Good Signs

By Melissa Martz

You may have heard that some parents are enrolling their young children in sign language classes — even though no one in the family has a hearing disability. While at first blush this sounds like a fad, sign language can benefit children with other disabilities and, indeed, people of all abilities.

The idea behind teaching sign language to hearing babies is that it gives them the means to communicate their wants and needs before they have acquired verbal language skills. Many parents, after seeing how sign language can aid in communication and cognitive development, have not stopped there, continuing their children’s sign language lessons into their school-age years. Supporters of sign language for hearing babies also believe that signing strengthens the bond between parents and their children.

Over the past several years, various studies have shown the benefits of sign language. In one research project started in 1982, two California researchers, Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn, noticed that babies were spontaneously using simple hand movements to represent words they weren’t yet able to say. Over the next two decades, the researchers studied the effects of teaching hearing babies to sign. They have found that “symbolic gesturing” (as it is called in the academic world) helps kids pick up verbal language more quickly. Now, there are schools that teach sign language to hearing babies and children around the world. Leslie Lang, founder and president of Little Hands Talking, based in Milton, Ontario, offers sign language programs for parents and their children as well as early childhood workers and educators. “The ideal age to start teaching signs to your child is six to nine months,” says Lang. “Some babies are ready at five months, some are ready at 10 months.” (The age at which children who have hearing disabilities begin learning sign language depends on the degree of hearing loss and whether or not their parents already sign. Some begin as infants. It may take a few years for parents to discover that their child has a hearing disability, so other children start learning as toddlers.)

Giving children another way to express themselves can boost their emotional health. For example, children with disabilities such as Down syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy often experience frustration when verbal language becomes difficult. This frustration may be expressed in the form of temper tantrums, aggression, depression and other difficult behaviour. Sign language can help them avoid these problems.

“This goes for all children, all people, disabled or not,” says Penny Wilson, an American Sign Language (ASL) instructor and school-age program developer for Little Hands Talking. “More and more, ASL is being used to bridge the communication barriers between people. It is the fourth most widely used language in North America, which a lot of people are surprised at.”

Wilson has seen the benefits of learning sign language through the eyes of a parent as well as a teacher. “My own experience as a signing mom is that I found both my kids began speaking at an early age,” says Wilson. “They would come to me with a new find — a new stuffed animal or toy or whatever — and want the word for it. I did both the verbal and the ASL for it. They would sign it before even trying to say it. A short time later, they would be doing both.”

Wilson says that signing is most effective when the whole family learns with the child. That was the case for five-year-old Katie, who has Down syndrome. Children with Down syndrome learn to speak later than typically developing kids. Her mom, Tracey, became interested in sign language after reading various sign language books from the library, as well as obtaining the “Signing Time” video series. (See sidebar on page 16 for more resources.)

Katie’s speech therapist encouraged her parents to introduce sign language to their daughter when she was an infant. Now, she knows 250 signs. Her parents have found that since Katie has learned sign language, she has been able to communicate with others when words might not come easily. Sign language has also given Katie an abundance of confidence.

“Sign language has been truly beneficial for our daughter and our family,” says Tracey. “It has given our daughter the chance to communicate her needs, has greatly reduced her level of frustration, and has given her the confidence in her ability to know that she can tell us what she wants.”

Tracey says that she and Katie’s father, Jarett, are slowly reducing the use of sign language as Katie’s speech develops. “Most people understand the spoken word rather than sign language. She will be able to communicate with more people and will be more easily understood by others.” Nevertheless, they credit sign language with giving Katie a good foundation for learning verbal language.

Learning sign language can also bolster children’s creativity. While other languages use only one part of the brain, Wilson says, sign language uses both sides at the same time because it is physical and creative. Kids themselves seem to love it – the school-aged program at Little Hands Talking, for example, is full of children eager to learn and have fun. When a session concludes, many parents sign up their kids for the next one.

Wilson’s kids – now 11 and six – still talk to her in sign language. “If I’m busy or on the phone, my daughter will still sign to me to quickly ask a question. My son loves to sign, and I find even when they are so frustrated that they can’t speak, they will sign the problem or dilemma to me.”

Robert Borys, itinerant teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, says that children can also benefit from learning about the richness of Deaf culture. “Some people might not think ASL is an official language with its own cultural identities, values, syntax, etc. It is a language in its own right, much the same as languages like Italian, Portuguese and French,” says Borys. “In fact, there is also a French sign language, Italian sign language, German, Portuguese, etc. Sign language is not poor English or some form of slang. It has its own grammar, syntax, sentence structure, idioms, euphemisms, etc.”

Parents interested in enrolling their children in sign language lessons will find that there are varying programs and prices. At Little Hands Talking, for example, workshops for children between six and 30 months of age cost $90 per three-hour class, programs for school-age children vary from $90 to $180 per sixweek session, depending on age, and monthly workshops that teach signs using songs based on a theme cost $12 per child/parent. A five-hour session for childcare workers costs $160.

Teaching methods may differ, but instructors are likely to agree that the best way to learn sign language is to use it. Borys, who has 33 years of experience in signing and teaching sign language, says that sign language is best taught without verbal language, so that new learners will have to begin to use their visual-spatial skills to receive and produce the new language.

Whatever way a child learns sign language, it will prove to be a fascinating, fun, interactive and creative way of communicating. Parents and teachers alike will be pleasantly surprised by the benefits.

Melissa Martz is a childcare provider and freelance writer in Kitchener, Ontario, who frequently writes about topics pertaining to children. Her work has previously been published in Interactions: The Ontario Journal of Environmental Education and Fire Fighting in Canada.