Children with hearing are learning
sign language at Lakenheath center
Story
and photos by Ron Jensen, U.K. bureau
Makayla Shaw, 1, daughter
of Senior Airman Shantel Ware, displays the sign for "fruit" at the Lakenheath
Child Development Center, RAF Lakenheath, England.
Anthony DeSantis, 1, son
of Tech Sgt. Annette Whitenack and Staff Sgt. Thomas DeSantis, displays the sign for
"water."
Keagan Jordan, 1, gives
the sign for "more." Keagan is the son of Crissy and Clint Jordan, both senior
airmen at the base.
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RAF
LAKENHEATH,England — Anthony DeSantis wants more. That’s why he’s putting
the fingertips of both hands together.
And Makayla
Shaw has a yearning for fruit. This is clear by the way she puts a tiny finger to her soft
cheek.
These
1-year-olds can talk. That’s not the reason they are using American Sign Language to
make their wishes known.
They’re
just using a communication technique that is more advanced than verbal skills for children
their age.
"They
all hear perfectly fine," said Jenny Dumpert, addressing the question that often
greets her at the Lakenheath Child Development Center where she introduced the signing
program one year ago. "At this age, they are not able to formulate words."
The center
at RAF Lakenheath, England, home of the 48th Fighter Wing, teaches sign language to
children as young as 6 months old. The children usually pick up the signs at about age
nine months.
"Within
two weeks, they are putting two signs together — ‘more milk, more
juice,’" said Karen Jackson, the CDC director. Children are unable to do that
verbally until they are well past their second birthday, she said.
"We
have 1-year olds who are putting two- and three-word signs together," she said.
Dumpert,
the CDC program technician, said she saw a documentary from a stateside television network
about sign language for infants and was impressed.
"I
just thought it was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen," she said.
"Within the first week [after introducing the program], all my kids were
signing."
The effort
has won raves from parents.
"It’s
less confusing and less frustrating trying to find out what your child wants when he
doesn’t have the words," said Senior Airman Annette Whitenack, the mother of
Anthony DeSantis. "He uses it a lot."
She said he
uses the sign for "milk" — a cow-milking gesture — when he wants milk
on his cereal. And even though he doesn’t often say "please" or "thank
you," the 21-month old does say the words with his hands.
Senior
Airman Charlene Carl said she communicates with her 13-month old daughter, Alexis, with
the sign language.
"It’s
easier for me because I can talk to her," she said. "I don’t have to
wonder, ‘what’s she want?’"
The center
uses American Sign Language, the language of America's deaf population. The guiding light
is Joseph Garcia’s "Sign With Your Baby," a video and book instruction
package.
The staff
at the CDC uses the signs in various ways, from eating to playtime.
Jackson
said the sign for "stop" — chopping one hand into the other — came in
handy with a group that was particularly aggressive with one another.
"It
gave them an outlet to tell other children, ‘don’t touch me,’" she
said.
Parents, of
course, are taught the signs so they know what their children are saying. But they can use
it, too, to communicate with their little ones.
Mary
Barnette, training and curriculum specialist at the center, said parents can use it to
discipline a child — "sit down," "stop" — from across a
crowded room. There’s no need to raise a voice or make a scene.
"You
don’t have to embarrass them," she said.
Whitenack
said she and her husband use the sign for "sit down" and Anthony obeys better
than he does the spoken words.
By the time
the children progress to the preschool level at the CDC, just before leaving the center
for kindergarten, they have a vocabulary of 20 words in sign language, Dumpert said.
Although
the sign language continues for children reaching ages 4 and 5, they use it less, Barnette
said. As the child’s verbal skills develop, the sign language falls away.
But Jackson
said a foundation has been laid that will benefit the child later. She said research has
shown that when these children begin to learn a foreign language, they will catch on more
quickly because of their experience using sign language, a foreign language itself.
Back to April's stories
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