Infants have difficulties communicating in vocal communication since they do not comprehend the messages that are said to them. Infants can learn and comprehend sign language way better and much faster than vocal communication. Sign language therefore is essential and has been proved success with both individuals and infants in communicating. The use of sign language with toddlers and infants have become increasingly common and popular in recent times. Signing language experts believe that frustrations expressed by infants can be avoided by bridging the gap between the desire to communicate for an infant and the ability to communicate. Sign Language therefore is the appropriate bridge for infants since an infant compared to vocal communication easily learns sign language. At early ages an infant has not fully developed the skills to communicate, a parent is urged to use sign language in communicating to the child (Thompson, Cotnoir-Bichelman, McKerchar, Tate, & Dancho, 2007).
Children who pass the six months period can easily grasp basic sign language, which cover objects mainly. After two months of exposure to sign language, children can interpret and use sign language effectively with ease. Improved confidence and self-esteem in infants can be associated with the use of sign language. It is easier for a parent or guardian to reprimand a child by use of sign language than it is when using vocal communication. Sign language can be effective for a child in language acquisition this is because sign language used can be associated with a certain word therefore whenever a child uses a certain language the child remembers a word that is associated with the sing. Babies who uses sign language develop the skills to speak sooner than those who do not use sign language. Sign language reduces the guesswork by a parent when trying to figure out the baby’s thoughts and what he intends to do (Menendez, 2016).
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The American Sign Language urged the use of language in babies as young as six did or seven months since it improves and accommodates a wide range of verbal-linguistic. Babies can associate easily through seeing, hearing and movements and can relate words said to them when they are shown a sign. The word “No” for example can be shown by waving hands indicating a no. The infant will associate easily and remember the next time he is told a no word. Language acquisition for infants begin at this stage, infants learn verbal communication with ease when sign language is involved (Fitzpatrick, Stevens, Garritty, & Moher, 2013).
Reasoning skills are also some skills that a baby can acquire when sign language is frequently used to them. The ability to grasp a certain sign and remembers what the sign means the next time it is used helps the infants mind in reasoning and have the ability (Thompson, 2016).
In addition to acquiring language, an infant can develop the skill of attentiveness. The regular use of sign language enables a child to be attentive and keen in while communicating Children with Autism are encouraged to learn sign language to help them in an acquiring basic verbal communication. Therefore using sign language along verbal communication speed up the development of better communication skills in children. A child grows up knowing basic communication skills that are essential in life (Evans, 2014).
In conclusion, the use of sign language in infants is beneficial in acquiring verbal communication. Parents and guardians therefore are to be encouraged to use sign language when communicating with their children, better in to use sign language alongside verbal communication. The use of verbal communication to children can delay their time in acquiring language. It will take them a while when they will start grasping the basics of verbal communication (Anderson, 2016).
References
Anderson, S. (2016). The Effect of “Baby Sign” on Early Language Development for “At-Risk” Populations . Retrieved from St. Cloud State University website: https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1003&context=csd_etds
Evans, C. J. (2014). Sign Language Research Contributes to a Better Understanding of Language Acquisition, A Review of Directions in Sign Language Acquisition. Sign Language Studies , 4 (4), 399-404. doi:10.1353/sls.2004.0016
Fitzpatrick, E. M., Stevens, A., Garritty, C., & Moher, D. (2013). The effects of sign language on spoken language acquisition in children with hearing loss: a systematic review protocol. Systematic Reviews , 2 (1). doi:10.1186/2046-4053-2-108
Menendez, I. M. (2016). The Effects of Sign Language on Second Language Acquisition . Retrieved from Saint Catherine University website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1191&context=maed
Thompson, R. H., Cotnoir-Bichelman, N. M., McKerchar, P. M., Tate, T. L., & Dancho, K. A. (2007). Enhancing Early Communication through Infant Sign Training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 40 (1), 15-23. doi:10.1901/jaba.2007.23-06
Thompson, T. (2016, September 8). Benefits of Sign Language for Young Children. Retrieved from https://www.educationalplaycare.com/blog/sign-language-benefits-for-young-children/
