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Careful with the Curse Words—Your Baby Might Be Reading Your Lips
January 17th, 2012
By Alicia McAuley
Psst... I can see your lips moving! Photography by David Hilgart via Flickr (CC)
It’s hard not to be constantly amazed by babies. Between the whole “growing from the size of a poppy seed into a watermelon” thing and the mysterious way that they always smell so darn good, you’d think that there wouldn’t be much room left for more awe-inspiring feats. However, a report from The Associated Press reveals that babies have another impressive trick up their sleeve: they can read lips.
According to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, those observant little babes start to study mouth movement while people talk to them at around six months.
“Our research found that infants shift their focus of attention to the mouth of the person who is talking when they enter the babbling stage and that they continue to focus on the mouth for several months thereafter until they master the basic speech forms of their native language,” said study leader David J. Lewkowicz, a professor of psychology at Florida Atlantic University, in a news release. “In other words, infants become lip readers when they first begin producing their first speech-like sounds.”
Lewkowicz also suggests that the study’s findings may one day assist with the early detection for autism spectrum disorder.
You can read the full Associated Press report here at CBC News.
Copyright © 2012 St. Joseph Media. All Rights Reserved.