Teaching Signing to Toddlers Before They Can Speak May Be Very Harmful

sounds like it was written by one of those stupid yuppies who hang out at HE or an oral "healthy normal" teacher!
 
I'm disagree to this.

Alot of deaf parents sign with voice to their children in England. All of their children are talent.

I sign with voice to my children since they were babies and also sign with voice to my children with bedtime story when they were toddler. They love it.

I didn't teach my children how to sign. They learn from us automaic thru watch us. I saw alot of Deaf Germans's hearing children can't sign because their parents didn't show them their own languages. They do everything for their hearing children to forget about their own langages. Now they have the problem to communicate with their hearing children because hearing children don't like to repeat when their parents ask them to speak slowly or pardon. They REGRET it after saw us and other young Germans parents who sign their hearing children.

I asked them why they speak instead of sign. They said that their children are hearing. I told them that I would not change everything for my children because they are hearing. Why should I? I stay unchange what I am.

I beleive that the children should learn to accept what their parents are as the same as they accept what their children are. Important is COMMUNICATE KEY - love, attention and trust.

I see nothing wrong when the parents want to sign with voice to their children before speak. My both children (12) and (9) sign very good and goes well at school.

I beleive that the children should learn their parents's own languages, not learn their children's language.

I has no problem with my children because they know our languages as we know their languages, too
 
I'm sorry I'm disagree with you there Liebling. It is healthy to debate about this as we both always agree to disagree about this with our opinions. We both know we love to debate.

You see I firmly believe exposure to both ASL and speech for both deaf and hearing babies are healthy and beneficial for communication. Babies can express their frustrations and emotions really well if they have both languages. ASL is a language on its own with syntaxes and structure whereas English is a language on its own. Babies cannot grasp English until a much later age so it is best to teach them sign language now at the same time we teach them how to talk.

It is not as if we are trying to "dumb down" their intelligence with ASL. It is quite the opposite, Liebling. Babies that learn ASL at a very young age and learn how to talk too as well do grow up to be over-achievers in their future lives.

We do need to expose babies to both sign language and spoken language.
 
Liebling:-))) said:
I beleive that the children should learn their parents's own languages, not learn their children's language.
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You presented something contradicting here.

You stated children should learn their parents' own language.

What if Deaf parents had hearing children and those hearing children had to learn sign language in order to communicate with their parents? This is where I think children should have exposure to two languages, spoken and signed.
 
I must go now and will be back for your post later.

No problem when you are disagree with me... :mrgreen: What´s that forum for... :mrgreen:
 
:bsflag:

As if you need to learn 1 language before you learn another. My children learn Norwegian and Dutch simultaniously. Sure, sign is diffferent but there is no problem learning that together with another language. (And that's my unprofessional opinion based on experience.)

We started of with sign language with our youngest daughter. She was exposed to it daily on her kindergarten for deaf and HOH children.

I wonder if the author(s) have ever seen a child learning to communicate with sign. It's beautifull.
 
I would sign to my children if I have any, and not use a voice at all. I find this to be total bullshit, just like Cloggy does.

I used to work as a deaf mentor and would work with families to teach them how to communicate with their children in sign language. Sometimes I noticed that the hearing brothers and sisters would become so fascinated and learn sign language much better than their parents. A child's mind can absorb a lot of things in their first few years. We encouraged that the whole family learn sign language.

One of the family's friend had a hearing baby, and kept asking about how to use sign language with her baby. She was very pleased knowing what the baby wanted, because the baby was able to sign a few simple signs for what they wanted. It was much better than trying to listen with the baby's crying and trying to understand what the baby wanted. One also can bond with the baby faster if the baby can give a few subtle signs or hints.
 
Yes, I´m with you, Cloggy and K75.

My children know both languages = English and German.

My children sign and speak German and speak English. I see nothing wrong that the children learn any languages in their earlier age.
 
Cookie Monster said:
You presented something contradicting here.

You stated children should learn their parents' own language.

