You, Your Kids, and American Sign Language

     Hey parents! As most of you know from experience, there are never enough hours in a day to get everything done that you need or want to do. That usually means that things like reading for pleasure, or even reading to research the newest and best ideas for your little ones, is a hot commodity and usually done while a baby naps or a toddler plays at the playground. Because I know and live that life everyday, I am here to make information easy to find and even easier to read. 
Every week I will focus on multiple topics; making them condensed and comprehensible for you to read while waiting in the parking lot picking your child up from school or while your daughter is in dance class.
I will start by discussing the use of American Sign Language in the home with hearing and deaf children alike. Studies show that there are many benefits, which will be covered in a later post, to teaching ASL to all children and while you may have reasons to not learn and teach your child, I am here to put those concerns to bed. 
Now, if you are thinking that there is already a ton of information out there about ASL, you would be right. There is a lot of information. The problem with most of that information is that it is incomplete, meaning one place does not cover all aspects of teaching children ASL, which means finding all the information you want is time consuming and probably more work than you can juggle. The other problem is that most of the information and research out there is written for a scholarly audience, and lets face it, very few parents have time to translate and decipher the language present in a scholarly article or the length that is usually associated with such articles.
Since most of you are probably not native users of American Sign Language, it is likely that you will be using some sort of combination of ASL and your native spoken language. That is okay! This can help you in the beginning of your learning. 
If at a young age, children are given adequate exposure to language they begin learning long before they can physically speak. Though they can’t talk yet, that does not mean they can’t express themselves. 
Sign language, in hearing, deaf or anywhere in between, has been proven to promote early communication since children can use their hands much earlier than they can master the verbal skills required to express themselves. 
Marilyn Daniels, associate professor of speech communication at Pennsylvania State University, and author of a book promoting signing for hearing children’s literacy, says, “signs can encourage communication at least six months before most children start to form basic words...[which] not only increases the parents’ bond and interaction with their babies, it helps reduce a major source of tantrums and stress for infants.” 
Garcia has been researching this subject since 1986 and says many children exposed to sign at the age of seven months “would be signing back in eight months,” and that by nine months some babies can master as many as seventy-five individual signs (Brady 2000). 

This may seem impossible to parents as they are beginning their sign language journey, but taken one sign at a time and engaging with your child will not only prove beneficial, but also fun. So fun, that you can actually learn a useful sign right now! And don’t forget to come back tomorrow and learn all about why babies can’t communicate with you orally right away.