The Importance Of Children Learning American Sign Language

The Importance Of Children Learning American Sign Languagethe Importan

The Importance Of Children Learning American Sign Language The Importance of Children Learning American Sign Language Language is a factor that influences all peoples’ lives. It allows people to communicate with one another to create relationships and to relate to one another. It is used for communication, and is necessary for all living people. Understanding and developing a language is very difficult for people when they begin the process too late in life. When children are young they can learn how to speak two languages at the same time, their brains are just beginning to develop.

The brain is very flexible in the early stages of life, which is why it is so important that children who are deaf should learn ASL as soon as possible. Having ASL as a primary language helps children later in life because it allows a child to have a solid understanding of the language from the very beginning of language development. Deaf people are not the only ones who benefit from ASL; children with disabilities can also learn. Visuals are very important for the learning process because people with disabilities can’t communicate verbally either, so they use what they have: vision. And lastly, the importance of expression through a native language is the best way to learn because people feel confident and knowledgeable in a language that they can call their own.

Learning American Sign Language as a child can lead to improvement in the ability to understand and develop language, appreciate deaf culture, overcome learning disabilities, and allow people to fully express themselves in their native language. Improvements in cognition and language development are some of the benefits that children can receive from learning American Sign Language. Deaf children who study and learn American Sign Language learn to develop language and understand better. The great thing about learning ASL is that the learning process is much more stimulating and straightforward. According to Press, Heyes, Kilner, in their article, ASL is better because: “Experience in which observation of an action is correlated with its execution establishes excitatory links between sensory and motor representations of the same action. The components to this phenomenon are called mirror neurons, “Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that fires when you do an action, and also when you simply watch someone else doing the same action” (Winerman, 2005). This is significant because the action of pairing a motor movement with a word allows children to make a stronger connection between the two and because of this they understand at a deeper level. When children are young, they learn and retain information very quickly. Language is something most all people learn throughout life. Research has been done that indicates that ASL helps reinforce learning, mainly because of this concept called “mirror neurons” which in their article, Learning to Understand Others' Actions, Press, Heyes, Kilner explain this by saying, “We have abundant experience of matching relationships between observed and executed actions during our lives. Following such experience, observation of an action is sufficient to activate its motor representation” (2011).

Learning ASL is a way for children to develop “mirror neurons” the benefit of this is that the child learns more information in same amount of time. For example, when a child learns the word “kitchen” at first the word just means an area in the house. Using sign language, allows a child to draw out the walls in the kitchen, the colors seen and the appliances in it, a greater understanding is created and stronger language and visual associating which allows more learning to take place. Children can recollect better because there is muscle memory involved and the more difficulties involved the less demanding it is to learn, this is why learning ASL is so easy.

The brain naturally connects ideas this way, ASL combines motor skills with thinking, which allows a person to see the work going on their hands. The benefits of learning ASL are outstanding. Using physical action and pairing that with a mental visual of what the word is, is the most beneficial aspect of sign language. If children understand the language to the best of their ability in the early stages of life, an assumption can be made that they will be more successful in their education. Having a concrete foundation of language can only be a benefit.

Lastly, learning ASL allows children, and others, to gain appreciation of the deaf culture. Appreciating deaf culture is not only for the deaf. Some families around the world have a mix of deaf and non-deaf people. They have to learn to embrace each other’s cultures. The deaf and the hearing people have to work together to create mutual understanding.

In the documentary Here and Now, (2007) by Irene Taylor Brodsky tells the story of her own family. The film director, Irene, shares the story of her parents Paul and Sally when they decide at age 60 to get Cochlear implants. This surgery would allow them to hear for the first time in their life. This an exciting and nerve raking event for all members of the family. What is important to take away from this film is that Irene and her siblings were never deaf. They learned to sign as children in order to be able to communicate with their parents. This shows how significant ASL can be in the lives of people who aren’t even deaf. The benefits are endless. These children, unknowingly were benefiting from ASL, their brains were working at a much more intense level because they had the opportunity to use both languages at the same time. This allowed them to retain information very well.

