Baby Fingers: Unlocking The Benefits Of Teaching American Sign Language To Hearing Children

Baby Fingers, founded by Lora Heller in 2000, takes a unique approach to teaching communication skills: rather than relying on spoken words, Baby Fingers has developed a method of using American Sign Language to build language skills in hearing children.

Though American Sign Language is typically taught only to deaf children, Baby Fingers has built its practice on the premise that even hearing children can benefit from learning to sign. Sign language has utility both for infants, and for older children who have already developed the ability to communicate verbally.

Because sign language is situated somewhere between non-verbal and verbal communication, pre-verbal children tend to find it easier to master than spoken language. As a result, the Baby Fingers program has frequently been able to elicit sign-language responses from children as young as six months. Even though they aren’t yet able to form words, these children have a very basic faculty for communication, and learning sign language early in life enables them to exercise that faculty years earlier than they would if left to their own devices.

Baby Fingers has its origins in founder Lora Heller’s experience as a camp counselor. She initially learned sign language in order to communicate with a deaf camper, and continued learning and using signs afterward. Her first son, Zeke, who was exposed to sign language from birth, began signing intelligibly at about six months.

The Baby Fingers method is unique in the world of sign language education—and not only because it’s directed primarily at hearing children. Baby Fingers also distinguishes itself with its use of song in combination with signs. Pairing signs with music makes them more memorable, and easier for young minds to grasp. Singing also has a way of making learning fun, which most parents would agree is an important aspect of any learning activity directed at children.

Numerous scientific studies have shown the benefits of learning sign language for children of all ages. Even for children who have already acquired some verbal ability, learning sign language has been shown to increase IQ. Sign language is also great for bilingual families, where children may have better command of English than their parents. In these situations, sign language can “bridge the gap” between the two languages spoken in a child’s home, enabling him or her to sign ideas to that they might ordinarily not be able to communicate across the language divide. Sign language also helps young children understand that two very different sounding words mean the same thing when they are coupled with the same sign.

Based in New York City, Baby Fingers has over decade of experience helping small children learn American Sign Language. Contact them for more information about this revolutionary approach to language acquisition.

Baby Fingers is a New York City-based American Sign Language school for hearing children. For more information, visit MyBabyFingers.

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