Benefits of teaching ASL to a pre-verbal baby
Creates a new awareness of a pre-verbal baby’s potential
Strengthens parent-child bond and sibling bond
Reduces frustration for babies and caregivers
Stimulates intellectual development
Enhances self-esteem
Accelerates verbal language development
Provides a window into a child’s mind.
Babies using Sign Language to communicate.
Benefits of teaching ASL to a verbal child
Sign Language can help improve a hear child’s
English vocabulary
Reading ability
Spelling proficiency
Self-esteem and self-confidence
Comfort expressing emotions
Interest in books and literacy skills
ASL helps all children become better readers. ASL is a visual language. As children are learning sign, they are exercising the visual-spatial part of their brain. This is the same part of the brain they will use to read. Research shows that children who learn sign language are more readily able to translate letters and words into written language.
Research also indicates that learning a second language, including Sign Language, actually increases IQ.
Babies using Sign Language to communicate.
Parent-proven benefits of having a signing child
Parents don’t have to guess if a child is tired or hungry or has to poop
Children can cry and sign simultaneously (so can parents if needed)
You can sign with a mouth full
Parents can correct a child discreetly from across the room
Children and parents can communicate discretely without yelling
Children can be reminded to use manners (or the bathroom) from a distance
Children learn to read body language
Children can communicate interests, helping parents plan activities around those interests
Parents and children can communicate in quiet during church, at the movies, or at the library
You can “talk” under water, or through the glass at dance or taekwondo class
Children can communicate when they are feeling pain and what they need
Signing is a really fun way to connect to your child
Young children using Sign Language to communicate.
What teachers are saying about signing in the classroom
Boosts enthusiasm and readiness to learn
Influences a child’s ability to attend
Decreases classroom conflict
Reduces instances of biting and screaming
Raises cultural awareness
Increases self-esteem
Teachers know children’s interests which helps them plan around their interests
ASL can serve as a bridge for children and staff who speak different languages
