This morning I met with Karen Horvath who’s with Community Services with All Deaf and a Sign2Me instructor. She has three children and taught all of them sing language since birth so they could communicate with her when they needed something. Karen and many other parents are using sign language more and more to help communicate with their babies.
Here are some of the benefits for teaching your babies sign language.
1. It allows your infant to clearly communicate specific thoughts.
2. It reduces frusturation for your baby and you.
3. Although many people think it will delay your child’s verbal development that is actually a myth! In fact, signing may help. Research shows that babies who sign usually begin to speak sooner and develop a larger vocabulary than non-signing babies.
4. Signing children tend to be more interested in books.
5. Signing can help doctors and parents identify pain or injuries.
6. It can serve as a language barrier between English and non-English speakers.
7. It may actually improve your child’s IQ!
Signing also helps provide a way for children with various types of language delays or impairments to communicate, specifically down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, apraxia of speech, aphasia, learning disabiliteis, and fetal alcohol syndrome. The above information is from www.sign2me.com.
If you’re interested in teaching your baby sign language or know a friend who might, you can join Karen for playdates or classes. The next play date is Saturday, May 16th from 10:00 a.m. to noon. It will be at Logan Building Blocks at 2505 East Jefferson Blvd in South Bend. The event is free.
If you’re interested in teaching your baby sign language, you can sign up for classes this summer. The classes run June 26th through July 24th. They will be every Friday from 9 to 9:45 a.m. It costs $50 for the course and a book. For more information call 574-247-6047 extension 105 or you can go to www.sign2me.com.
If you taught your baby sign language or know someone who did, please let me know what you think about it!
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This post was written by Lindsey on May 14, 2009
Hello, can you please post some more information on this topic? I would like to read more.
The best thing to do is check out the http://www.sign2me.com website. It’s got all the background information along with an online store of resources and classes you can find in your area.
Parents that I’ve talked to say they really liked teaching their children sign language because it made the child less fussy. The kids were able to communicate with their parents, and in turn they were happier. I definitely recommend you looking into it if you have a little one or know someone who does. The child does not have to be hearing impaired to benefit; this program is suppose to help all kids.