Ruby Jenson, who just turned 2, can speak up a storm — and that isn’t even counting what she can do with her hands.

"She can [sign] just about everything she can see," Jenson said.

The Jensons are just one of many Utah parents to discover the benefits of teaching their baby sign language.

They aren’t the only source of praise for infant signing either.

Recent studies show that signing children are generally smarter and learn to speak and read at much earlier ages. Teachers and parents also claim other benefits.

Ruby is living proof of these studies. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, most children 2 years old should have a vocabulary of at least 40 words. Ruby could speak 200 words when she was 1 ½ years old and now speaks fluidly, making her one to two years ahead of her peers.

"She speaks in full sentences," Jenson said. "’Come on daddy, let’s go swing,’ you know? She gets all the conjunctions in there and everything."

Studies have shown that the Jenson’s results are not rare.

Two college professors in California conducted a study that found that babies who sign tend to speak sooner than peers, and by age 2 have an average of 50 words more in their vocabulary than children who learn without signs.

A study in the 1994 Journal of Communication Education also demonstrated that children taught by signing gain a larger vocabulary quicker than their peers.

Research has also shown that signing can be a catalyst for reading. Dr. McKay Vernon, a prominent researcher in the field of linguistics, studied the effects that non-speaking deaf parents have on their hearing children. He found that most of those children learn to read before they enter school.

Signing to infants has also been linked with higher intelligence overall. A study at the University of California-Davis revealed that six years after children learned to sign, they averaged 12 IQ points higher than their peers who did not sign.

Adrienne Gabriel, a recent BYU graduate from Sandy, who majored in marriage, family, and human development, studied infant signing. She said her studies led her to better understand why signing increases intelligence in children.

Her conclusion was that it might result from earlier brain development. The possibility of earlier brain development stems from the thought that visual information is stored in the right half of the brain, while lingual information is stored in the left.

"Signing involves using both sides of the brain at the same time," Gabriel said. "This increase in brain stimulation can trigger more synapses to be formed in the brain, which will eventually provide greater space for more information to travel."

Teachers of baby signing assert that higher intelligence and development aren’t the only benefits to teaching an infant to sign.

"Most important [are] not the educational benefits but the bonding benefits," said Liz Wize, who teaches baby signing in Kaysville. "The interaction created by signing with your baby creates emotional bonds."

It also helps some parents deal with the "Terrible Two’s." Children who can communicate with their parents ask for what they need. Those who can’t will often resort to crying or fits of frustration and anger.

"You enjoy the parenting process because now you can communicate to stop the temper tantrums," said Mitsy Jones, a baby-signing teacher in Pleasant Grove. "It’s just amazing to see what’s in their little minds. It’s amazing how quick they catch on."

Some parents worry their infants won’t speak because they rely on or prefer sign language. Teachers of infant signing disagree.

"You have to start somewhere," Jones said. "We could all crawl if we want to, but we prefer to walk because it is easier and faster. Signing is like that."

Jones said children can start to learn sign language traditionally at six to eight months, but there are other guidelines.

Janet Cadjen, an infant signing teacher in Orem, suggested that parents wait until their babies keep eye contact for six to 10 seconds at a time. Jones suggested that parents wait for children to develop an inquisitive look. This is when they will hold a parent’s gaze and act interested in what he or she does.

Parents should use only a few signs at first. Jones recommended the signs for milk, more, and hungry. They should sign the word as they speak it. When children begin to communicate through signing, they will emulate parents and learn to say words with their signs.

"Every child has a desire to communicate, and they will use any method they can to communicate," Wize said. "When they are ready and can form it in their mouth, they will do it."

Parents also do not need to worry about their children continuing to sign after they learn to speak. Cadjen said children will stop signing naturally because speaking is easier and quicker.

The Jenson family observed that this is true with their child. Ruby’s mother said her child now only signs when she is shy or has a full mouth.

The family has a second daughter, Brook Lynn, who is 9 months old and just started to make her first signs.

"It’s been a really meaningful learning experience for both my husband, myself and our children," Ruby’s mother said. "It’s just made our home life run a little smoother."

By Dallin Smith, BYU NewsNet