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Related Experiment Videos

Developmental milestones: sign language acquisition and motor development.

J D Bonvillian, M D Orlansky, L L Novack

    Child Development
    |December 1, 1983
    PubMed
    Summary

    Children of deaf parents acquire sign language faster than hearing children acquire spoken language. Early sign language development in these children is not synchronized with motor skill acquisition.

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    Area of Science:

    • Developmental Psychology
    • Linguistics
    • Deaf Studies

    Background:

    • Early language acquisition is a critical developmental milestone.
    • Previous research suggests a link between motor development and spoken language milestones.
    • The development of sign language in children of deaf parents requires further investigation.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the early sign language development in infants of deaf parents.
    • To examine the relationship between motor development and sign language acquisition in this population.
    • To compare the pace of sign language acquisition with spoken language acquisition.

    Main Methods:

    • Longitudinal study over 16 months.
    • Observation and documentation of sign language use in 11 children.

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  • Assessment of motor development milestones.
  • Analysis of vocabulary size and sign combination development.

    • Main Results:

    • Children demonstrated accelerated sign language development, with first signs at 8.5 months and first sign combinations at 17 months.
    • Sign vocabulary and structure paralleled spoken language acquisition studies.
    • The typical synchrony between motor and language development was not observed; language acquisition continued steadily despite motor milestones.

    Conclusions:

    • Infants of deaf parents exhibit faster early language development through sign language compared to spoken language acquisition.
    • Motor development does not appear to inhibit or synchronize with sign language acquisition in this cohort.
    • Findings challenge existing models of language acquisition synchrony and highlight unique aspects of sign language development.