What if Deaf parents had hearing children and those hearing children had to learn sign language in order to communicate with their parents? This is where I think children should have exposure to two languages, spoken and signed.
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Why should I change everything for the children because they are hearing?

I stay what I am and want my children know my way and my own language. Like what I said in my earlier post that I sign with voice to my children since they were babies. It´s ME.

My children learn to develop their speech thru child minder when they were toddler. I show my children to 2 different worlds instead of only deaf culture. It took them not long to realize that I´m different as hearing people because I use sign with my hands and hearing use their lips to speak.

My both sons speak prefectly and know hearing culture as Deaf Culture as well.

My children know automaic that we use only sign with voice to them. They sign like deaf to us. They understand everything what deaf people talk about because I brought my children to both worlds up...

My sons´s teachers are fanastic of my sons sign to us and surprised that we refused to let our children to interprete for them to us but order neutral interpreter. I told teacher that I do not use my sons as interpreter but my son.

I´m disagree with that :bsflag: autor who wrote this link because I witnessed alot of deaf parents sign with voice to their children in England... They turn into wonderful and talent people which it´s opposite to Germans who use speech without sign...

I beleive is doing to my children with my OWN language that they know who/what really I am. They accept what I am that´s good. That´s what I learn from CODA.

Now my children are 12 and 9 years old... I sometimes sign them with voice or without voice... They understand us prefect without voice... :eek:
 
kuifje75 said:
......Sometimes I noticed that the hearing brothers and sisters would become so fascinated and learn sign language much better than their parents. A child's mind can absorb a lot of things in their first few years. We encouraged that the whole family learn sign language....
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Absolutely. Childeren love sign language.
When telling a story in sign to my hearing childeren they loved it. I'm sure it's to do with the expression on the fase, mimics. Adults have to learn that again, for children it comes naturally. (I've heared that people who speak look quite boring compared to people who sign.)
 
I argee!

Richard made a good point about teaching your toddlers to sign before they can speak is a lighting rod issue,
If deaf parents with toddles who are heaing they should sign to them.
Margie
Dir. of Communication Services
OCDAC
 
Cookie Monster said:
I'm sorry I'm disagree with you there Liebling. It is healthy to debate about this as we both always agree to disagree about this with our opinions. We both know we love to debate.

You see I firmly believe exposure to both ASL and speech for both deaf and hearing babies are healthy and beneficial for communication. Babies can express their frustrations and emotions really well if they have both languages. ASL is a language on its own with syntaxes and structure whereas English is a language on its own. Babies cannot grasp English until a much later age so it is best to teach them sign language now at the same time we teach them how to talk.

It is not as if we are trying to "dumb down" their intelligence with ASL. It is quite the opposite, Liebling. Babies that learn ASL at a very young age and learn how to talk too as well do grow up to be over-achievers in their future lives.

We do need to expose babies to both sign language and spoken language.
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:gpost: I strongly agree with this poster!!
 
Nesmuth and Margie: I fear you two would find yourselves sorely disappointed that we can do without a lightning rod in this thread. Unless you'd like to volunteer yourselves, that is. Everyone here is so nice even when they disagree with one another!

Cloggy, interesting, you use Norwegian and Swedish? The sign language or the spoken language? ;) I am impressed.

I find it terribly embarassing when english speaking people are uncapable of communicating with foreign people or their own countrymen that are deaf people, because they haven't the skills to... due to the unusual emphasis of english in its isolation and mediocrity in their child rearing and schooling years. I believe when one limits oneself with just one language, he or she is in fact limiting herself or himself.

