BASIC COMPLETION 19

Fill ONE WORD or A NUMBER in each blank:

1. Ryan Jones is only 8 months old, but he is already talking with his .

2. When he is , he opens and closes his hand.

3. When Ryan learns a new sign, his family is very .

4. Ryan's parents think that he will be a happier baby because he can with them.

5. Then, he got a job helping deaf people communicate with people.

6. He noticed that these were able to communicate much earlier than hearing children.

7. When they were 1 year old, they could use as many as signs.

8. These babies using signs about 2 months later.

9. They wanted to give their babies a to communicate before they could use spoken words.

10. Some people about signing to babies.

11. Maybe they will develop language later than other babies.

12. In fact, one study found just the .

13. Signing babies actually learned to earlier than other children.

14. They also score on intelligence tests.

15. It can be because many people understand it.

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This is the audio script:

Babies normally start to talk when they are 13 to 15 months old. Ryan Jones is only 8 months old, but he is already talking with his parents. When he is hungry, he opens and closes his hand. This means milk. He also knows the signs for his favorite toy and the word more. Ryan is not deaf and his parents are not deaf, but his mother and father are teaching him to sign. They say a word and make a sign at the same time. They repeat this again and again. When Ryan learns a new sign, his family is very excited. Ryan's parents think that he will be a happier baby because he can communicate with them. Ryan's parents are teaching Ryan to sign because of a man named Joseph Garcia. Although Garcia was not from a deaf family, he decided to learn American Sign Language ASL. First, he took courses in ASL. Then, he got a job helping deaf people communicate with hearing people. In his work, he saw many deaf parents sign to their infants. He noticed that these babies were able to communicate much earlier than hearing children. They talked with signs by the time they were 8 months old. When they were 1 year old, they could use as many as 50 signs. Garcia decided to try something new. He taught ASL to parents who were not deaf. The families started to teach signs to their infants when they were 6 or 7 months old. These babies started using signs about 2 months later. More and more parents took Garcia's ASL classes. Like Ryan's family, they were excited about signing with their babies. They wanted to give their babies a way to communicate before they could use spoken words. Some people worry about signing to babies. They are afraid that these babies won't feel a need to talk. Maybe they will develop spoken language later than other babies. However, research does not show this. In fact, one study found just the opposite. Signing babies actually learned to speak earlier than other children. As they grow older, these children are more interested in books. They also score higher on intelligence tests. There is still a big question for parents. Which are the best signs to teach their babies? Some parents make their own signs. Other parents want to teach ASL. It can be useful because many people understand it. There's no clear answer, but we do know this. While signing babies and their families are talking quite a lot. This is the end of the audio program.