There are many benefits associated with learning Sign Language.
The most compelling benefit for parents and caregivers is
that Sign Language can help babies communicate before they
can talk. It has long been understood that babies comprehend
verbal communication before they have developed the muscle
control in their vocal cords required to produce clear verbal
messages. Sign Language bridges this gap.
Researchers have found
that babies as young as seven and eight months of age can
use Sign Language to communicate their wants and needs. When
your baby waves bye-bye or raises her arms for you to pick
her up, she is using gestures to communicate a need or an
idea. The same physical and cognitive processes that enable
your baby to communicate through gestures enable your baby
to communicate using Sign Language.
Sign Language empowers pre-verbal children by giving them
a means to clearly communicate their wants and needs. Most
people agree that there are few things in life more satisfying
than communicating and being understood. Sign Language makes
this possible for you and your pre-verbal baby!
There are many additional benefits associated with learning
Sign Language. Read on for more information or click here, then select 'benefits' for a list of related outside links.
Babies who Sign tend to be happier
and less frustrated
||Babies who Sign tend to be
happier and less frustrated
||Babies who Sign tend to verbalize
||Sign Language can strengthen
fine motor skills
||Sign Language can improve
||Sign Language may help build
and reinforce creativity
||Sign Language is a fun way
for young children to get excited about different languages
Babies who learn Sign Language are able to communicate their
wants and needs, so it makes common sense that they would
be happier and less frustrated. Current scientific
research backs up this idea. Given that babies have an
awareness of their wants and needs before they can form words
and sentences, imagine how frustrating it must be for them
to try to make these wants and needs known to their parents
and caregivers. In the absence of a shared language that both
parent and child can use and understand, babies are left to
cry and throw tantrums until adults can figure out what they
are trying to say. Sign Language empowers babies to express
their wants and needs with specific hand movements and gestures
so parents and caregivers can understand and respond appropriately.
Babies who Sign tend to verbalize sooner
There is a growing body of research
that demonstrates that babies who learn Sign Language actually
develop verbal language skills more rapidly and accurately
than do babies who are not exposed to Sign. One theory suggests
that this is because babies who learn Sign Language make the
cognitive 'connection' that words (and signs) are symbols
that represent meanings. Another theory suggests that the
process of introducing a child to Sign Language tends to cause
parents and caregivers to verbalize more frequently with their
babies, which independently relates to language skill development.
Whatever the reason, the evidence gives strong support to
the idea that babies who learn Sign Language tend to develop
strong verbal skills, and they develop these skills more quickly
than babies who have not been exposed to Sign.
Sign Language can strengthen fine motor skills
Sign Language provides a context around which babies and young
children can practice and develop their fine motor skills.
When young babies begin using Sign Language to communicate,
their signs are generally not precise or fine. Over
time and with practice and repetition, babies begin to improve
the precision of commonly used signs. This practice stimulates
the parts of the brain that are responsible for fine motor
skill development, acting to strengthen this development in
other contexts as well.
Sign Language can improve reading scores
Sign Language has many benefits beyond improving communication
between caregivers and pre-verbal children. For example, a
recent study showed
that reading scores can be improved as a result of introducing
Sign Language to school children. This particular study compared
two different classrooms of school children, one in which
the children learned Sign Language and the other, which did
not. Over a period of time, the reading scores of the children
who were exposed to Sign Language had improved by a much greater
degree than those who had not been exposed to Sign.
Sign Language may help build and reinforce creativity
Sign Language exercises different parts of the brain than
verbal language. It has been widely shown that creativity
is enhanced when we have opportunities to stimulate and exercise
different parts of our brain. It therefore stands to reason
that Sign Language can act as a stimulant to help build and
Sign Language is a fun way for young children to get excited
about different languages and cultures
A great deal of research exists
showing that there are many benefits associated with learning
more than one language. Research
has also shown that children have an exceptionally high capacity
to learn more than one language. American Sign Language is
no exception. When a child is exposed to another language,
they also receive exposure to different ways of experiencing
life through the eyes of another culture. Sign Language is
inviting and accessible, and it provides an opportunity for
children to experience success in learning another language.
This early success can build the enthusiasm a child needs
to enjoy a lifetime of learning.
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