Learn sign language for our Deaf folks, and because it’s fun! Useful for hearing people, too, in ways I had never thought of until I started learning.
For example, signing is super helpful for small children who are pre-verbal or newly-verbal. Can’t talk? No problem! Using sign, kiddos can ask for things, or share something they saw out the window, or tell you they are sleepy or hungry or happy. It definitely eases their frustration with adults who can’t understand their speech.
And I will never forget my 9-mos kid signing “milk” while nursing. (For reference, a child’s first word is usually between 12 and 18 mos old. But they can sign much younger.)
When I taught little kids, we learned to fingerspell for a few reasons. One, because then they can always spell a word when they don’t know the sign. Two, it gave them a kinesthetic element to their letters, including learning the alphabet without thinking that “lmnop” was one word instead of individual letters–a common mistake caused by the rhythm of the ABC song (as it’s taught in the United States). And three, it increased their manual dexterity like whoa. (Which is apparently a thing to worry about now! Because kids do more touch screens and less manipulation of objects! Curse you, modernity!)
With my own kid, I think our babysign vocabulary was only about 25 signs, but it covered the basics. “Potty,” in particular, is useful to this day, because then I can check in with a tween who doesn’t want me broadcasting their business across a room, or sign to my spouse at a loud party that I’m hitting the loo.
I never would have guessed sign language would help my spouse, since he’s not really into languages and struggles to learn them, but he has migraines and sometimes he can’t talk because the sound echoes inside his skull. Sometimes he can’t even nod or shake his head when I ask him a question. But he can sign yes or no, can ask for water or a particular food, can tell me it’s too loud or too hot or any number of things I need to know. (It’s also super cute to see a sick family member totally covered in blankets with only one hand sticking out just long enough to sign “yes” when you ask them if they want soup.)
And here’s the thing I never could predict: my moody tweenager wants to talk about their feelings but doesn’t want to actually have to TALK about them. They’ll sign it, though. If I ask how they are doing, I rarely get an answer. If I sign it, though, they might sign back. I think it feels safer than saying it aloud? Less committal? Kind of secret?
And wow, did boring family gatherings get better when we learned the signs for “boring” and “home” – both of those are pretty easy to conceal as normal movements, but my kid can tell me in secret code that they’re bored to tears and want to go home without insulting their grandparents.
I am not fluent in sign language (yet). We mostly learn signs when we discover something we have a frequent need to communicate, so we’re picking up vocabulary kind of piecemeal. I couldn’t have a coherent or long conversation with a native speaker. But there’s still a lot I could communicate, and the process of learning has changed my family for the better.
Learn some sign language! You won’t regret it!
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