During mealtimes Grace will sign either "more" or "all done." This has helped to reduce frustration for the family as well as with babysitters who feed Grace. Anyone who knows what the signs mean can communicate with her. Grace has about 20 true words but can use more than 50 signs.

"When we see her trying a sign for the first time, one we have been working on for awhile, it is very exciting and rewarding. We can see her face light up with pride when we can understand her," says Tracy. "Not only is she communicating her wants and needs to us but she is describing her world to us. She describes things she is seeing, feeling and experiencing."

More and more parents are seeing the benefits of signing with their very young children. One major benefit is the ability for parents to connect in a deeper way with their children who have not yet learned to speak. Signing can also minimize frustration for both the child and parent by making it easier to understand what a child wants or needs.

Signing, also known as "symbolic gesturing," is different than sign language such as American Sign Language. ASL is a formal language typically used by deaf children and adults who have a limited ability to speak. Signing or symbolic gesturing can incorporate aspects of ASL but it is generally an informal set of gestures created by a child and their caregivers.

Most babies and toddlers will use signs on their own to communicate. Waving "bye-bye," shaking their head "no," or patting their diaper to ask for a change are all ways young children signs. Parents and caregivers also use signs when reading a story to a child to make it more enjoyable or understandable.

Because a child’s ability to move and see develops sooner than his ability to speak, it is easier for very young children to learn and remember signs than it is for them to learn either spoken or written language.

A great deal of research has been done on signing with young children. Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn, the authors of the book "Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk," have conducted more than two decades of academic research on the use of signs with hearing. Funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, their research shows significant benefits for parents and children who use signs as a way to communicate.

Not only were the children in their study who used signs able to talk sooner, but they were putting together significantly longer sentences. The study tracked the participants for many years and showed that the children who signed showed higher cognitive abilities than their non-signing peers.

These findings are in line with the latest research on brain development in babies, which indicates that babies’ brains develop based on various types of stimulation. When a child is signing, they are using their eyes, developing a specific part of the brain, a different part than is stimulated by spoken language.

"Signing is a wonderful way for parents to communicate with their nonverbal young children," says Sharon Griffin, a speech and language pathologist at the Richie McFarland Children’s Center. "When parents speak the words they are signing, the child is able to learn words more quickly."

Some parents are concerned that their child will continue to sign at an age when children are typically speaking, around 2 years. Griffin points out that children may opt to sign if they have trouble getting adults to understand their speech. "In the long run," says Griffin, "signing will not negatively affect when or how well the child is able to speak."

Baby Signs Inc. is a national organization whose mission is to teach parents, caregivers, educators, medical, and developmental professionals about the Baby Signs movement and its benefits. Baby Signs Inc. offers the Baby Signs Program, instructional classes for parents and their young children.

According to Baby Signs Inc., the benefits of their program include the following:

- Reduces tears, tantrums, and frustration.

- Allows babies to share their worlds.

- Increases respect for babies.

- Strengthens the parent-infant bond.

- Boosts self-esteem and self-confidence.

- Makes learning to talk easier.

- Stimulates intellectual development.

For information on signing for young children, go to www.babysigns.com. Baby Signs Program is one of several research-based curricula used by parents and caregivers.

Peggy Small-Porter is the Executive Director at the Richie McFarland Children’s Center in Stratham. E-mail her at psmallporter@richiemcfarland.org. Seacoast Newspapers and RMCC provide this column as a public service.

By Peggy Small-Porter