UC Irvine Extension Offers New Course on Teaching Hearing Infants to Use American Sign Language
Babies As Young as 8 Months Old Can Communicate Needs, Feelings and Desires Before They Can Verbalize Them
Teaching Hearing Infants to Use American Sign Language
July 8, 15 and 22
10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.
UC Irvine campus
Price: $125
(price includes one complete learning kit per family, “SIGN with your BABY” book, Quick Language Reference Guide and a 60-minute video.)
A $50 discount for two or more family members enrolling at the same time, assuming they will share the family kit.
Registration begins May 12. To register for the course or for more information, call (949) 824-5414.
IRVINE, Calif. – April 26, 2006 – UC Irvine Extension will offer a new course entitled, “Little Hands in Motion: Bridging the Gap with American Sign Language” beginning July 8 that builds upon the nationally-acclaimed research of Dr. Joseph Garcia on sign language for hearing babies, as outlined in his book, “SIGN with your BABY.” This approach is innovative and unique from other baby sign language programs in that it supports American Sign Language, the third most popular language in the United States after English and Spanish.
"Sign language for hearing babies and children has been demonstrated to significantly increase a child's vocabulary, reading ability, self-esteem and comfort in expressing their emotions," Dr. Kirwan Rockefeller, director of UC Irvine's Extension's Arts and Humanities program, said. "When parents, caregivers and daycare staff begin to use sign language with hearing babies and children, they're giving them a social, emotional and intellectual advantage that will last a lifetime."
As seen on “NBC Nightly News,” “Oprah,” “Meet the Fockers” and “20/20,” the use of sign language has proven to be beneficial for hearing children in a wide variety of settings. Sign language is now being adopted into early childhood curricula because it reduces frustration for infants, reduces classroom noise levels, and lowers incidents of biting. In addition, signs like “stop,” “gentle” and “share” help toddlers learn how to play together more cooperatively.
“Signing is not going to delay a baby’s speech, which seems to be the first thing that parents are afraid of,” said Jennifer Buckman, the instructor of the course who has been teaching sign language for over 10 years. “In fact, several studies demonstrate just the opposite. These studies show that hearing children who learn sign language have, on average, 50 or more words in their verbal communication than do their non-signing peers. Signing plays an important role in their transition to speech communication.”
Hearing babies who are exposed to signing regularly and consistently at six to seven months of age can begin expressive communication by their eighth or ninth month, whereas average children usually don’t begin speaking until after their first birthday — and often not until the age of 18 months or later, since the motor skills needed for speech don't fully develop until then. In addition, hearing babies exposed to both American Sign Language and English were able to communicate more complex messages through the use of signs than they could verbally. Using sign language has also proven to be a successful intervention with children with special-needs, including Down syndrome and autism.
Buckman signs to her hearing children regularly, and has designed the course to cater to anyone who communicates with children, including parents, grandparents and caretakers. Upon completing the three-day course, participants will be able to identify basic signs for infants and toddlers, discern when to start exposing infants and toddlers to sign, facilitate communication with preverbal babies using American Sign Language and incorporate and apply basic signs into daily routines.
The three-day UC Irvine Extension course is offered July 8, 15 and 22, from 10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. on the UC Irvine campus. The cost for the program is $125, and the course fee includes one complete learning kit per family, “SIGN with your BABY” book, Quick Language Reference Guide and a 60-minute video. A $50 discount is available if two or more family members enroll for the course at the same time, assuming they will share the family kit. Registration begins May 12. To register for the course or for more information, call (949) 824-5414.
About UC Irvine Extension
As the continuing education arm of UCI, UC Irvine Extension is dedicated to providing a university-level learning experience for students, offering thousands of exciting courses and programs to local, regional, and global constituencies. UC Irvine Extension offers a rich array of academic and community programs to support a diverse audience, from a wide selection of academic programs to numerous campus activities.
About the University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.3 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu. |
