherty (2008: 300) asks: ‘What about deaf babies, are their
communication needs met adequately?’ Let us combine this question with the following statement
which is mostly uncontroversial within speech-therapy:
If a 24-month-old child does not reach the threshold of 50 words, it cannot start learning the
grammatical system on time, which means that the whole language development is delayed
(Hermannsdorfer 2011: 11).
Look at the situations of acquiring a language in children with different hearing status. The children
who can hear normally can perceive daily life continuously ‘accompanied’ by spoken language. For
them, the provision of single sign words reinforcing a spoken message which they can produce
earlier than spoken words is appropriate for building an active linguistic means of communication
somewhat earlier than the spoken language one. For them, this happens in the context of their
parents’ comprehensive spoken language (or other caregivers’); it is anchored in their daily life,
therefore they have already developed a partial ‘understanding’ of certain parts of a spoken
message. For them, this is only about creating an active and relatively differentiated means of
expression at a somewhat earlier point of time.
In contrast, the hearing-impaired children can receive spoken language only partially or not at all, or
later if they are successfully provided with hearing-aids. For them, the ‘automatic’ accompaniment
of daily life with spoken language holds at best for those parts that can be perceived or only for
some fragments.
For them the possibility to develop an age-appropriate ‘understanding’ through a comprehensively
offered language and its relations to their daily life exists only in a limited way or not at all.
Therefore it is recommended to offer a comprehensive visual language to all hearing-impaired
children who can presumably perceive spoken language only in an incomplete way due to their
limited perception. This will enable them to experience the same processes of ‘developing an
understanding’ like non-hearing-impaired children, based on this visual language. Spoken and visual
languages can and should be offered simultaneously, because in many cases one may not be sure
how much of spoken language a child can perceive and which learning results they can achieve.
Therefore the principle of double insurance holds: in case that spoken language can be perceived at
least partially (this includes lip-reading as a limited but existing access to spoken language), it will be
available to them. In case that a child cannot extract elements and structures from spoken language
or too few of them to learn it to an age-appropriate extent, the visual language, either a sign
language or signs reinforcing spoken messages, will be available. This will enable them to learn
language in a compensatory way via the visual channel. If the ideal situation, one or two complete
languages from the beginning, cannot be realized, there is the possibility of representing sign
language – in which many hearing parents are not fluent – through single and partially combined
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
signs. However, during the second half of the first year at the latest, a child-appropriate visual
language which is as complete as possible has to be used (additionally), so that the child can develop
its cognitive strategies oriented towards language learning (i.e. the ‘anchoring’ of identified linguistic
elements to pre- or nonlingual perceptions/information). So if the method of ‘Baby Sign’ is used for
hearing-impaired children, it must not remain an offer of isolated or ‘key words’ as with hearing
children (they may be used as an introduction, though). Instead, it must – in accordance with the
extent of language development support necessary for an individual child – change to an actual
bilingual method during the second year at the latest, through a more or less complete visual
language, under the assumption that spoken language is used as well. In other words, the use of
‘Baby Sign’ with hearing-impaired children must not be misinterpreted as a complete or appropriate
support of language development if the child shows a delay in spoken language development. In
such cases, it is necessary to carefully examine which kind of language development support via the
visual channel may cause this delay to disappear.
To summarize the (desirable) inclusive provisions for hearing and hearing-impaired children: after a
shared initial phase, the hearing-impaired children under these conditions (delay in spoken language
development) need additional systematic language development support in a visual language. This
may be achieved through an actual bilingual offer in an inclusive course for all children, or through a
special bilingual group for hearing-impaired children. It is desirable that the organizers of’Baby
Sign’/’Tiny Signers’ courses should also be qualified to evaluate the language situation of the
hearing-impaired children and should be able to offer a sign language as well.
Speech therapists and ‚Baby Sign‘ or sign language
In speech therapy literature, ‘language’ is often the term for spoken language only; the same is true
for web-sites on speech therapy. In some professional groups, speech therapists partially claim for
their only right to perform ‘language therapy’ and threaten any violation by lawsuit.
Beyond this position that discriminates against sign language oriented or bilingually oriented people,
there are already some speech therapists who strive to get speech therapy to accept a
comprehensive understanding of language and communication (cf. Tesak 2007) or who acquaint
themselves
with
‘Baby
Sign’
and
sign
language
(cf.
http://www.babyzeichensprache.com/referenzen.php). For example, Ursula Escher-Vigiller states
that ‘Baby Sign’ is a useful tool for the fostering of spoken language acquisition.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
Conclusion
The existing research results offer at least some evidence for a positive influence of ‘Baby Sign’on
the cognitive and language development of hearing children - perhaps together with other context
factors of the ontogenesis. Probably the main reason for this is that through an anticipated
possibility to realize their own linguistic or ‘close to speech’ communication, the children using ‘Baby
Sign’ learn a little bit earlier to use a dialogic form of communication, as compared to active spoken
language production. No delays in their spoken language development could be shown. Additionally,
an earlier possibility of a more detailed communication with small children is a clear advantage for
the families as a whole.
For hearing-impaired children, ‘Baby Sign’ offers even more advantages; for those with a more
severe hearing loss, it represents the necessary introduction to the use of a visual language, in order
to avoid the risk of not reaching the 50-word threshold by the age of 24 months. However, a clear
warning must be issued against offering ‘Baby Sign’ to hard-of-hearing and deaf children as a fully
valid substitute for a complete visual language.
Notes
1 - Cf.: http://www.knetfeder.de/kkp/sprache2.html, http://www.bildungsserver.de/zeigen.html?seite=2299,
http://www.sprachheilberater.de/Sprachentwicklung.htm#TabelleZurSprachentwicklung
2 - Cf. http://www.knetfeder.de/kkp/sprache2.html bzw. ,
http://www.bildungsserver.de/zeigen.html?seite=2299,
http://www.sprachheilberater.de/Sprachentwicklung.htm#TabelleZurSprachentwicklung
3 - This term means the use of signs for communication in contrast to ‘fingerspelling’, i.e. the representation of
single letters by hand signs.
4 - Cf. also the recommendations ‘Empfehlungen für die Entwicklung eines Curriculums für die Ausbildung von
Kinderbetreuer/innen bzw. Kindergärtner/innen’ of the project ‘Tiny Signers’
(http://www.tinysigners.eu/?lang=en).
5 - ASL is one of the most important languages in the USA; therefore learning signs has a much higher status
with regard to learning another language also for later use: ‘Some parents encourage a child to continue
practising American Sign Language (ASL) even after they begin speaking. ASL is the 3rd most used language in
the United States. By practising and developing ASL as a second language, your child can benefit from having
this language skill later in life.’ http://www.babies-and-sign-language.com/baby-sign-benefits.html
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
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Franz Dotter
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use
which may be made of the information contained therein.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.