From birth, babies use facial expressions, physical gestures and crying to express their needs and to communicate how they feel. Generally, parents learn quickly to understand what their babies want and to interpret their moods correctly. Practical, positive responses accompanied by verbal reassurance are the tools that most parents use to accommodate the basic infant demands made on them.
Usually, babies who are thriving, compliant and satisfied make parents feel proud, whereas unsettled and 'difficult' babies make parents feel unsure, anxious and worried. In may be that the methods of communication used with the unsettled babies have led to a misinterpretation of the messages passed between them and their parents. This failure means that some babies do not engage their parents' attention sufficiently, and in turn their parents do not respond satisfactorily. Baby signing can overcome this problem.
Signing is good for babies, their parents and all carers who work with young children, because it helps create a level playing field for communication between the very young and adults. It promotes successful relationships and effective companionship. Baby signing is based on the principle that babies use all their senses to communicate, and that physical manipulation of parts of the body and facial expressions consolidate and reinforce the meaning of the spoken word.
What are the benefits?
Babies and toddlers function best when they feel well and are happily reliant on caring and dependable adults. Healthy brain development is fostered by positive interactions that help young children make sense of the world and people.
Signing is a means by which babies can learn to express their needs long before they have the vocabulary and linguistic skills to vocalise them. It is a method of communication that is highly inclusive, because it enables all children to participate, including those who have a hearing impairment or learning difficulties, or those with English as an additional language.
Teaching baby signing and introducing children to British Sign Language (BSL) also supports the later development of children's language and literacy skills. Used effectively, communication through signing and using the spoken word are the building blocks for developing knowledge of expressive and written language.
Spreading the message about the benefits of baby signing is not easy.
Practitioners and parents who want to use it must be prepared to study the programme and practise it every day. They need to feel confident with the gestures and facial expressions they are using.
Babies and children are natural imitators, and they pick up and recall physical gestures much faster than adults. The role of the adult is to engage in conversations and play with children, making the most of daily routines, experiences, stories, songs and rhymes to express ideas and thoughts.
Together, children and adults can combine the vocalisation of spoken language with corresponding hand movements and facial expressions. Once the process of signing has begun, it becomes second nature to children as they learn that verbal expression is enhanced by gesticulations and facial expressions.
How do boys and girls develop?
Studies of children acquiring language reveal differences between boys and girls. Social expectations for girls and boys lead the genders to develop in different ways.
Boys generally acquire verbal language slower than girls, especially because parents encourage boys to be more active and physical. Girls receive gentler handling, spend greater time in the immediate presence of their parents and become more focused on the verbal and visual interaction that adults use. This encourages girls to be more sensitive to modulations in adults' speech, to have lots of uninterrupted time to copy speech patterns and to learn vocal formations with greater ease.
Signing helps to iron out this disparity of language development between the sexes, as adults have to use physical gestures and speak when they engage in conversations with both girls and boys. Boys tend to respond positively because they gain credit and praise for gesturing and attempting to vocalise at the same time. Making this deliberate move to engage boys and giving due recognition to this form of learning helps them express language at a similar level to girls.
What are the outcomes?
Signing empowers children to take control of their thoughts and expressions and helps them relate to other children more effectively from the earliest age. When children have the ability to make themselves understood, they become less frustrated and can deal more positively with their needs and emotions.
Signing is used most successfully when it enables children to play harmoniously, avoiding confrontations and respecting each other's personal space. Parents, carers and early years practitioners can learn how to introduce signing to babies and young children by accessing the 'Signs for Success' website.
Kathy Robinson, the director of the programme, has written a course to support adults working with children called 'Signing Fun with Babies and Toddlers'. It explains how children's progress, as expressed through each of the aspects of development in the Birth to Three Matters framework, can be supported by signing. Through practical activities and by reflecting on their interactions with children, students learn how to promote best practice, which empowers children to direct their own learning.
A strong child
Signing supports babies and young children in making their needs known and feeling that they are a respected and loved member of the family and nursery. The activities related to this section of the course emphasise how important it is to create an environment where children can make choices and learn to help adults maintain cohesion efficiently. It is essential that children develop a genuine sense of self and the ability to control what they do.
A skilful communicator
Signing, as one of the earliest forms of communication, should be exploited to ensure that the physical skills acquired by babies are maximised and encouraged. Eight-month-old babies can wrap their arms around their bodies to express their love, and can make the signs for 'thirsty', 'tired' and 'hungry', among many other basic needs.
Using signing from an early stage can help babies pick up the meaning of words long before they are able to vocalise them. Continued use of signing and verbal expression can consolidate children's understanding, confidence and self-esteem.
A competent learner
Signing is an enhanced form of communication that helps children develop concentration skills and belief in the continued use of their senses to learn about the world. Signing is like learning another language, because it opens avenues for communication with all children, including those who have disabilities and children with English as a second language. Signing stretches children's memory skills and therefore numeracy and literacy skills.
A healthy child
Signing is about empowering children to make choices and encouraging them from the earliest age to make themselves understood. It promotes good use of physical skills to complement verbal expressiveness. A healthy child learns that signing helps them to avoid frustration and to play their full part as a respected member of the group or family. Signing promotes emotional well-being and happiness.
Signing success
When babies and toddlers are confident signers, introducing finger spelling is a natural progression that enables them to practise their increasing fine motor and memory skills.
Studies of programmes running over several years in Birmingham schools (see Further Information) provide evidence that children's literacy at the end of Key Stage One continues to outstrip the achievements of children who have not been taught finger spelling. NW
Further information
* 'Signing, literacy and behaviour' by Trudy Fletcher, in Action for inclusion, issue 17, November 2006 (Birmingham City Council)
* For information about teaching signing, see the Signs for Success website: www.signsforsuccess.co.uk
* To find out about the Diploma in Signing with Babies and Toddlers, visit www.icslearn.co.uk
CASE STUDY: OAK HILL COMMUNITY NURSERY
* Children and practitioners at Oak Hill Community Nursery in Brockley, south London, have been using signing since the nursery opened last November.
Part of Hatcham Oak Children's Centre, the nursery was introduced to signing by the centre's outreach worker Melissa Widdup, who had organised signing workshops for parents and practitioners in other local schemes and settings.
Oak Hill staff and children are introduced to new signs during two weekly sessions. Photographs of the sign of the week, such as 'finished', 'hug', 'cup' and 'more', are then displayed around the nursery.
'It's a good tool to have,' says nursery manager Karen Palmer. She has found signing particularly useful in working with children with an auditory impairment and with English as a second language - the nursery cares for a three-year-old Polish girl with almost no English.
Signing, she feels, also helps to develop children's concentration and listening skills and to resolve instances of inappropriate behaviour, as children are encouraged to 'stop, look and listen' to what an adult is trying to communicate to them.
The nursery plans to offer signing workshops for parents.