Lora Heller, MS, LCAT, MT-BC, CEIM  Founding Director of Baby Fingers LLC

www.mybabyfingers.com

Q: Is sign language only for people who are Deaf?

A: No.  Sign Language can be extremely useful (and fun to learn) for hearing people too.

Anyone who has not yet learned to talk, who may not ever learn to talk, who has had a stroke or other brain injury, and many others who can hear can still benefit from using sign language.  It provides a visual language, an opportunity to more fully express oneself, and the ability to talk across a room from each other without disturbing anyone in between!

MYTH: Sign Language is universal.

FACT: Each spoken language – actually each country, even if it uses the same spoken language as another country – has its own sign language.

For example, in the United States/North America, we use American Sign Language (ASL).  Parts of Canada use French Sign Language (FSL) as does France.  There is Spanish Sign Language in Spain (LSE) and Mexican Sign Language in Mexico (LSM); Portuguese Sign Language is used in both Portugal & Brazil (LGP).  Even though English is spoken here in the states as well as in England and Australia, there is British Sign Language (BSL) and Australian Sign Language (AUSLAN).

Q: What is the optimal age to introduce signs?

A: At Baby Fingers, we recommend introducing signs at birth, or as early as possible.

There is no absolute right or wrong time to introduce your baby to sign language.  The younger your baby is when signs are accessible and consistent, the younger your baby will likely be when he or she begins to use the signs.

MYTH: If my baby signs, he/she will talk very late or not at all.

FACT: Babies who sign have a stronger command of language and tend to speak earlier than their non-signing peers.

Most often, babies using signs have a large vocabulary and a tremendous motivation to communicate.  While the speech mechanism is completely separate from language, using signs tends to jumpstart both skill areas.

Q: How old will my baby be when he/she begins to sign?

A: This depends in part on when signs are introduced, but your baby could begin to sign as early as 8 months old.

Babies who are exposed to sign language consistently beginning at 3 months of age or younger could be signing at 6 months.  Babies who begin to learn signs at a year or after could be signing within a couple of weeks.

MYTH: Adding sign language to a bilingual or multi-lingual family is confusing to the child.

FACT: Sign Language bridges the gap between two (or three) different spoken languages, easing the learning process.

When a baby hears, for example, Mom say “milk” while she signs milk, and Dad say “leche” while he signs milk, baby learns that those two very different sounding words mean the same thing.  Baby soon understands that he/she can sign milk to both parents and they will understand the request.  Baby also learns to eventually speak Spanish to Dad and English to Mom, still able to sign new words not yet spoken to both parents.  Frustration is significantly decreased, as is confusion.

Q: How many signs should we start with, and which are the best ones to introduce first?

A: Use as many signs as you can remember, and whichever ones you find to be most important in your routine with your baby.

The key here is really consistency.  If you can remember 5 signs and use them every day, every time you say those words or engage in those activities, that’s great.  It could be that you sign MILK, MORE, I LOVE YOU, and MOMMY/DADDY all the time.  A parent who is proficient in sign language already may sign entire conversations right from the start.  That’s equally great.  Communicate with your baby, engage in language and play, look into each other’s eyes, sing songs together…keep language consistent and accessible.  Find a class to join, a DVD to watch, a book to learn from together.

RESOURCES:

• www.mybabyfingers.com
• www.sign2me.com
• www.signalot.com
• www.sterlingpublishing.com/kidscatalog?query=lora+heller&x=0&y=0&limit=10
• www.web.me.com/dawnprochovnic/DawnsBooks/Home.html

Learn to Sign with Your Baby

Lora teaches you how to get started and how to keep signing, right here with ParentsTV.com.

http://www.parents.com/videos/video-search?pageid=1196517&channel=Baby+Sign+Language

Learn about the benefits of the Baby Fingers program at www.mybabyfingers.com.

