Annie ran across the playground and signed the word “helicopter” to tell her teacher about a helicopter flying overhead.
The 2-year-old was so excited that she couldn’t get the words out, said Diane Oakman, assistant director for educational programming at Baby Gator Child Development and Research Center, a child care center for children of students, faculty and staff at UF.
UF students, faculty and staff who are parents can learn to use beginner-level American Sign Language in two sessions next month at Baby Gator.
The deadline to register is today.
Parents can choose to take the first session on April 2 or April 4 and the second session on April 9 or April 11. Classes are offered at 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the Academic Research Building, across from the McKnight Brain Institute. The two one-hour sessions cost $25.
Parents will learn more than 100 signs appropriate for signing with toddlers and children in kindergarten. They will also learn the fundamentals of American Sign Language and how it can enhance the children’s cognitive abilities and vocabulary.
“They’re at an age when they’re ready to communicate, but they can’t get the words out,” Oakman said. “And by using signs, the process gets a lot better.”
Oakman also said signing can reduce tantrums.
Keri Stacey, sign language facilitator and coordinator for the program, said there’s a reason for that.
“The children can sign ‘more’, ‘milk’ or ‘eat’, and it shows them how powerful communication is,” Stacey said.
In 2000, the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development found young children who learn sign language speak sooner than other children.
According to the study, infants who learned sign language had a vocabulary of 50 words more than the non-signing infants.
“It’s great because there are a lot of different learners,” Oakman said. “To those who are visual learners, it’s another cue to help them learn,”
For applications to join the class, visit www.babygator.ufl.edu.
