ASL for kids

Babies have always found a way to get their messages across. Even before they are born they communicate through movements and respond to external stimuli. However, until they learn to talk and make their point of view clear, babies can become very frustrated. They know what they want, but getting their parents to understand this requires a high level of understanding. When they cry, they know they need to calm their anxiety, but they don’t have enough tools to communicate it. Usually when you become a parent they tell you it could be one of four reasons: He’s bored and wants to play, he’s hungry and wants to eat, he has sleepy or needs a diaper change. It is relatively easy to determine what they want if we attend to these four premises, but the reality is that as our children grow their world expands and with it their tastes and desires as well. Then there may come a day when he wants a bottle, but instead of milk, he wants water. What do we do on these occasions?

Supporters of sign language say that this technique offers a non-verbal and non-auditory means to help babies communicate with their parents and caregivers. Using many of the skills that have been designed for the hearing impaired community, parents can teach their babies to convey what they want using their hands just as parents use their voice, face and hands to communicate. Essentially, sign language is designed for babies to use the skills they instinctively have to help their parents understand them.

Sign language gives babies a way to communicate what they want before their verbal skills are sufficiently developed.

• May reduce frustration for babies who are otherwise unable to communicate.
• Sign language can help build confidence and self-esteem. Supporters say this is because the baby feels that her parents are making an effort to understand them and this makes the baby feel more self-confident.
• It can make the transition to spoken language easier. Sign language offers the possibility of a natural and easier transition to verbal language. Babies who are familiar with signing are more motivated to learn to speak.

Just as babies get frustrated, we as parents must keep in mind that this teaching process is like any other, it takes time, it takes repetition and determination on the part of the parents. We cannot expect our children to start using sign language after a week because it is something that takes a long time to be recognized by our children’s brains.

Some warnings for parents:
This is a process that can take months.
-It is a process that requires group support, every time your child is at the house of grandparents, cousins, friends or family, they must help to follow the guides and signs that are constantly being repeated.
-The most important thing that we must take into account is that the probability that our children sign as they have been taught is very difficult since their motor skills and control over their joints are just developing, so you must try to recognize the signs. Signs relating to the signs that you have taught your child and the signs that he is doing.