.....Continued from part III

Kids with all types of abilities and disabilities benefit from signing. Other foster mom’s I know have started using sign to work with their kids. If they are developmentally delayed or have speech delays they can learn to sign before speaking and it helps the frustration level for everyone. I’ve had foster kids with all kinds of delays -you can bet I’ll use signs with all my foster kids in the future, and I hope you do to.

Sidebar #1
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 - have conducted over two decades of academic research on the use of signs with hearing babies. During one of the studies with the National Institute of Health, they found babies at age 24 months, were on average talking more like 27 or 28 month olds. This represents more than a three-month advantage over the non-signing babies. In addition, the 24 month old babies were putting together significantly longer sentences. Thirty six month old signers were talking at a forty seven month level - almost a year ahead of non signing children. The conclusion is that signing children learn both language and cognitive skills, and show an increased interest in books and the world around them.

Sidebar: #2
Nancy Cadjan, creator of Sign Babies flash cards, has had the opportunity to work with several families that have children with delayed speech. In all cases, using sign language with these children has helped tremendously. Generally, these children are between two and three years of age. Nancy says “When we start classes, they begin to sign quickly and then speech often follows right behind. Within a few months, they have often caught up to their peers.
But signing is not just for children with delays. Children without delays also benefit. My own son started to sign back to me at 9 months. Because he learned the value of communication early, he also spoke earlier and learned his alphabet and numbers on his own. He also developed an understanding of complex sentence structure early. When he was almost two, he looked in the garage where the car was supposed to be parked. When he did not see it, he said: Did Daddy take the car to the dealership? Nancy Cadjan -Certified Infant Sign Language Instructor
President--Sign Babies www.signbabies.com

Sidebar #3
Rachael Coleman from Signing Time talks about the benefits of signing with preschoolers and school age children in her video series. “Families and educators use sign language as a hands on second language. The multi sensory approach of Signing Time, visual, auditory, and tactile, reaches all ages and diverse learning styles and abilities. Children with special needs such as speech delays, autism, downs syndromes and other challenges may have difficulty with speech. Signing time opens up a world of communication for pre-verbal infants, toddlers, and children with special needs - all of whom may be able to hear, but may not yet be able to communicate with speech.” Rachael Coleman www.Signingtime.com

So there you have it. Signing with K was a huge success in our family. I'd love to know if you've had success...
Leave a comment, or email me at fostadoptblog@adoptionmail.com

Michelle