The Phenomenon of Baby Sign Language: A Signing System Used With Toddlers

Abstract

Baby Sign Language (BSL) used with young children with typical hearing abilities is a popular phenomenon with many parents. A number of Baby Sign Language studies claim that BSL improves children's abilities to communicate their needs and wants with their parents along with other potential benefits, too. Although BSL continues in popularity, a number of studies dispute the claims made about the benefits of using BSL. The researcher/teacher from a Midwestern college childcare program conducted this pre-experimental quantitative study. The purpose of the study was to determine if a teaching unit on BSL used as an educational intervention with a group of toddlers ranging in age from 16 monthsof- age to 35 months-of-age has an effect on their communication skills according to the parent's perspectives of their experiences of their children at home. The researcher/teacher was interested in the data collected from the study participants that included two fathers and nine mothers who completed both a pre-study survey and a post-study survey. The number of participants in the study was inconsistent since fourteen parents completed the pre-study survey (two fathers and twelve mothers) and eleven parents completed the post-study survey (two fathers and nine mothers). The foundation of this study was the research completed by Thompson, Cotnoir-Bichelman, McKeerchar, Tate, and Dancho (2007). In the current study, many parents found using BSL "helpful” for assisting young children with their communication skills. Many parents used BSL with their toddlers at home some time between their toddler's first and second birthdays and before their children were talking. The parent's motivation to use BSL with their children lessened once their children orally communicated more effectively. This was consistent with some studies who found there was a short window of time when parents used BSL with their children. The use of BSL dropped off once their children became effective oral communicators. The current research found some effect on the toddler's communication skills with the children learning and using BSL, although the results were not statistically significant.