Imagine choosing the right motivational – and magical – music to guide you (all superheros need a theme song!) as you  change a diaper, nurse a baby, help with homework, play hide and seek, kiss a “boo-boo,” clean the house, grocery shop, get to baseball practice and the chorus concert, change the light bulbs, keep up with current events, make the baby food from scratch with only organic ingredients, cook dinner, do the laundry, plant flowers, water the garden, plan a birthday party, buy a birthday present, answer e-mail, grade papers, return phone calls, exercise, take a shower, pay bills, edit the final draft of your book, feed the cats, scoop the litter box, pet the cats, see a client, choose a book to read, brush your hair, have something to eat, schedule an orthodontist appointment, bring the kids to the pediatrician, have quality time with your partner, and … whatever else! everything else! … all at the same time.  Or at least all in one day without your hair falling out.

I’ve always said I’m good at two things – remembering names and hula-hooping.  Very true.  But I’ve also always “secretly” believed I was good at being a mom. Honestly, it’s also true, even though some days I’m not so easily convinced.  But there’s no such thing as perfect – actually, it was my own mom’s imperfections (and her willingness to accept that she wasn’t perfect) that often helped me through the toughest times and strengthened our relationship.  And I know I’m a good mom – the best testimonial comes from my kids. No, they don’t go around advertising … but they are really great kids which speaks for itself.  They are inquisitive and talented and loving and resourceful and kind and imaginative, and responsible and smart and helpful and funny and … and so much more. Yes, they drive me nuts and they misbehave, but they’re supposed to do those things.  It’s their job, and they are good at that too!  Some of this is “luck of the draw” – you get what you’re born with. But much of it is parenting.  Sure there are great kids that survive tragic childhoods – (I root for those kids, and have even worked with a few of them) and wonderful parents who wonder where they went wrong with their kids. I’m not going to get into the Nature vs Nurture debate here today, though I’ll say I believe they both play a role.

I’ll also say that I think most parents (and most early childhood professionals) are superheros already.  Choose your theme song, your outfit, your title, and go ahead – blast off.

A great majority of parents try to give their kids limited screen time while maximizing reading, exercise, and socialization.  I do the same – however, there are studies indicating that some screen time is very helpful.

A recent article in the New York Times highlighted an Italian study in Current Biology, indicating potential benefits of video games in developing the reading abilities of children with dyslexia.  There was a noted increase in attention to task, which correlated to improved reading skills.

PRWeb.com explains how children with “print disabilities” have outscored their peers in math tests through the use of audio books!  For most kids these days, that means putting the ear buds into the Kindle Fire and following along electronically while listening.

According to ScienceDaily.com, “Using brain scans of children and adults watching Sesame Street, cognitive scientists are learning how children’s brains change as they develop intellectual abilities like reading and math.” The goal is to help determine the cause when someone is having difficulty mastering a task. “It’s not the case that if you put a child in front of an educational TV program that nothing is happening-that the brain just sort of zones out. Instead, what we see is that the patterns of neural activity that children are showing are meaningful and related to their intellectual abilities.”

According to lostandsound.org/film, “1 in 7 of us will experience some kind of deafness in our lifetime. So what would happen to the music you love, if your hearing was lost?” I just saw this documentary by Lindsey Dryden, shown at the Lincoln Center Film Society.

Dryden is a British writer, producer, and director.  She loves music, and has been deaf in one ear since she was 3 years old – as an adult, she learned it was due to Meniere’s disease. Her film highlights the scientific research involving the brain and human response to music, while following the experiences of three people .

Nick is a prominent music critic in the UK who recently lost hearing in one hear (as an adult) and is not aided; Emily is a university dance student who has worn hearing aids for 19 of her 20 years, a cochlear implant for 3 years.  With no formal speech therapy, she has very “deaf speech” but with a British accent. Her cochlear implant amplifies the rhythm in the music she listens to and she dances quite beautifully; Holly is a 10 year old child of musicians, also studying music herself, who lost her hearing at 14 months after a fight with meningitis.  She was aided once she regained her health, and received a cochlear implant about 6 months later. She has auditory memory, having been able to hear for more than a year before her illness – she had previously been speaking also, and once she was aided, she received intensive speech therapy.  The music provided a good deal of auditory training for her as well.

