Louder than words
Program helps young children communicate
An inconsolable, screaming baby or a toddler flopped down on the floor in a full-body tantrum can make even the most patient of parents want to cry themselves.
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But a program, offered through Early Childhood Family Education in Brainerd, is helping parents not only better communicate with their babies and toddlers, but it could eliminate those "terrible 2s" altogether and may make your child even brighter as a result.
Baby sign language has been gaining in popularity nationwide and may have become more mainstream after the 2004 comedy, "Meet the Fockers," which showed sign language being taught to a hearing infant.
Tammy Pitner, Baxter, along with her 2-year-old son, Elijah, demonstrated how Elijah can sign the word "more." Pitner said that when her 6-week-old son Gabriel (bottom left) is a little older, she'll teach him baby sign language as well. Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist» Purchase reprints of this photo.
Jim Davis, a chiropractor at Lakes Chiropractic who specialized in children's care, has volunteered his time teaching Baby Signs classes through the Brainerd School District's ECFE program for the past 212 years. Davis discovered baby sign language a few years ago while taking a course on neurology. He and his wife, Heather, started signing to their son, Jonah, now 4, when he was about 8 months old. By the time Jonah was 1, he knew about 50 signs for things like, "milk," "more," "please," and "thank you." Their youngest son, Cullen, 2, also knows many signs himself and uses them frequently.
Davis saw in his own home the benefits of baby sign language and was so impressed that he contacted Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn, the authors of the book, "Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk" about the possibility of teaching classes for parents in Brainerd. Coincidentally, the women had just finished creating curriculum for their Baby Signs program and Davis became a certified instructor.
If you go
Parents interested in teaching their hearing babies to use sign language may sign up for one of four workshops being offered through Early Childhood Family Education in the Brainerd School District.
The Baby Signs program, based on 20 years of research and study, has found that using signs can enhance a child's language and cognitive and social-emotional development.
Sessions are from 12-1:30 p.m. and 5:30-7 p.m. Nov. 6 and Dec. 4.
The fee is $25 and includes the cost of child care and the Baby Signs take-home parent kit valued at $30. Classes are at the Brainerd School District Learning Center, 311 10th Ave. N.E., Brainerd. Child care is available on a limited basis.
The program is partly funded by the Minnesota Initiative Foundation.
For more information, contact ECFE at 454-5430.
"It's a wonderful, wonderful tool on many levels," Davis said of baby sign language. "It allows parents to spend more time with their kids and it really builds the child-parent bond when they can communicate with you at a very early age. At 10-12 months they can start signing back to you with their needs. It literally amazes people when Cullen comes into a room and tells us he needs his diaper changed. He lets us know what he needs through signing."
According to Baby Signs research, which has been ongoing for the past two decades, babies at 24 months of age whose parents used sign language with them were on average talking like 47-month-olds, putting them a full year ahead of children who weren't taught sign language. In addition, 8-year-olds who had been taught baby sign language scored an average of 12 points higher in IQ than their non-signing peers.
Nadia Ceriello may only be 11 months old, but she has been learning sign language from her parents, Dondee Murray and Michael Ceriello, for the past few months. Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist» Purchase reprints of this photo.
Tammy Pitner, Baxter, said she's noticed big changes in her 2-year-old son, Elijah, because they use sign language. She said Elijah knows about 50 signs and makes some up himself. She said his tantrums have nearly been eliminated because he doesn't get as frustrated when he's trying to communicate with her and her husband, Jim. Their son, Gabriel, is only 6 weeks old but they plan to use baby sign language with him, starting when he's about 6 months old. Elijah will often sign to his baby brother.
"It really has made our lives easier and more fun," said Pitner. "It's fun to see him, especially when he was younger. He would just be so proud. It truly builds their pride. They're so proud of themselves, like 'Hey, she got it. My mommy and daddy understand.' You can just see it on their faces."
Davis said a common misconception is that a child's speech will be delayed if parents teach the child sign language. The opposite is true, Davis said. Parents always speak the words as they are signing them to their children.
Dondee Murray and her husband, Michael Ceriello, began using sign language with their eldest daughter, Olivia, 6, when she was about 1. Olivia began to read at age 4. While Murray said it's hard to say whether baby sign language played a role in her daughter's early reading abilities, she has noticed positive changes in each of their daughters, including Sophia, 3, and now Nadia, 11 months, because the entire family signs. She and her girls always sign "I love you" to one another when they say goodbye.
Murray has been teaching sign language to Nadia for the past few months and only this month the baby has started doing the signs herself.
Dondee Murray, Brainerd, and her 3-year-old daughter, Sophia, signed "eat" for her youngest daughter, Nadia, 11 months. Murray and her husband, Michael Ceriella, believe learning sign language has been beneficial for all their daughters, including their eldest, Olivia, who is 6. They, including their older daughters, are now working on teaching more signs to Nadia. Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist» Purchase reprints of this photo.
"They're getting the words, they're just not ready to talk," said Murray. "Her face will light up and she gets excited and laughs when I sign to her."
Kay and Mike Paulus of Brainerd have used sign language with both their children, Sean, 4, and Autumn, 2.
"We would do it again in a heartbeat and have recommended it to other people that we know as well," said Kay Paulus. "We thought it really helped the kids communicate what their wants and their needs were even though they couldn't verbalize it yet. Both of them were verbal at an early age and I think part of it is that they know how to communicate and they knew we would respond."
Many ECFE classes and area child-care centers are using baby sign language, which reinforces what is being taught at home. Davis said sign language can be considered by parents as a communication tool until their child's language skills develop and can be continued to be taught in the home, much like learning a foreign language. It also allows children to better communicate with non-hearing children and adults when they happen to meet them.
Parents who take a Baby Signs class from Davis through ECFE will receive a take-home parent kit that includes a Baby Signs book, DVD video dictionary and other teaching tools, including a magnetic reference flip chart they can put on their refrigerator. While Baby Signs products may be purchased online at the Web site, www.babysigns.com, Davis said parents may place orders with him at the Baby Signs classes and all proceeds help support ECFE.
JODIE TWEED can be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.