Through my experience with American Sign Language and special education, I have come to the conclusion that there are three main benefits for disabled learners to learn Sign Language. Within my online course, Sign Tribe Academy, I teach you more about the importance of communication and how to teach Sign Language for communication, so be sure to check it out after reading this blog!
As teachers and parents we always want our children and students to be as independent as possible as they navigate their way through life being independent and able to communicate basic wants and needs.
The first benefit to learning Sign Language is to help bridge the communication gap. Often times learners with disabilities or autism, who are also non-verbal or non-speaking, will experience much frustration and even behavioral difficulties due to the lack of communication skills. By teaching Sign Language communication skills, we can help bridge that communication gap to help improve relationships and the overall happiness that families experience because they are able to communicate more effectively.
The second benefit is to help build confidence. The ability to communicate wants and needs even on a basic level helps to contribute to learners having more self-confidence. Having self-confidence can also lead to feeling better about themselves as an individual and also being able to communicate what they need or want without relying on others. Now I’m not saying that Sign Language is the only way, but it is definitely a promising option! One thing that you and your learner could already be utilizing is a picture communication system, and you could pair this with Sign Language to help support communication development.
The third notable benefit is helping the learner to build independence. As teachers and parents we always want our children and students to be as independent as possible as they navigate their way through life being independent and able to communicate basic wants and needs.
So as you can see all three of these benefits really go together and or even a circle of benefits that circle back around to help support one another without one you may not have any of them and the root of all of these benefits is the ability to communicate basic wants and needs.
What are some benefits you’ve seen with learning Sign Language? Within my online course, Sign Tribe Academy, I teach you more about the importance of communication and how to teach Sign Language for communication, so be sure to check it out!