Speech Therapy And Sign Language

Young children are able to form signs with their hands long before they can form words with their mouths. This makes sign language a good companion to speech therapy in children with communication difficulties. When babies watch adults form signs, and learn the connection between the signs and the things in their lives, a vital link forms in their minds, and they have a much easier time learning to speak.

When should you use sign language with your child? Any child can learn sign language and many parents enjoy communicating with their children before they gain their verbal skills. However, sign language is particularly important for little ones who are having trouble forming words and speaking as they reach an age where verbalization starts. If your child is becoming frustrated because he is not understood, sign language may be a good way to form a communication bridge between your child and the world. Your child will not only learn to communicate, but learn what communication is about and become more a part of his world because he can make his thoughts and feelings known.

Babies and toddlers learn American Sign Language well and easily. It’s best to use ASLS so that other people, outside of the family, can communicate with your child. Making up signs may work within the family, but can cause communications snafus and frustrations for your child outside the home. The best way to teach sign language is to get ASL books or DVDs that you and your child can enjoy together, and make learning ASL a fun playtime.

Many of the ASL DVDs and learning toys include simple songs and games that you and your child can play. This will make the learning process go very smoothly and help your child learn basic words. You may also want to work with her on your own to help her learn words that she will use often, like “Daddy,” “Mommy,” “sleep,” and other words that occur often—thank you, please, go and cat may also be good words to learn, particularly if you have a cat. As you teach your child the words and signs, you will see a light bulb go off above that little head as she makes the connection between the thing and the sign.

That light bulb is important, because it is the beginning of your child’s learning that things have names, and how to express those names. As kids learn what it means, and feels like, to communicate, they become more involved in their worlds. If they are learning to speak but experiencing difficulties, this understanding of communication will help them reach their goals. If they will communicate by signing later in life, learning now will help them start well.

Children who are learning to communicate, but having a frustrating time of it because their speech is not clear, may find that signing helps them become the communication masters they long to be, and improves their lives as well as their efforts at speaking.