Guest Blog

Remember how I said I was going to be posting a guest blog soon? Well here it is my friends! It is discussing a topic I find very important and that I feel should be discussed more often, Sign Language.

About 4 years ago while working at Ross, I was at my register when a little boy wandered up to the front and began signing "Mother" to me. I knew right away that he had gotten lost and needed help finding his mother. I tried as best I could to ask him if he knew where his mommy was but I was not doing very well. A co-worker of mine walked the little boy around the store and eventually found his mother.

I remember feeling helpless and thinking that I should have taken ASL more seriously in high school. That poor little boy couldn't have been older than 5 and he was afraid but couldn't communicate.

Since then, working at the bank I have helped deaf customers and always regret not retaining that knowledge so that I could help them.

Our guest blog post was written by Emily Patterson of Primrose Schools. She contacted me in hopes that I would post her article and get the word out about Early Childhood Development and American Sign Language.

For over 25 years, Primrose Schools has helped individuals achieve higher levels of success by providing them with an AdvancED® accredited, early childhood, education.  Through an accelerated Balanced Learning® curriculum, Primrose Schools students are exposed to a widely diverse range of subject matter giving them a much greater opportunity to develop mentally, physically and socially.  Emily Patterson is currently working as a communications coordinator for Primrose Schools providing written work to the blogosphere which highlights the importance, and some of the specific aspects, of a quality, early childhood, education.

Early Childhood Education – Acquiring Sign Language
 
Bilingual ability as well as the ability to communicate in non-verbal ways for the benefit of the disabled, primarily the deaf, will continue to be a great skill to have in a titled economic system.  With opportunities to achieve a decent standard of living limited, having the ability to communicate in a variety of ways with the widest possible audience and having versatility, are two great keys to doing well. 
 
There is a growing shortage of qualified interpreters fluent in American Sign Language has led to more career opportunities – and if current trends continue, it's likely that skilled ASL interpreters will have little problem securing lucrative employment in a society where such a commodity is destined to be in short supply.
 
Signing Before They Can Speak
 
The ages 2 to 5 have proven to be the best time to educate children in different modes of communication and language. This goes beyond the spoken word (though it is an optimal time for children to learn a second language); many young children have an aptitude for signing as well. This can be taught at home or some child care programs incorporate it into their curriculum.
 
You may be aware that many indigenous peoples around the world, including American Indian nations, have used sign language for centuries to facilitate communication with other tribes with whom they do not share a language. Some paleontologists and anthropologists theorize that Neanderthals – who apparently lacked the vocal mechanism to produce many spoken words – depended a great deal upon hand gestures to communicate.
 
In fact, recent research suggests that sign language is innate. An article published in the Boulder Daily Camera in 2003 presented strong evidence that babies as young as six months old communicate with their hands:
 
                                "...by 6 to 7 months, babies can remember a sign. At eight months, children
                                can begin to imitate gestures and sign single words. By 24 months, children
                                can sign compound words and full sentences. They say sign language reduces
                                frustration in young children by giving them a means to express themselves
                                before they know how to talk." (Glarion, 2003)
 
Also cited is a study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development demonstrating that young children who are taught sign language at an early age actually develop better verbal skills as they get older. The ability to sign has also helped parents in communicating with autistic children; one parent reports that "using sign language allowed her to communicate with her [autistic] son and minimized his frustration...[he now] has an advanced vocabulary and excels in math, spelling and music" (Glarion, 2003).
 
The Best Time To Start
 
Early childhood education in signing give pre-verbal youngsters not only give them a way to communicate, it can also strengthen the parent-child bond – in addition to giving children a solid foundation for learning a skill that will serve them well in the future. The evidence suggests that the best time to start learning ASL is before a child can even walk – and the implications for facilitating the parent-child relationship are amazing.
 
Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas
 
Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the Atlanta child care facility, a member of the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose Schools (located in 16 states throughout the U.S.) and part of the network of child care preschools delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum.

Thank you Emily for this article and if any one would like more information please let me know.