Benefits of Signing
How can Signing help your children?
(Click here for some more benefits of signing)
- Would you like to communicate with your child before they can talk?
- Do you want to increase your child's reading and language abilities?
Scientific studies suggest that "typical" children who learn to sign:
- have higher IQ scores
- are better adjusted
- read at an earlier age
Many parents observe that by learning to communicate earlier, the "terrible twos" are not so terrible—children can use a sign instead of throwing a tantrum to express their needs. - Children have the capacity to understand, learn and communicate before they develop the ability to speak. - Babies can sign around 6-14 months, in some cases earlier - which is generally before they master the ability to speak clearly. - Even when children do begin speaking, their speech is not always clear. Signing is a second way to get that information from them. "Ba-ba" - do they mean ball, bottle, banana, etc.? "Can you sign it to me? Ball? Bottle?" - Signing reduces tantrums and frustrations. Signing with Children with Special Needs: Other General Benefits: - Wonderful bonding - this is face-to-face communication. You must look at each other to use signs! - Having an alternative way of expressing themselves can help a child who may not be comfortable verbalizing something they want to say, such as when they are upset or embarrassed. - The physical component of signing can make learning feel like play. Children naturally use their body language to communicate. - Research suggests that signing with hearing children may improve confidence and self esteem, support spelling skills, improve reading ability, and possibly improve I.Q. scores.
Signing with Babies and Toddlers:
- Signing can have miraculous results with children who have speech and communication challenges. Sign can be an amazing tool for children with Down Syndrome, Autism, Apraxia of Speech, speech delays, hearing loss, deafness, etc.
- Signing may encourage verbal communication.
- Children learn in different ways. Some learn by hearing, some by seeing, some by doing it with their own hands. Tactile and kinesthetic learners may thrive when sign language is introduced to their learning environment.
- Helps children link symbols (signs) with concepts (the meaning of the word) and with the spoken word. This incorporates many levels of learning.
-Older children love to use signs as a "secret language" or as a second language.
Other Useful Links:
Signing success guide
Sign Language Research
-Explore the benefits of signing with pre-verbal infants, children with special needs, school aged children who can hear, and more.
More Research articles:
-Research on How Signing Helps Hearing Children Learn to Read - summarized by Laura Felzer of Cal Poly University - Pomona
-Highly recommended book - Daniels, M. (2001). Dancing with Words: Signing for Hearing Children's Literacy. Westport, Connecticut: Bergin and Garvey.
-Another research article addressing a common misconception: Will signing delay my child's speech? (No it will not, it can enhance it)
*Information provided by the Signing Time Academy ©2009 Two Little Hands Productions