Some highlights for me in Lost & Sound: there were clips of Holly in music therapy at the Nordoff Robbins Centre in London; medical professionals and university lecturers spoke of the power of music and the related brain responses; none of the three highlighted people in the film considered the deafness to be a disability.  There were some struggles (especially regarding Nick’s pain – both physically and emotionally in dealing with this loss – as well as for Holly’s and Emily’s parents), but no handicaps getting in the way of life’s opportunities, successes, joys.  I also was happy to watch the interpreter during the Q & A after the screening.

What was missing for me: a 4th perspective incorporating someone Deaf (capital D), who was born deaf and uses sign language; most likely this would be someone who doesn’t miss music due to never having experienced its sound, only its vibrations – and perhaps having pleasant experiences with music in his or her own way.  ASL (or BSL, since it was in the UK) was sorely missing – in my opinion – in a film about deafness.  Dryden herself mentioned during the Q & A that followed the screening that she did not intend to leave out sign language and that the film could have been enhanced with such a perspective.

Of course the Q & A brought up some of the controversies around cochlear implants… and there’s a lot of controversy.  You can get some details about the impants here: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/coch.aspx.  Some people find them to be helpful in distinguishing between speech, music, and other sounds.  Some people find them to be more distracting, causing sounds to become irritating or even painful.  Not everyone who is deaf is a candidate for a cochlear implant, so the most important thing is to do plenty of research and become educated in order to make an informed decision for yourself or your young child.

Going back to the film… visually, it is stunning.  It has subtitles that don’t become annoying, they are just part of the scenery.  The transitions are smooth with creative scientific images and a good mix of personal stories alongside the research. The soundtrack is appealing and supportive, not overbearing.  This film was well worth watching.

All Day Long is one of our Baby Fingers board books. You can see all our books on our website at www.mybabyfingers.com/products (also available on amazon.com and b&n.com)- along with our webinars and DVDs, the books provide a wonderful resource for home study, either to get started on your own or to support what you’re learning in a Baby Fingers class.  The signs below from Hands4Learning can help get you through some of your day with your baby or toddler.  It almost doesn’t matter what you sign first – as long as you are signing consistently, you’ll likely get a response from your little one.  It may start with increased eye contact, smiles, and then some exploration of her hands, called manual babbling.  Soon enough she’ll begin to understand your signs, try to imitate them, and eventually sign to you spontaneously.  Once she speaks, you’ll likely notice a large vocabulary, and the signs will gradually be dropped.  New words and concepts will still be clearer to her if you can introduce them with signs, and you may have a long-term 2nd language in your family!  Your baby is prone to pointing and gesturing, and can manipulate toys at a much early age than she can speak – but she knows what she wants and needs, even though she can’t yet tell you.  With sign language, she can express herself using a real language. Visit our Articles and Press pages to see some of the literature and research supporting the benefits of sign language in early childhood.

“Same Love” by Macklemore
(with Ryan Lewis; feat. Mary Lambert)

Well, it will be Spring this week, yet we had snow in the NY Metro area yesterday!

I polled a bunch of moms for their ideas on how to beat the winter blues, and here are the most popular suggestions I got:

Exercise!
Listen to your favorite music.
Pet your pet!
Go to a Baby Fingers class.  :) Thanks!
Cook.
Indoor (or outdoor) planting.
Get a massage, a facial, or a mani-pedi!
Sing in the shower.
Spend some quality time with your spouse/partner.
Spring cleaning!

If anyone else has suggestions, please share!  Lora@mybabyfingers.com.

Need clarification?  Some kids – and adults – are excited to do homework, practice their instrument, read a book, or do volunteer work solely because they enjoy it – That’s reward enough.  They may also enjoy the outcome: it helps them learn something or improve somehow, it helps makes someone else feel good, etc, but that isn’t the driving force.   Other people, however, require a much more tangible reward.  Some kids need to get that sticker on the sticker chart in order to feel satisfied that they followed a direction, completed a task, or used kind words. Kaplan also suggests that the avoidance or absence of a punishment for not doing one of those things is an example of an extrinsic motivation or reward.

