signing in hearing babies

[Brian MacWhinney]

James,
  I don't know about Garcia, but the claims you mention are also central to
Linda Acredolo's work in which hearing children in the second year are taught
to use manual signs.  They are not the signs of ASL, but they are claimed to
have the same soothing effects on the terrible twos and the same ability to
open the floodgates of communication a few months earlier.  Linda has a nice
book on this targeted at a general audience called "Baby Signs."  It would be
great to know if this has been supported by other work too.

--Brian MacWhinney