University of Texas at El Paso DigitalCommons@UTEP Open Access Theses & Dissertations 2018-01-01 The fficE acy of Baby Sign Language in Reducing Problem Behaviors in Typically Developing Children Nguyen-Chau Dinh University of Texas at El Paso, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd Part of the Speech and Hearing Science Commons, and the Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons Recommended Citation Dinh, Nguyen-Chau, "The Efficacy of Baby Sign Language in Reducing Problem Behaviors in Typically Developing Children" (2018). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 1423. https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd/1423 This is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UTEP. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UTEP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE EFFICACY OF BABY SIGN LANGUAGE IN REDUCING PROBLEM BEHAVIORS IN TYPICALLY DEVELOPING CHILDREN NGUYEN-CHAU DINH Master’s Program in Speech-Language Pathology APPROVED: _________________________________ Vannesa Mueller, Ph.D, CCC-SLP, Chair _________________________________ Robert Trussell, Ph.D _________________________________ Patricia Lara, Ph.D, CCC-SLP ________________________ Charles H. Amber, Ph.D Dean of the Graduate School THE EFFICACY OF BABY SIGN LANGUAGE IN REDUCING PROBLEM BEHAVIORS IN TYPICALLY DEVELOPING CHILDREN by NGUYEN-CHAU DINH, B.S., CSD THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at El Paso in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Rehabilitation Sciences THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO May 2018 Acknowledgements I would like to begin by thanking my mentor, Dr. Vannesa Mueller, for guiding me throughout my graduate school experience and fueling my interest for engaging in research. The discussions that we’ve had about life, my aspirations, and our values are memories that I’ll always treasure. I’d additionally like to thank Dr. Patricia Lara for providing me with opportunities in the Voice, Brain, and Language Lab and Dr. Robert Trussell for supporting me in this endeavor. My sincere gratitude is extended to the participant who enrolled in the study and her parents for their patience, flexibility, and willingness to commit to the pursuit of research. Last but not least, I’d like to thank my parents for instilling humility, perseverance, and the importance of education in me at a young age. I am the individual I am because of their efforts and unconditional love. iii Abstract Baby sign is an emerging trend that is speculated to reduce the instances of tantrums, emotional outbursts, and frustration in typically hearing infants (Nelson, White, & Grewe, 2012). Despite its proclaimed benefits, little research has been conducted to evaluate the true efficacy of baby sign in reducing problem behaviors in typically hearing children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether or not baby sign could be used as an alternative and augmentative communication modality in increasing communicative intent and decreasing stress. A single subject, AB design was used to examine the changes in behavior in a typically developing child 11 months of age. The researchers introduced baby sign to the participant using an adapted version of the milieu language teaching procedure (MT) and recorded the number of problem behaviors exhibited during baseline and treatment sessions. Sessions were video-recorded to obtain inter-rater reliability and percentage of non-overlapping data was calculated to determine overall efficacy. Results showed that the treatment using baby sign was effective in reducing problem behaviors by 50% percent. These findings have implications for the positive effects of baby sign use in typically developing populations. Keywords: problem behaviors, baby sign, language acquisition, infants, intervention, alternative and augmentative communication, milieu language teaching, Autism Spectrum Disorders, communicative development, distress iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………iii Abstract ……………………………………………………………………. ……………………iv Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………….................v List of Tables………………………………………………….......................................................vi List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………vii Chapter 1: Literature Review……………………………………………………………...............1 1.1 Gesture and Language Development…………………………………………………..2 1.2 Sign Use in Typically Hearing Populations …………………………………………...3 1.3 Augmentative and Alternative Communication in Autism Spectrum Disorders ……..5 1.4 Milieu Language Teaching ……………………………………………………………6 1.5 Purpose of study ……………………………………………………………………….8 Chapter 2: Methods ……………………………………………………………………………….9 2.1 Participant ……………………………………………………………………………..9 2.2 Setting ………………………………………………………………………………..10 2.3 Design ………………………………………………………………………………..10 2.4 Procedures …………………………………………………………………………...11 Chapter 3: Results………………………………………………………………………………..15 Chapter 4: Discussion ……………………………………………………....................................20 4.1 Limitations…………………………………………………………………………...21 4.2 Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………..23 References ………………………………………………………………………………………24 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………………28 Vita……………………………………………………………………………………………….30 v List of Tables Table 2.1 Operational Definitions and Measurements of Problem Behaviors in Play Settings…14 Table 3.1 Categories of problem behaviors during baseline sessions…………………………...17 Table 3.2 Categories of problem behaviors during treatment sessions………………………….18 vi List of Figures Figure 3.1 Total number of problem behaviors during baseline and baby sign treatment………16 vii Chapter 1: Literature Review Baby sign is referred to as a typically hearing infant’s usage of keyword signs to increase communication with adults in their lives (Doherty-Sneddon, 2008). Keyword signing involves the use of content words in language with the subsequent removal of function words. For example, a mother who is using baby sign with her infant may use only the signs for WANT and MILK in the sentence, “Do you want more milk?” In teaching baby sign, parents often incorporate signs for toys, actions, and requests that are most desirable and functional for the infant (Mueller & Acosta, 2015). Signs are generally produced in conjunction with spoken words and produced numerous times in various contexts before expected generalization. It is important to note that baby sign differs from American Sign Language (ASL), the predominant language of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community in North America. ASL is a complex language system that contains its own set of syntactical, semantic, and prosodic features. People who use ASL often employ facial expressions and postures to highlight intent and meaning. ASL is also subject to regional variances, as signs, prosody, and formation may differ according to various location in the United States. Baby sign also differs from ASL in that baby sign can be used simultaneously with any spoken language as grammar and syntax in baby sign are ignored. As stated previously, ASL is its own language which includes all domains of language such as phonology, semantics, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics. For example, an individual that speaks Mandarin can use keyword signing while stating the name of the object in Mandarin. However, a deaf individual in China will most likely use Chinese Sign Language instead of ASL. Furthermore, baby sign typically involves the adaptation and simplification of ASL for ease of sign formation and mastery. 1 Although there is limited research to validate the true efficacy of baby sign, its benefits have been highly sensationalized by various media outlets and child care centers. It has been directly publicized on frequently read newspapers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post as well as on television (Berck, 2004; Glazer, 2001). Baby sign is speculated to promote language development, improve literacy, increase cognitive skills, and reduce the instances of tantrums, emotional outbursts, and frustration in infants (Nelson, White, & Grewe, 2012). It also is stated to improve overall parent-child relationships (Acredolo, Goodwyn, & Abrams, 2002). As it relates to the current study, the literature supporting the advantages of baby sign on communicative development remains inconclusive (Fitzpatrick, Thibert, Grandpierre, & Johnston, 2014). Nelson et al (2012) conducted a thorough examination of 82 sources cited by 33 different websites that advocated for baby sign use. Results showed that only 8 of the 82 articles cited were derived through empirical means, and the remaining 90% were gathered from opinion. This indicates a need to expand on the literature and overall knowledge that practitioners have regarding baby sign. 1.1 Gesture and Language Development Although there is limited research on baby sign, there is extensive literature on gesture use and development in typically developing populations. This is important and has bearing as baby signs are considered gestures. Prior to language acquisition, infants use gestures to convey wants and needs within their environment. This form of intentional communication typically emerges between nine to twelve months of age (Bates, Benigni, Bretherton, Camaioni, & Volterra, 1979). Iverson and Thal (1998) defined gestures as being deictic or representational. 2 Deictic gestures call attention