Sign language is such a powerful tool–even after 20 years in the “business,” it never ceases to amaze me! Whether it is sign language with the wonderful families I meet at SignShine or in my own home, I have the joy of seeing children and parents sign to each other everyday. Hearing, hard-of-hearing, and deaf children and parents benefit so much from introducing sign language to their daily lives—by using their hands to communicate, these children are able to have full and meaningful exchanges with others around them.
Babies spend a lot of time crying, laughing, and generally making lots of noise at all hours of the day and night (something many parents reading this can attest to) during the first few months of life. Children who are deaf also cry and babble, but come to rely on other ways to alert their parents to their thoughts and emotions. In this way, sign language is a very useful multifunctional tool for families—acting as an alternative to speech and as an enhancement to verbal communication for both deaf and hearing children.
Sign language can lead to full and in-depth conversations, as seen in this amazing video of a mom signing with her deaf 24-month-old baby. Even without using verbal words, Ava’s mommy is able to communicate with Ava in British Sign Language (BSL) to talk about what presents little Ava received on her second birthday. While you watch this video, I’m sure you will be amazed by how well Ava can understand her mommy. I certainly was blown away by how Ava asked first to color, and then to color (correctly) on paper and not on the dining table. Keep in mind that she is only two-years-old! In addition to being able to “talk” to her mommy, Ava very intelligently grasps new words and can use sign language to direct the conversation to topics she is curious about, like the leaf or her tummy. The open communication between Ava and her mommy is just so inspiring!