Many people have sent us questions regarding our
video and the learning of American Sign Language (ASL). Rachel Coleman,
one of the mothers behind the creation of Signing Time, understands
these concerns and questions. Rachel has a daughter, Leah,
who is Deaf. Rachel had to research and learn the answers for
herself as she taught her daughter. Rachel's sister Emilie is also
teaching her hearing children how to sign - with remarkable results.
Both of these mothers' research and experiences demonstrate that all
children can benefit from the learning of ASL, whether they can hear
or whether they are Deaf. Rachel feels very strongly about the need
to teach children everywhere to sign and shares her knowledge and
experience with you here.
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How early can I start to sign with my child?
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My child is already talking. Why should they learn ASL?
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Will learning signs delay my child's speech?
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I don't have time to learn and teach my child sign.
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Do I have to become fluent in ASL?
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Why do you use ASL and not made up signs?
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My child does not do the signs correctly. Is that okay?
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How soon will my child start to sign?
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My child can hear. Why should they learn American Sign Language
(ASL)?
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I have heard that signing helps with tantrums and "The Terrible
Two's"
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My children are older than 5 years of age, is that too old for
Signing Time?
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What research exists that supports the use of
signing with hearing children? How early can I
start to sign with my child?Start signing now! You can
sign "milk" to your newborn when it's time to nurse or time for a
bottle. Sign "sleep" at nap and bedtimes. Take your baby's hands and
help them sign "more" in-between each spoonful. This will help
integrate signs into your daily routine. Soon the repetition and
reinforcement will occur naturally as your infant grows. It will
also help your infant realize that crying is not the only way of
communicating.
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back to top My child is already
talking. Why should they learn ASL? Learning a second
language is fun and has many developmental benefits. ASL stimulates
learning through different senses. Sign language is a blessing for
children that are "visual", "spatial" or "tactile learners."
Learning a second language raises your child's IQ. One in ten
Americans have some degree of hearing loss. Knowing a few signs can
give your child the confidence to engage and interact with a deaf
child rather than both children feeling awkward and helpless.
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back to top Will learning signs delay
my child's speech? Many parents fear that signing will
delay or further delay speech. Our experience has been the opposite.
If your goal is communication, then signing will meet that
communication need much earlier than speech. "When we found out Leah
was deaf, many people warned us to be careful with signing. They
said, 'If she gets too comfortable signing, she will never speak.'
Their intentions were good, but they were absolutely wrong. Luckily,
we first gave Leah a complete language in signs, only then was she
able to take time to work on the skill of labeling those signs
through her speech. English is a language. American Sign Language is
a language. Spanish is a language. But speech, it is a skill...and
Leah is a little chatterbox!"
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back to top I don't have time to learn
and teach my child sign. Parenting can be very
overwhelming because there never seems to be enough time. This is
why we created Signing Time—it does the work for you!
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back to top Do I have to become fluent
in ASL? No, you don't. We are providing parenting tools
for communication through the use of ASL. I think you will be
surprised how useful it is to learn even a few signs. The Signing
Time series teaches more than 75 signs and exposes you to over a
hundred.
If fluency is your goal, ASL, like any second language, takes
time and practice. (I have been signing for 8 years and I'm
still learning) Surrounding yourself with others that are
fluent will really boost your skills and your confidence.
If you are interested in learning more, check out your
Community Education Programs and Community Center for the Deaf. Many
Jr. High Schools, High Schools, Community Colleges and Universities
now include ASL in their curriculum. There are sign language
interpreting programs all across the country.
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back to top Why do you use ASL and not
made up signs? Since
you are going to take the time to teach and reinforce signs, it makes sense to
use signs that are part of a living language that have meaning to the hundreds
of thousands of ASL users. Additionally,
your child’s caregivers (Doctors, preschools, daycare centers, and elementary
schools) are far more likely to use ASL than to try and learn individual “made
up” signs for each child for whom they care. Hearing children that start out as "baby
signers" can comfortably transition into communication with deaf children
and adults, and take advantage of other ASL materials (videos, ASL playgroups,
etc...). They have also laid a foundation for the study of ASL as a second
language later in their academic careers.
All of this is possible, by simply using ASL signs instead of made up
signs.
And
finally, many of our Deaf customers have pointed out that made up signs run the risk of actually “saying”
something unintended in ASL, leading to potentially humorous if not embarrassing situations.
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back to top My child does not do the
signs correctly. Is that okay? Most children adapt
signs to whatever they are physically able to do. As their fine
motor skills develop further, their signs will also develop. This is
very similar to the pattern in speech development; "Da-da" suddenly
becomes "Daddy" or "Dad" or in Leah's case, "Aaron!" (LOL)
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back to top How soon will my child
start to sign? It really depends on when you start. If
you start signing with your newborn, they may not reciprocate until
8-14 months old. If you start with your 2 year old, they may respond
immediately or it may take a couple of months. If your child has
physical, mental or developmental delays, take that into
consideration. My daughter Lucy had no words and no signs and showed
no interest in communication for two long years. Her doctors did not
expect that to change. We didn't give up, we continued exposing her
to sign and speech, and suddenly she had a language explosion in
speech AND sign!
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back to top My child can hear. Why
should they learn American Sign Language (ASL)? Most
children are not developmentally ready to speak until approximately
2 years of age. Babies are developmentally able to communicate with
signs much earlier than that. Some studies indicate children as
young as 5- 6 months of age can communicate
with limited signs. The inability to communicate
causes frustration and tantrums. Sign language is a wonderful tool
that allows even very small children to express themselves. Most
parents that sign with their babies talk about an unexplainable bond
that is felt when their child communicates so early!
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back to top I have heard that signing
helps with tantrums and "The Terrible Two's" Many
tantrums and the "Terrible Two's" are about frustration and
communication. There is less frustration when your child can
communicate. The typical child's motor skills develop far faster
than their verbal skills.
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back to top My children are older
than 5 years of age, is that too old for Signing Time?
Children of all ages love "Signing Time." Sign language
is a valuable tool at any age! Your 5 year-old will quickly learn
all of the signs AND they will pick up the additional signs that we
show off in the songs too! Many older children love the idea of sign
language as their "secret language." Not to mention it is a real
language used by millions of Americans, including Leah!
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back to top What research exists about
the benefits of using sign language with hearing
children?In a word, lots. Please download
our summary of the latest research by clicking
here.
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