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What is sign language? -

Sign language is a visual language that uses hands, shapes, movements, and facial expressions to communicate words and sentences. While it’s primarily thought of for just non-verbal and non-hearing people, it’s very beneficial for all children to learn for numerous reasons.

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Accelerated speech development -

Studies have shown that exposure to sign language can actually help students better understand spoken words. Many kids can even use sign language before speaking aloud, and that communication bolsters their speech comprehension.

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Accelerated emotional development -

Children who are able to communicate and express themselves are more able to form friendships from an earlier age, which has lasting effects on not only education but also personal relationships later on in life, as well as work.

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Stimulating brain development -

Learning sign language from a young age can reportedly stimulate brain development, as it uses both the right and left hemispheres of the brain. This as opposed to a spoken language, which only uses the left hemisphere.

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Increased and effective communication -

Pre-verbal children can learn vital signs to indicate if they’re hungry or hurt, for example. It’s important both for parents and caregivers to understand them, and communication is a huge part of our quality of life.

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An average +12 IQ point advantage -

Studies have shown that among eight-year-olds, signers showed IQs that were on average 12 points higher than non-signers, even if they had long since stopped signing, reports Baby Sign Language. It’s believed that children who use signs from a young age have better language skills and thus also score higher in exams.

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Increased reasoning skills -

Bilingualism—which includes languages both signed and spoken—has been shown to boost children’s cognitive skills, including problem-solving. Additionally, we often learn as adults to talk our problems out, and it works because communicating our thoughts and feelings is a great way to see them with a healthy and more objective distance.

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Decreased frustration -

There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to communicate what you want to say. But before they learn verbal language, children are often faced with this problem. Signing thus provides them an easy alternative before they get the hang of speaking.

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Improved child-parent/caregiver bonding -

While some children cry to get what they want, signing children learn how to communicate important needs with simple words, which allows their parents to respond quicker, and develops a more symbiotic relationship that puts both parties at ease.

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Potential cure to the “terrible twos” -

It’s believed that the terrible twos are rooted in children’s inability to fully express themselves, resulting in temper tantrums and irritability, which is stressful for both the kids and the adults. Sign language is becoming an increasingly popular solution, especially among those desperate parents who can’t seem to ease the tantrums.

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Building imitation skills -

Signing improves young children’s attentiveness to the gestures of other people, which is ultimately how they will learn to move through and interact with the world around them.

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Improved word memory -

Since there is muscle memory involved in sign language, it becomes easier to recall words. As a general rule, the more senses there are involved in learning, the greater memory retention the child will have.

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Improved attentiveness to social gestures -

Hand gestures are a part of verbal and hearing people’s everyday communication already, and sign language builds on those skills from a young age as an effective way to bolster communication between people. People who learn sign language will be more aware of others’ gestures as well as their own—and that includes their facial expressions!

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Larger speaking vocabulary -

Fascinatingly, by seeing words in actions through sign, children are able to better recognize different words and phrases, and retain them. In the developmental phase, children rely heavily on visual aids for learning, and signing provides another facet of just that. Studies found that children who were exposed to sign language had larger spoken English-language vocabularies than non-signing children.

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Ability to form longer sentences -

The visual representation of words also helps children to form longer sentences from younger ages, as it’s easier for them to understand and remember how to put different sets of words together.

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Improved and earlier literacy -

Since most letters in sign language resemble their written counterparts, teaching young children to sign can help them better recognize and write their ABCs, which helps with reading and comprehension skills. Studies have shown that students who know how to sign often begin reading at an earlier age than those who don’t, and they often have better grades.

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Increased self-esteem -

Research in both pre-verbal and verbal children shows that those who are exposed to sign language are generally more self confident and have increased self-esteem, which is believed to be due to the feeling of being understood that is so important in building relationships and participating in social activities.

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Building social skills -

Children’s early interactions form the basis of their perception of the world moving forward, so it’s essential that they feel able to express their thoughts and feelings early on so that they can have healthy social interactions. After forming better communication with their parents, kids will likely have a better temper when communicating with peers—both verbal and non-verbal.

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Increased interaction -

By teaching children how to sign from a young age, they will be able to interact with a more diverse set of people instead of having their relationships hindered by communication barriers. Maybe there are deaf family members you could begin speaking with, or a potential deaf best friend waiting at school.

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Helps to make early education more inclusive -

There is a gaping deficit when it comes to inclusive early education around the world, and since it unfortunately goes unnoticed by many governments and school boards, teaching children sign language at home can help pave the way to include deaf and non-verbal children in that essential early childhood education.

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Inclusive to all learning styles -

When sign language is used in combination with other learning activities, children can combine the learning styles of visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic all at the same time, which not only boosts memory retention but is also inclusive for those who struggle with some learning styles.

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Increased sensitivity among young people -

One of the best places to start when it comes to creating a more inclusive future is young and developing children. They’ll grow into the world with a natural sensitivity to those with hearing difficulties, as well as a greater amount of respect and care towards them.

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Clearing up a misconception -

Through teaching children sign language, we can remind people that deafness is a hearing disorder, not a learning disability, and when deaf children are given access to educational opportunities equal to their hearing counterparts, they can excel alongside their peers and reach their full potential.

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Increased harmony in schools -

Helping non-hearing students integrate into classrooms is a benefit for everyone, from embracing diversity to creating equal opportunity.

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Language is easier to pick up while still young -

Adults trying to learn a new language have all wished that they were taught it as a child because language is surprisingly much more difficult to learn with a fully developed brain. Teach your kids young so they won’t have to struggle so much later.

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It opens up another world as adults -

When signing kids grow up, they’ll be able to communicate with the huge community of deaf people around the world, perhaps even forming beautiful relationships they couldn’t have before picking up the language.

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Hearing loss is a real issue later in life -

Approximately one in three people in the US between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders. Learning sign language with your child can be a very useful way to stay connected from their pre-verbal development to even your own post-hearing old age.

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Changing the future for deaf people -

Deaf people globally are faced with challenges when accessing important information, as the majority of leaders and news broadcasts don’t offer adequate interpretative services. When sign language becomes the norm, major powers will become accustomed to providing sign language interpretations for non-hearing individuals.

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More people will be inclined to become interpreters -

Professional sign language interpreters are in high demand because there are not nearly enough. Hopefully when children are introduced to the language from a young age, they’ll have another career opportunity open for them in the future.

See also: Fascinating language facts you didn't know

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