Building Bridges to a Verbal World

Using Sign Language to Help Children With Impaired Language

By Maureen Bennie

Communication – the exchange of thoughts, feelings and information between two or more people – is a basic requirement for human life. The ability to communicate is vital to express basic needs and wants, to pass on information, to ask questions, to gain knowledge and understanding, to socialize, to convey feelings and to build relationships. One can hardly imagine a place where a child would not grow and develop through the world of communication.

Between six and eight million people in the United States have some form of language impairment. How can parents help their child if language is impaired? The solution may be to try using sign language.

American Sign Language (ASL) is usually used for children with hearing impairments; however, observations made as early as the mid-19th century show that hearing children benefit from using ASL.

Johanna Larson-Muhr, a speech pathology professor at the University of Oregon, cites in her paper, Acquisition of ASL in Hearing Children: Process and Benefit Potential, that "motor control of the hands matures before motor control of the voice in young children." This early motor control of the hands easily leads to practical sign language use in small children.

Larson-Muhr explains that when a person signs what they are also expressing verbally, the child is given several communication cues. ASL communication is visual, aural and physical. This combination of signals creates the probability of a multiple imprint on the learner's memory.

ASL also has other expressive functions such as eye gaze, eye contact and facial expression. These are three areas in which children with autism have difficulty. By using signs to help them acquire verbal language, they are also being helped in other areas of communication.

Alice Stroutsos, a speech pathologist in Seattle, Wash., says you can start teaching a normal child to sign as young as 8 months because they have enough memory to retain a sign's image for future reference.

Stroutsos uses Signed Exact English when teaching signs because it gives the exact meaning and structure of the English language and helps children sequence words. "You can use ASL and also naturalistic gestures – whatever works for your particular situation," says Stroutsos. "Communication is the goal."

Stroutsos doesn't believe that sign language may replace a child's speech. "Using sign before speech develops can actually enhance the overall communication process," she says. "The benefit of using sign language with a child who has disabilities is that it provides them with a way to communicate. It can lessen their frustration level, increase interaction and empower them emotionally as well as intellectually."

Stroutsos does recommend keeping a few things in mind with sign language. "Be patient and never show disappointment or frustration if a child doesn't produce a sign," she says. "Don't ask a child to sign out of context, perform for others or compare your children to other children. Don't make signing a lesson but use signs as an augment to your speech."

Signing and Children With Special Needs

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