Good Signs

Parents sign "horse" while singing "Old Macdonald Had a Farm" at a Little Hands talking class  (Photo: Molly Hutchinson)

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.