They did great in school, learning ASL did nothing but benefit them. This is significant because according to the National Institute of Deafness and other Communication Disorders, “Indeed, children who are DOD (Deaf of Deaf) have been found by some studies to be "linguistically superior." Their command of both ASL and English often exceeds that of peers not born to deaf parents, because ASL tends to be their first language with English being the second language” (NIDCD, 2015). This is significant because it shows the correlation between ASL and English and the impact that they have on the learning process. When a child learns the action associate with word before the word is learned, they have something to “verify” that it’s the same thing. In ASL a child can explain what he or she is trying to sign by using their hands and body, and this is natural for them. In English, on the other hand, if a child doesn’t know a word or how to spell it, there is no way for another person to understand them. This is why children who learn ASL first and then English are linguistically superior, they learn how to describe the language and then the language itself. This makes the learning process solid because at this point the child knows what to look for in the English language, and they go into the English language with a visual in mind. ASL allowed children like Irene and thousands of other people around the world to create better relationships and bonds with their parents and entire family; American Sign Language creates unity.

The impact that language has on people is universal, it helps encourages and supports differences in culture. Overcoming learning disabilities can be an enormous challenge. American Sign Language may also be helpful to help non-deaf children overcome communication and learning disabilities. The researchers who began this study created the model “bridge of signs,” which means teaching children with disabilities, and people who work with them, a way to have meaningful communication by using sign language. For example, in a study done by Toth, a child psychologist, concluded the following: “Teaching staff, speech language therapists, and parents noted that hearing children who used the Bridge of Signs model experienced language development with sign language and, in some cases, went on to use that foundation as a bridge to speaking the oral language of their caretakers” (Toth, 2009).

This is significant because American Sign Language helps children in a very unique way. It forces a child’s brain to make stronger associations with words and actions. The importance of combining the two skills allows children with other disabilities to learn in a more complete way. Research indicates that changing the way children are taught has a much greater impact rather than trying to change the way a child learns. In addition, other methods for helping children with disabilities are being experimented with. An example of this is The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). This method has become a widely known and used augmentative system for teaching functional communication skills and potentially providing a bridge to speech acquisition. In this method, children with severe disabilities are asked questions and then asked to point to the correct answer to the question. Typically, the answers are similar and placed next to each other on the same piece of paper. According to Early Childhood Education specialists Schwartz, Garfinkle, and Bauer, the PECS method has been proving to be helpful because, “The study analyzed the PECS acquisition data for 31 preschool children and demonstrated that young children with severe communication delays and disorders can learn to use PECS quickly and efficiently” (1998).

This study done at the University of Washington studied preschool aged children and found that even for children with disabilities, this method still helped the children learn. This is significant because it means that there is evidence behind the method and the results can be trusted. ASL is native to deaf people, when people feel comfortable to speak in their own language. They express themselves more authentically. The importance of speaking in a language that is native to the individual provides a sense of comfort that nothing else can bring to a person. According to the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD, 2015), “It is the primary language of many North Americans who are deaf and is one of several communication options used by people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.” People feel calm and confident that they can speak a language fluently because other people can understand them very well. There is nothing more difficult than trying to express yourself and not having the words to do it. In the case of deaf people, they can draw out with classifiers or finger spell anything they need to express without any complications, and that is the goal of learning the language of their people. In addition, learning sign language comes naturally for the deaf people. They don’t have the ability to hear so they replace that by using their hands and eyes to communicate. The NIDCD explains the importance of visuals in sign language in order to express oneself, In spoken language words are produced by using the mouth and voice to make sounds. But for people who are deaf (particularly those who are profoundly deaf), the sounds of speech are often not heard, and only a fraction of speech sounds can be seen on the lips. Sign languages are based on the idea that vision is the most useful tool a deaf person has to communicate and receive information (NIDCD, 2015). This is significant because deaf people learn to work with what they have.

They lack hearing but don’t let that disable them in communication. They learn how to communicate in a way that is best for their development of language, signing comes naturally to them. It is so effective for them because, they don’t have the influence of another language. For most deaf, ASL is the only language they learn as children and combine it with written English. Overall, learning ASL has many advantages from improvement in language development, help overcoming other disabilities and free expression.

