For years people have seen manual communication only as a tool for the deaf. I’ve encountered people with the attitude that a person who signs is defective or somehow less than normal – whatever “normal” means. Fortunately, we are constantly discovering and adopting more sensible ways to approach new and different things.
Most people haven’t used sign language, so it may be hard to imagine communicating without spoken words. This is why many parents wait until their child can clearly speak before they earnestly begin to focus on two-way communication. However, recent studies indicate that children can absorb and communicate information shortly after birth.
Authorities suggest that 90% of the information we absorb is received through our vision. This means visual acuity is extremely important in our overall development. Infants will naturally use vision to help guide them through the early months of life.
Infants naturally use smiling, cooing, and crying to communicate their needs and feelings. They understand a lot about themselves and the world around them. What they lack is a precise way to express themselves, such as “Mommy, my stomach hurts”, or “I want more food.”
Infants are naturally attracted by movement, especially when movement is made by mama, papa, or other caregivers. when you sign, the baby will observe your visual communication patterns and eventually relate your motions to meaning.
Most infants’ vocal cords must develop for 16 or more months before they can pronounce clear words. Usually, children don’t begin speaking in 2 and 3-word sentences until they are 18 to 21 months old.
However, visual and muscular coordination are in place much earlier than that – long before vocal skills mature. In other words, your infants have the ability to use their hands to make sign s before they can use speech to clearly communicate. Through signing, you will give your infants a way to express themselves that will be more precise and effective than smiling, cooing, and crying. Your young toddler can use single signs ( and many times several signs together) nearly one year before they effectively use speech.
Signs themselves have certain advantages over words. Signs are often iconic – they represent the shape of objects or mimic an activity or movement. Words, on the other hand, (no pun intended), are more arbitrary and lack an obvious connection to what is being expressed.
Communication, like physical contact, is an essential component in our child’s development. We can benefit from the powerful gift the Deaf have given us – a sign language. That gift is actually a treasure waiting to be unlocked. And the key to that treasure is in your hands.