A research released in 1998 showed one of the benefits of baby sign language. Based on the study, hearing children exposed to sign language have improved “more rapidly on tests of visual-spatial cognition and spatial memory than their schoolmates not attending a sign language course.”
Gab showing the sign for Dad.
The study entitled Teaching Sign Language to Hearing Children as a Possible Factor in Cognitive Enhancement was conducted by Italian Psychologists: O. Capirci, A. Cattani, P. Rossini, and V. Volterra.
The first study showed a group of six year old Italian chidren (average age) who were exposed to a 2-year sign language course being conducted one hour a week. The other group participated in music or gymnastics, instead.
The second study compared a group first-grade chidlren who grew up in a monolingual Italian-speaking families. One group took sign laguange while the other group took English classes.
In both studies, those who attended the sign language classes have improved their scores on the Raven PM 47 Test by as much as 8 points compared to the other groups. The Raven PM 47 Test measures visual perception and level of mental development.
You can read the details of the study here.
You can teach sign language to your babies as young as 6 months like how we taught Gab. Here are 5 simple signs to start with.