Ten Important Tips for Signing Success With Hearing Children

Twelve Tips on Signing with Children

Parents, teachers and caregivers will find these 12 tips helpful when signing American Sign Language, ASL, with babies, toddlers, preschoolers and elementary children.

1. Begin with just a few signs. Choose the type of sign and quantity of signs based on the age of the child. Babies words like eat, more and all done work well.  For Toddlers, words like stop, gentle and potty are often the first words. For preschoolers learning signs for core educational concepts (ABCs, numbers, colors, etc.) are beneficial. For elementary children, choose fun signing activities that foster language growth and reading readiness is one of the goals.
2. Consistently sign and say the words. Use spoken and sign together every time you use them.  The more often your children hear the spoken word and connect it to the sign the more understanding the will develop and the better their ability will be to use the word.
3. Sign throughout the day. Incorporate sign language into your daily activities.  Use it in conversation, or when reading books and singing songs.  This will help to reinforce the learning and understanding of each word.
4. Create special times for signing. Having set times each day to playfully sign with songs or books is useful in creating an enthusiasm for these activities in children.  For very young children, under 3 years, add signing to times when you can gain the most attention, for example, sign at meal time,  bath times and when getting ready to go somewhere.
5. Sign correctly. Always use the correct ASL sign even if your child develops a version of the sign.  This enables them to see the correct sign and with time will begin to sign it back to you.
6. Begin with a few signs. Sign only the quantity of words you are comfortable in using.  Choosing to use just a few signs is sufficient to bring signing into a child’s daily life.
7. Choosing signs to use. For most parents of hearing children, the use of sign is to enhance language and vocabulary skills, improve communication and foster an enthusiasm for learning.  Therefore, choose signs that will foster communication (eat, drink, sleep, diaper change), increase vocabulary (bird, mom, tree, car) and foster an enthusiasm for learning (good, thank you, help, please).
8. Adding Signs. As you and your children become more proficient at using sign, then begin to add additional words.  Generally it is best to add signs for things that are of interest to the children.  If you are reading about animals, add animal signs, if they love trains, add a sign for train and if you are wanting to support courtesy words, like please and thank you, then add them.
9. Keep the activity fun. Signing with children needs to be a playful and interactive activity that has them moving, singing, watching and learning.  It is a genuinely engaging  and challenging activity that can be successful with and keeping signing fun provides you with a powerful learning tool that children will love to do.
10. Be enthusiastic in your signing activities with children.
11. Offer positive reinforcement. Praise, support and reward all the efforts children make to become successful at the use of sign.  Never be forceful or coercive rather celebrate all their attempts.
12. Do not stop. Sometimes parents will stop signing with children once they begin to speak.  However, that is when signing can become especially useful in teaching words, meanings and concepts.  Children who sign can have up to twice the vocabulary of non-signing children when entering schools.   And best of all, signing is such an engaging activity that it establishes the basis for parental involvement.  It is this involvement in the lives of children that is the cornerstone for educational success.