One of my kids gets tutoring at a well known agency in our area. For every assignment he completes where he demonstrates focused attention and hard work, he receives a certain amount of tokens.  After collecting a bunch of tokens, he can turn them in for an item of his choice from their “rewards store.” It was exciting for him at first to keep track of how many tokens he earned each tutoring session – but in the many months that he’s been there, he has only exchanged them for a toy once.  He continues earning tokens, but he never remembers how many he’s gotten anymore – for him, the system isn’t really necessary. He is motivated to go because he knows he has to, and because he sees the difference it’s making in his school work.  My children have always been pretty motivated without a tangible reward system, or a “token economy.”  They ate their veggies because they discovered they actually tasted good – and believed they’d become strong as a result, like Popeye – not because they might get dessert.  They potty trained easily too – it was more comfortable than a dirty diaper or a pair of wet pants – there was no sticker or quarter coming to them as a result.

I recently heard on NPR a story about a little girl who was given a package of M&Ms each time she used the potty.  She soon learned to take advantage of the reward, only allowing a little “pee” out each time, and using the potty several times an hour. She collected quite a stash of M&Ms!

In my work as a music therapist, the opportunity to play an instrument is often a reward for participation in other ways – singing in turn, sitting nicely, helping a peer. Though I prefer to provide the instruments as an option right from the start, and use positive verbal feedback to reward the children who are actively engaged, and to motivate others to participate.  (ie:  ”Sally, you are really shaking that maraca, great job!” Or “Matthew, thank you for waiting your turn for the drum.”). It certainly depends on the developmental and cognitive level of my clients – and my goals (impulse control, socialization, etc). And I learn what is most effective with each child.

According to an article shared on StateUniversity.com: “In the 1960s, researchers began to contrast extrinsic motivation with intrinsic motivation–the desire to engage in activities because they are inherently pleasurable, regardless of external contingencies. Given this contrast, it soon became apparent that extrinsic motivators have the potential to decrease students’ subsequent intrinsic motivation when rewards are no longer available. That is, individuals must feel that their behavior is self-determined in order to experience motivation in the absence of extrinsic constraints. Studies have demonstrated that individuals who feel more in control of their own behavior also show more active learning, greater perceived competence, and higher academic achievement.”

You know your kids best, so you know what types of motivation and rewards they need. Just be prepared to follow through with your promises in order for any system to work.

Early childhood specialists and pediatric medical professionals tend to agree that a strong parent-child bond positively impacts overall mental health and brain stimulation.

But why such focus on bonding in our society – don’t parents naturally bond with their babies? It does not come as naturally to some as one might think…. in fact, difficulty bonding is more common than you may realize.

Postpartum depression is very real and can hinder bonding for some time.  If a new mom hoping to breastfeed has difficulty doing so, or can’t seem to lose the “baby weight”, there can be a negative impact both physically and emotionally, getting in the way of the bonding process.  And that’s just it…parent-child bonding is a process.

If you are recovering from a difficult delivery or your baby has to spend time in the NICU, there are additional issues surrounding bonding. New dads, adoptive and birth fathers, need to be able to bond with baby too.  Time spent feeding, holding, and changing baby can help. For some new dads, it comes easily – they haven’t gone through the same physical changes as the mom if she’s given birth, who is also going through a recovery period.  Others need support through the process of bonding with baby.  Where do new parents go for support like this??

Your pediatrician can be a good resource, and can lead you to other sources of support – so can your ob/gyn.  Consider a lactation specialist or breastfeeding support group, an adoptive parents or new parents support group.  Look into taking classes together, like Baby Fingers, where you can experience music and sign language or infant massage.

Share your experience with us – email lora@mybabyfingers.com.