Tiny
signs: Locally-made video wins Parenting magazine award
Andrea Hummel
Sentinel Correspondent
Saturday, March 29, 2003
Flush
with the success of her first baby signing video, a Cottage Grove
mother readies a sequel
Every new parent has looked at their baby and thought, "What's
going on in that little mind? I wish I knew what she's thinking."
A local mother, Kathy Faber, had those same thoughts when her
son Nick was born four years ago. Kathy, however, did more than
wonder. She began researching a burgeoning new field, using sign
language to communicate with babies. Kathy's mother in Ohio, where
Kathy was raised, was also having the same thoughts and doing
research on her own.
"The early stuff we found didn't advocate American Sign Language,"
said Kathy. "They had other systems of signs. My feeling,
though, is that you start with ASL and stick with it."
Kathy selected about 90 words she felt would be helpful in connecting
with her son. She found the available literature frustrating,
though. The illustrations were hard to follow since the books
were one-dimensional and "baby vocabulary" was not in
most of the books. Even more frustrating, many of the signs were
different from book to book. Kathy, however, was not dissuaded.
She had worked for years as a videographer and producer of educational
videos for schools, and she holds a degree in journalism from
Arizona State University.
"I combined my life experience and my new role as a mother,"
she said, "and I virtually went on a crusade."
That crusade resulted in an award-winning video, Baby See 'n Sign,
that hit the market in the fall of 2001. The $15 video, produced
by Kronz Kids Productions, features clips of babies in action
(taking a bath, for instance) interspersed with an American Sign
Language instructor signing and then saying words such as "diaper,"
"shirt," and "shoes."
Kathy's brainchild has caught on with other parents - and now
parenting professionals.
Parenting magazine recognized the video in their February issue
as one of the top four videos for children from birth to 18 months.
But why would a parent want to teach their child to sign?
"The motor areas of the body mature sooner than the mouth
and other language articulators," said Dr. Marilyn Daniels,
a professor of speech communication at Pennsylvania State University,
"which means it is easier for children to learn and remember
signs than it is for them to acquire fluency in either spoken
or written language."
In other words, their minds have words and ideas long before they
can make their mouths say them. Infants and toddlers can learn,
however, to say them with their hands.
Object memory is stored on one side of the brain and language
on the other, explains Kathy. She believes that the early connection
between the object and the sign helps develop synaptic connections
that facilitate speech acquisition.
Kathy's son Nick, with the help of early signing, was speaking
words at 9 months and putting sentences together at 15 months.
"I believe he talks as well as he does and began talking
as early as he did as a result of signing," Kathy said. "It
also makes for some neat bonding time and gives parents and toddlers
something fun to do together."
As Kathy's business has grown, so has her family. She and her
and husband, Eric, are expecting another baby in August - and
this little one will have three teachers besides Mom and Dad using
their hands to communicate. Already Nick, 4, helps teach 2 1/2-year
old Daphne and Alex, 12 months.
The second Baby See 'n Sign video is due out in April. The new
video will have over 100 signs - including a special section on
manners. Beyond that, Kathy also hopes to have both videos available
on DVD no later than this summer.
The Baby See 'n Sign videos can be purchased locally at Rosebud
here in Cottage Grove. Fletcher's and Bambini in Eugene also carry
the video, as does Amazon.com and Kathy's own Web site, www.babyseensign.com.
Infants even as young as 6 months old can begin to learn signing
with their parents. Kathy advises that parents choose five words
and practice them over and over with the baby.
"Patience," she stressed, "is the key!"
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