Sign with your baby.pdf

SIGN with your BABY.

How to Communicate with

Infants Before They Can Speak

Joseph Garcia

Published by

Cover Design

Graphica

Communication

Solutions

SIGN

—.

Sign2Me™ is an imprint and

trademark of Northlight Communications, Inc.

11395 Fifth Avenue NE, Suite B

Seattle, WA 98125-6108

More information about SIGN with your BABY products

can be found in the back of this book.

Illustrations

Gregory Maes

Heather Nystrom

Lola Roberson

Joseph Garcia

Cartoons

Matt Anderson

1st Printing 1999, 2nd Printing 1999, 3rd Printing 2000, 4th Printing 2001,

5th Printing 2003.

Layout

Terry Stratton

Dara Burrows

Joseph Garcia

Stephanie Hopkinson

This book is based on information originally presented in the book, Toddler

Talk, written by Joseph Garcia. Toddler Talk is no longer in print.

Printed in Canada

Proof Reading

Barbara J. Miller

in whole or in part, in any form or by means electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and

retrieval system without written permission from the author and publisher,

except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. For information

contact Northlight Communications, Inc.

I want to give special thanks to Dara Burrows, my wife, for her

patience and persistence in transforming my thesis into a read-

able guide. I also thank John Herum for his technical guidance.

Notice of Liability-Disclaimer

The information in this book is developed from public information, educa-

tional sources, and the author's personal observations. No claim is made as

to the results of using the information contained in this book. Neither the

author nor Northlight Communications nor Stratton-Kehl Publications, Inc.

shall have any liability or responsibility to any person or entity with respect

to the results of the book's suggested techniques.

I am grateful to the early childhood development researchers

whose studies continue to help us become better parents. And a

special acknowledgment goes to Dr. Glenn Massay who encour-

aged me to investigate my idea, test my theories, and write this

book.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 98-89288

ISBN 0-9668367-7-4

Printed on recycled paper with soy ink.

For my parents, Emma and Bill Garcia,

who taught me that through learning

and loving, I could do anything.

FOREWORD

Certain very important facts about human language have been

known for many years. Two thirds to three quarters of all everyday

language is ordinarily acquired by the third birthday. Also, in cases

of poor educational performance, inadequate language ability is

almost invariably present. What has not been known, surprisingly,

is what exactly goes on during those first three years that underlies

the acquisition of language. The reason for this strange state of

affairs is that the research community has largely neglected the

details of development during these early years. Recently, however,

important progress has been made.

Even some thirty years ago reports appeared that indicated

that children taught sign language had acquired about seventy-

five signs by the time they were nine months old. In contrast, the

typical child of that age could understand fewer than ten words,

regardless of how bright she was.

This was a tantalizing though isolated finding. Until fairly

recently, no one in developmental research followed up on this

potentially important finding. Now two programs have. One of

them is the subject of this book.

I recommend the teaching of signs, starting at about seven

months of age, for several reasons. First, sign language represents a

second language, and our research consistently showed that when

a second language was introduced in an effective manner to a child

from the early months on, the child would not only become

bilingual by the second birthday, but would be ahead of the

monolingual child in both languages! Indeed, that has been the

experience of parents in our program.

Second, we have repeatedly found that children, especially

boys, though developing well, have few or no spoken words at all

until their second birthdays. We have also learned that the period

between seventeen and twenty months of age is a particularly

difficult time, in that the normal child is very limited in regard to

frustration tolerance, and being unable to express himself

exacerbates the problem. A child who can sign at that stage of life

is a child who will cause considerably less frustration for himself

and his parents. That means the attachment process can move

along much more smoothly and probably to a better outcome.

CONTENTS

Communication: The Backbone to a Healthy

Relationship With Your Child

Finally, the potential for understanding mental activity in

children between eight and twenty-two months of age that is

made possible by sign language is intriguing. Someday soon we

will take advantage of this remarkable tool to get a much more

refined picture of how the mind of a child evolves.

911...ToCallorNottoCall?

Proving an Intuition

Get the Big Picture

For all these reasons, and because his work is sound, I strongly

recommend this groundbreaking work of Joseph Garcia.

Something Done Wrong Long Enough Becomes Right? .... 15

Why the First Signs of Intelligent Life Can Be Signs

Burton L. White, Ph.D., June 1998

Director, The Center for Parent Education

Author, The First Three Years of Life and

Raising a Happy Unspoiled Child

"Even Though I Can't Talk Yet, I Know More Than

You Think I Know"

How Your Child's Cognitive Skills and Motor

Coordination Develop During Infancy

Seeing the World Through a Newcomer's Eyes

Shared Perception and Shared Meaning

Learning by Association

Will Signing Interfere With My

Child's Speech Development?

To Contribute or to Commit?

How to Sign With Your Baby

Let Your Fingers Do the Talking

Gazes: Opportune Moments to Introduce Signs

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