A few months ago, my 1 year old son started whining. For the first five seconds of his moans, I frantically looked around for what he could possibly want. I came up empty-handed. Fearing his whines would ramp up at any moment, I mentally prepared for an all out tantrum, but was stopped short when he put three middle fingers up to his mouth and tapped it a few times. "Water. He wants water," I said to myself. I got him water, and he was happy. All of this probably took 15 seconds — sign language saved the day yet again.
I have been a teacher for the deaf and hard-of-hearing for 10 years now, and learning and using American Sign Language (ASL) since I was 12 years old. I always knew that when I had kids of my own that I would teach them sign language. Sure enough I had my son two years ago, and I began teaching him sign language from Day 1 (OK, maybe more like Day 10 due to, you know, having a new born and postpartum recovery), but sign language has proven to be beneficial in more ways than I can count.
I have witnessed firsthand the benefits of sign language with my students and my own son, and as one mom to another, I feel compelled to share them.
In addition, sign language can ease frustrations. Young children, students with certain special needs, and English Language Learners might not always have the spoken language available to communicate, but signing helps express what they are trying to say, building confidence and decreasing feelings of frustration and isolation. Long-term research has even found that teaching kids sign language also leads to better spelling, vocabulary, and reading.
There are a few things to keep in mind after you decide that you want to start signing with your child. First, you don't need to be fluent in ASL to start signing with your baby or toddler. There are plenty of resources out there. But do make sure that they are by deaf people or backed by deaf/ASL experts. In fact, when you're just beginning, I would skip the books that have hundreds of signs in them and focus on only the words your baby needs to communicate their wants and needs. These words are a good starting point:
As for when to start signing with your baby, it is never too late or too early to start. As I previously mentioned, I started signing right away, but my son didn't start signing back until he was about 6 months. Don't let this discourage you. Your baby will start understanding sign language long before he will be able to produce any signs on his own. I could tell he was comprehending by the way he would stare intently whenever I would start signing, or he would dart his eyes looking for whatever I would sign. Usually, this was milk, and I could see the excitement in his eyes. Remember to always capture your child's attention before you start signing. As you progress, be on the lookout for your child's signs. Your baby or toddler will not reproduce a sign exactly as you do it. Their fine motor skills are not yet developed to that point yet. But this still counts as signing and learning a word!
As with many things, repetition is key. Like anything in life, the more consistently you sign, the more your child will pick up on the meaning behind the sign. For example, I would say and sign, "It's naptime. Time to sleep, sleep. Henry is sleepy," on our way up to his room. Then, once in his room, I would repeat again with the sign for sleep. And don't forget that facial expressions are such a huge part of ASL. When signing with your child, make sure your expressions match the mood and feelings you are trying to convey.
There are a ton of resources out there, but I want to share a few of my favorites.
It's dinnertime at our house. Throughout the whole meal my son signs "more" when he wants more food. He signs "water" when he wants more to drink. He throws his hands up when he is "all done." We take him out of the highchair, and he wanders into the kitchen. He heads to the fridge and signs "milk." He drinks his milk and plays with his toy. I repeatedly sign "sleep" while telling him that it's almost time for bed. He puts his hand up to his head for "sleep." We go up to sleep having survived the evening with very little tantrums and frustrations. And that's because of sign language.