There is nothing wrong with learning more than one language in my humble opinion :)

I learned the norwegian sign for mother from a wee child when she called out for her mother... she was my best teacher, unintentionally! It was the most sweetest thing I've ever seen... I can't describe it adequately. I CAN and WILL teach my own children sign languages (ASL and NSL) in addition to English and Norwegian (both nynorsk and bokmål). Poor kids! They can't help not being able to use their voice box effectively before they are 2 years old, so sign language will come first.. so they will be able to verbalize their needs in that manner. So hopefully they will keep that habit when they grow older.. so my husband does not need to stuff his ears when they whine ;)
 
I think that learning sign as a bay is a good thing. A friend of mine is teachiing her hearing daughter Sign. Even though she can talk (and does a lotof it sometimes) she's learing sign kind of as a second language. I think it's a beautiful thing. As her daughter and my son grow older they can talk while they play at playdates. ( my son is deaf) My niece is 4 years old and after my son was born I began working with her on Signing. She loves it. It's a different way to "talk" and she loves going home and showing her mom and brothers what she knows. When children are really young they are sponges there to suck up anything that anyone is willing to teach them. I think it's a waste to let them just sit around and watch tv and not learn anything.
 
Cloggy said:
Absolutely. Childeren love sign language.
When telling a story in sign to my hearing childeren they loved it. I'm sure it's to do with the expression on the fase, mimics. Adults have to learn that again, for children it comes naturally. (I've heared that people who speak look quite boring compared to people who sign.)
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Yes, my hearing children's friends are interesting to watch my children sign to us. They learn from my children how to sign sometimes. They find it fanastic.
 
True, Liza and Ellie.

My both children understand German sign languages (DGS). I sign them since they were babies and also play with their tummy..... and kisses them.... and sign them.

They know some of English sign languages (BSL) but they speak English most. We use German sign language mostly.

I'm proud to tell you that my both children can sign like deaf to us because they know their parents are deaf. They learn from us automaic... and also learn from hearing culture, too. They can sign us and talk like hearing at hearing culture.

My children knows kind of cultures because we brought them to different cultures where we travel to. I beleive strongly that it's good for the children to learn different cultures with different languages an early ages. My children also read the book over every cultures.
 
Me and my daughter are hearing, but my daughter has a chromosome disorder, and we've known from the get-go that she may not be able to really talk to 5 or 6, so she's been in speech therapy since 1 1/2/2, and now is 4. Her SPEECH THERAPIST outta all people, recommended ASL, and was who first taught me and her our first signs! She said that some speech therapist dont agree, but its more an oldschool thought, that recent studies have proved that ASL is like a visual aide for children which helps them retain the words they learn along with the signs. Recently she's been making a lot of progress and dropping some signs even though I'm pushing her to keep up with ASL to keep her bilingual since I'm studying and becoming more fluent, and it still does help make things easier around the house when I can't tell what she's saying.

On the other hand, my daughter's babysitter is Deaf (with CI) and her daughter's speech therapist isn't for ASL... we take our daughters to the same practice, but it depends on the speech therapist views, but I think its a shame because her mom being Deaf and fluent in ASL, the speech therapist has no business saying things like that especially when the exact opposite is being researched and proven now that it can actually help.
 
JuJuBean said:
Me and my daughter are hearing, but my daughter has a chromosome disorder, and we've known from the get-go that she may not be able to really talk to 5 or 6, so she's been in speech therapy since 1 1/2/2, and now is 4. Her SPEECH THERAPIST outta all people, recommended ASL, and was who first taught me and her our first signs! She said that some speech therapist dont agree, but its more an oldschool thought, that recent studies have proved that ASL is like a visual aide for children which helps them retain the words they learn along with the signs. Recently she's been making a lot of progress and dropping some signs even though I'm pushing her to keep up with ASL to keep her bilingual since I'm studying and becoming more fluent, and it still does help make things easier around the house when I can't tell what she's saying.

On the other hand, my daughter's babysitter is Deaf (with CI) and her daughter's speech therapist isn't for ASL... we take our daughters to the same practice, but it depends on the speech therapist views, but I think its a shame because her mom being Deaf and fluent in ASL, the speech therapist has no business saying things like that especially when the exact opposite is being researched and proven now that it can actually help.
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It's not the speech therapist place to decide if a child should learn ASL.
 
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