Evidence for Website Claims about the Benefits of Teaching Sign Language to Infants and Toddlers with Normal Hearing

Abstract

The development of proficient communication skills in infants and toddlers is an important component to child development. A popular trend gaining national media attention is teaching sign language to babies with normal hearing whose parents also have normal hearing. Thirty-three websites were identified that advocate sign language for hearing children as a way of promoting better developmental outcomes. These sites make several claims about the positive benefits of teaching hearing infants and toddlers to sign, such as earlier communication, improved language development, increased IQ, reduced tantrums, higher self-esteem, and improved parent-child bonding. Without endorsing or disparaging these claims, the purpose of this article was to evaluate the strength of evidence cited on websites that promote products to teach young children to use sign language. Cumulatively, 82 pieces of evidence were cited by the websites as supporting research. However, over 90% of these citations were opinion articles without any supporting data or descriptions of products and only eight were empirical research studies relevant to the benefits of teaching sign language to young children with normal hearing. Unfortunately, there is not enough high-quality evidence cited on these websites to draw research-based conclusions about whether teaching sign language to young children with normal hearing results in better developmental outcomes.

The relations between ‘babysigning’, child vocabulary and maternal mind-mindedness

“…http://www.babysigns.com), despite a growing body of research suggesting that babysign has no effect on children's vocabulary growth (e.g. Johnston, Durieux-Smith & Bloom, 2005;Doherty-Sneddon, 2008;Nelson, White and Grewe, 2012). In line with earlier research, we found no relationship between children's receptive or expressive vocabulary and either the choice of activity or maternal mind-mindedness.…”

“…http:// http://www.tinytalk.co.uk). While there is some debate about the veracity of these claims (see Nelson, White and Grewe, 2012), it has been suggested that the use of babysign encourages more responsive and sensitive caregiving (Vallatton, 2009, and Kirk, Howlett, Pine, and Fletcher, 2013. Meins, Fernyhough, de Rosnay, Arnott, Leekam, and Turner, (2012) argue that mindmindedness (the caregiver's proclivity for treating the child as an intentional being with a mind of his/her own) is a robust means of measuring and quantifying a caregiver's sensitivity and responsiveness to the child.…”

“…Only 17 of 1208 reports reviewed by Johnson et al of studies included in systematic reviews. Similarly, Nelson, White, and Grewe, (2012) reviewed the evidence presented by 33 websites promoting teaching babysign to hearing infants. The sites reviewed claimed that babysign would: promote earlier child communication; improve language development; increase child IQ; reduce child tantrums; increase child self-esteem, and improve parent-child bonds.…”

Parental perception of a baby sign workshop on stress and parent–child interaction

“…Claimed benefits of baby signs include earlier communication of needs and thoughts, increased language and speech development, improved literacy, increased IQ and cognitive skills, reduced frustration, tantrums, and emotional outbursts, increased parentchild bonding, and increased self-esteem, feeling of satisfaction, and accomplishment (Nelson, White, & Grewe, 2012). Pizer, Walters, and Meier (2007) note that baby signing matches parent ideologies that 'value early communication with infants and promote the adaptation of the physical, social, and linguistic environment to their perceived needs'.…”

“…According to the researchers, the combination of sign with spoken language accelerated the child's expressive vocabulary in both modalities. Nelson et al (2012) have exposed a lack of strong empirical evidence supporting the use of baby signs. This study evaluated the strength of the research cited on baby sign websites.…”