Tiny Hands Talk

I am a mom of two young boys, when I had my first son I decided I didn’t really want to go back to teaching full time, I also knew I wanted to begin my own business so that I could have flexible hours and stay home with my children. When I read an article about Baby Sign Language and the benefits, I was sold…my whole life was already heading in that direction! I had a Masters in Special Education- sensory disabilities and learnt the linguistics of Australian Sign Language. I had already been teaching Deaf students in Sydney and I was already using some signs with my first born and discovering that he could communicate back to me before he could speak, using sign language which was so exciting. What I didn’t know, was that “Baby Sign Language” was a well researched concept that had been around for over ten years.

Well of course that was it for me, after doing some research and discovering the wonderful benefits of speaking and signing to infants and all children (…enhances whole brain development, increases IQ, children have better expressive & receptive verbal language skills, enhanced fine motor development, increased body awareness & better coordination skills….just to name a few), I began my business Tiny Hands Talk in Sydney, Australia in 2006 and later took it with me to Edmonton, Canada. I now have 2 consultants running my programs in Sydney, Australia and three Consultants so far in Canada.

I am very proud to admit that our programs use 100% ASL vocabulary in Canada/U.S and 100% Auslan in Australia…the same vocabulary used by the Deaf community. This is important as ASL & Auslan are classed as true second languages; therefore we are offering children a bilingual setting which also enhances brain development as second languages are stored in a different area of the brain than first languages (Dr. Daniels, ‘Dancing with Words’). We are also offering your child consistency as more Day Care Centres are choosing to use Baby Sign Language in the centre since it offers a calmer environment as communication is achieved and frustration is reduced (Dr. Goodwyn & Acredolo).

Tiny Hands Talk runs programs for parents, caregivers and teachers of hearing children 6 months to 7 years old (Baby’s First Words, Making Small Talk, Visible Learning, Hands Up & Sing, Hands Up & Read). We also run programs for all children who are 4-7 years old (Hands Up & Read, Hands Up & Sing, Monkey See…Monkey Do). All our programs are ideal for parents and educators of hearing children or children who have any communication delays or difficulties. Currently we are running successful programs in Canada and Australia, and we are always looking for qualified, caring individuals to become part of our program or to help us expand Tiny Hands Talk so we can reach out to children in more areas and provide for them the wonderful benefits this special language brings to their learning development.

HEALTHFUL HINTS

1. Somethings in life are universal…This is American Sign Language –However ‘MILK’ is the same in ASL & Auslan (Australian Sign Language)
2. Parents considering sign language for their little ones might find the following reference materials useful:
   • Acredolo LP & Goodwyn SW – The long term impact of symbolic gesturing during infancy on IQ at age 8: in paper presented at the meetings of the International Society for Infant Studies (Brighton UK July 2000)
   • Acredolo LP & Goodwyn SW & Brown C – Impact of Symbolic Gesturing on Early Language Development: in journal of nonverbal behavior 24 pp 81-103 (2000)
   • Baveier D & Corina DP & Nevilie HJ – Brain & Language a perspective from sign language: in Neuron Vol 21 pp 275-278 (Cell Press August 1998)
   • Daniels Dr Marilyn – Dancing with Words Signing for Hearing Childrens’ Literacy: in Westport CT Publication (2001)
   • Daniels Dr Marilyn – Using Sign Language as a second Language for Kindergarten Students: in Child Study Journal Vol 33 (2003)
   • Daniels Dr Marilyn – Seeing Language The Effect Over Time of Sign Language Vocabulary Development in Early Childhood Education: in Child Study Journal 26 pp 193-208 (1996)
   • Hafer J – Signing for Reading Success: Washington DC Clerc Books Gallaudet University Press (1986)
   • Koehler L & Loyd L – Using Fingerspelling Manual Signs to Facilitate Reading and Spelling: Bennial Conference of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication 4th Cardiff Wales (1986)
   • Wilson R & Teague J & Teague M – The Use of Signing and Fingerspelling to Improve Spelling Performance with Hearing Children: in Reading Psychology 4 pp 267-273 (1985)
   •  Kokelte S – Hearing Students, Sign Language & Music: A valuable Combination (1995)