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| Parents, infants can communicate sooner with sign language | | Print | |
| Written by Chuck Anderson | Press Banner | | |
| Friday, 19 October 2007 | |
What if babies could tell their parents, “I’m hungry,” or “It’s time to change my diaper” — well before they’re able to talk?
 just tell me what you want:Kate Livingston and daughter Zoe, 2, express their emotions in American Sign Language on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Lucjan Szewczyk/Press-Banner What if babies could tell their parents, “I’m hungry,” or “It’s time to change my diaper” — well before they’re able to talk?
Think it might reduce frustration and crying?
Well, they can, using American Sign Language, and it does, says Kate Livingston of Ben Lomond.
ASL has been used in experiments with infants since the 1980s, and in 1999, ASL interpreter Joseph Garcia introduced a program, “Sign With Your Baby,” to U.S. parents.
The program is the basis for a class being introduced locally by Livingston, who calls herself “ASL Mom.”
Garcia’s research showed that babies exposed to ASL signs consistently at 7 to 8 months of age can start using them themselves by the ninth month. Sometimes, it can happen even earlier.
“When my daughter, Zoe, was born in 2005, I signed with her from the first moment,” Livingston said. “She started signing at 2 months.”
Livingston has been an ASL interpreter since 1996. She’s convinced that infants quickly develop the desire to communicate, but just don’t have the physical capacity.
Experts say most children can speak a few words at 1 year, perhaps 8 to 10 words at 18 months and crude sentences at 2 years, but don’t begin to master language until age 3 to 5. Yet many experts agree that the first six months are crucial to later language development.
It’s not necessary to become fluent in ASL to communicate with a baby, Livingston said. But those who want to can learn as many as 100 to 200 signs to use with the child.
“It’s not hard,” Livingston stressed. “Being a parent is hard enough. I don’t want to add to that. Repetition is the key.”
She said parents would see her signing with Zoe in a park and ask why there weren’t classes in the area for them. That’s why Livingston became ASL Mom.
Her classes will involve only about six sets of parents at once, so they are interactive, not merely lectures.
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  written by Ada, October 23, 2007
Kinda creepy, eh? I'd prefer not to know what babies are thinking.
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 written by Sandy Livingston-Harritt, October 27, 2007
I'm so proud of my niece and grandniece Zoe. I hope Kate sent the posting to every one in the family and friends to. Zoe is so lucky to have Dad and Mom with her upbringing. I wish I had been smarter when I was raising my kids. Kate has already taught her daughter a second language that might turn into a career. Love ya both, Auntie Sandy
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