Signing at Home
Signing as a parent provides you with the unique opportunity to develop a window into your child's mind. By including signs in daily activities, parents spend less time guessing what a child wants and more time fulfilling their specific needs.

• Signing allows your infant to clearly communicate specific thoughts.
  
  
• Signing reduces frustration for your baby and for you.
  
  
• Signing won't delay verbal language development; in fact, it may accelerate it! Research shows that babies who sign usually begin to speak sooner and develop larger vocabularies than non-signing babies.
  
  
• Signing reinforces verbal language by added visual and kinesthetic emphasis to auditory input.
  
  
• Signing children tend to be more interested in books.
  
  
• Signing builds on babies' natural tendency to use gestures.
  
  
• Signing can help parents and pediatricians identify injuries, pain, and other ailments.
  
  
• Signing children can direct parents' attention toward potential dangers or concerns.
  
  
• Sign language can serve as a language bridge between English and non-English speakers.
  
  
• Signing may actually improve a child's IQ!
  
  

Signing in Childcare Settings
Signing in a childcare setting allows caregivers to model effective communication, encourage conflict resolution, and help children to communicate with each other. Teachers who sign can spend more time interacting with and nurturing children than managing the myriad challenges associated with Early Childhood Education.

• Children spend less time crying and teachers spend less time playing the "guessing game", allowing more time for positive interactions and enabling teachers to meet the needs of many children at once.
  
  
• Signing empowers children because they can communicate successfully with those around them. This sense of empowerment significantly contributes to children's happiness.
  
  
• Signing enhances early language skills because children can engage in two-way conversations with their teachers and their peers at an earlier age.
  
  
• Signing serves as a language bridge for children and staff who speak different languages. The sign is the same for "eat" (English) as it is for "comer" (Spanish).
  
  
• Children learn to use signs to solve problems. "Stop" and "share" are commonly-used signs that help children learn to get along with one another.
  
  
• In signing classrooms, teachers report there are fewer instances of biting, hitting, and screaming because children are less frustrated.
  
  
• Children can control the topic of conversation and express their unique interests at an earlier age. This allows teachers to design learning activities that will enhance children's specific interest. Signing is appropriate for all preschool age groups (Infants, Toddlers, Preschool, and Pre-K.)
  
  

Signing with Children with Special Needs
Children with special needs gain a means of expressing themselves and connecting with their caregiving adults, as well as with typically-developing children familiar with ASL signs. Signing can help create an educational environment where all children can successfully learn and socialize, no matter what special needs they may have.

• Signing is the primary language used by the Deaf community and is an integral part of Deaf culture. ASL will most likely be the primary language for children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
  
  
• Signing provides a means of communication for children with various types of language delays or impairments, including:
  
  
  • Down Syndrome
  • Autism
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Apraxia of Speech
  • Aphasia
  • Learning Disabilities
  • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
  
  
• Signing provides a means of communication for children with various types of medical conditions or situations, including:
  
  
  • Tracheotomized Infants and Children
  • Delays of Prematurity
  • Short-term Illnesses
  • Post-surgical conditions that inhibit normal speech
  • Side effects of chemotherapy resulting in an inability to speak