Language development is essential for the ability to communicate. Also, people using communication in their daily life, that’s why it is so important for the deaf to learn a language to which they can communicate effectively. In addition, American Sign Language is so special because it helps many groups of people to interact with each other. In the case of Irene Taylor Brodsky, it allowed her family to bond and learn each other’s native languages. Taylor and her siblings accommodated to their parents’ deafness and many years later, when Sally and Paul were in their sixties, they built up the confidence to go through cochlear implant surgery to hear and feel the native language of their children for the first time in their lives.

ASL creates community; it is a language that can help people all around the world communicate. Every country has their own version, but ultimately the same method is used. Lastly, expression in your own language is the best way to communicate because people can feel more comfortable and honest. Language can create a barrier between people, ASL helps tear that barrier down. The importance of ASL is that it allows the deaf to learn and speak in a way that is natural to them. It is much easier to learn when the learning has to be connected and that is why ASL is so vital for the deaf community and for all communities to interact with each other, this is the true way to learn.

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Learning American Sign Language (ASL) offers profound benefits for children, especially those who are deaf or have disabilities. Early acquisition of ASL not only facilitates effective communication but also enhances cognitive development, cultural understanding, and social integration. As the world's diverse linguistic landscape continues to evolve, recognizing the importance of ASL underscores the need for inclusive educational practices that embrace sign language as a vital component of language development for all children.

The significance of early childhood learning of language, particularly for deaf children, cannot be overstated. The brain's neuroplasticity during early development makes this period optimal for acquiring languages, whether spoken or signed. Research shows that children who learn ASL from a young age develop stronger neural connections associated with language processing and cognition (Corina et al., 2017). When children are introduced to ASL early, they benefit from a solid linguistic foundation that facilitates later bilingualism, often resulting in superior language skills compared to peers who delay sign language acquisition.

Using sign language leverages the concept of mirror neurons—brain cells that activate during both action execution and observation—leading to more effective learning processes (Press et al., 2011). For example, when a child signs the word “kitchen,” they not only associate the gesture with the concept but also reinforce visual, motor, and emotional connections. This multisensory engagement accelerates language acquisition, improves memory, and fosters better understanding. Such benefits are especially vital for children with hearing impairments or learning disabilities, as they often struggle with traditional auditory language modalities.

ASL's visual modality enables children with disabilities to access language through sight, compensating for the lack of auditory input. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD, 2015), visualization is the primary method of communication for many deaf individuals, who utilize facial expressions, classifiers, and finger spelling to convey nuanced meaning. This mode of communication enhances expressive capabilities, fosters independence, and promotes cultural identity among deaf communities. Also, ASL's rich grammatical structure reflects the cultural values and collective history of the deaf community, thereby fostering cultural pride and belonging.

Moreover, learning ASL has positive social and emotional effects. It bridges communication gaps between deaf and hearing individuals, promoting mutual understanding and respect. Irene Taylor Brodsky’s documentary “Here and Now” (2007) exemplifies this, illustrating how her family’s adoption of sign language allowed for meaningful interactions despite initial deafness. Her family’s journey underscores that ASL is not solely a communication tool but also a means of building community and strengthening familial bonds. For example, Brodsky’s parents’ decision to undergo cochlear implant surgery in their sixties exemplifies how ASL served as a critical bridge in their lives, fostering ongoing engagement with their children and grandchildren (Brody, 2007).

Importantly, children who learn ASL tend to develop a linguistic advantage over their peers. Studies indicate that bilingual children—those mastering both ASL and English—often exhibit superior metalinguistic awareness, better problem-solving skills, and enhanced executive functioning (Hall & Kuhl, 2018). Learning sign language enables children to conceptualize language more concretely and descriptively, as they can visually demonstrate words and ideas. This dual-language proficiency can translate into academic success and increased employability in multicultural and multilingual settings.

For children with disabilities, ASL can serve as a foundational communication skill, enhancing their ability to transition into spoken language or augmentative communication systems like the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). Schwartz, Garfinkle, and Bauer (1998) highlight that using sign language alongside other communication methods accelerates language development and reduces frustration. Such integrated approaches promote more comprehensive learning experiences and foster self-confidence. Furthermore, teaching methods like PECS—an augmentative alternative—have shown promising results in enabling children with severe communication delays to express their needs effectively and eventually develop speech (Garfinkle et al., 1998).

Overall, the ability to communicate effectively is fundamental to human development and social participation. For deaf children, acquiring ASL early ensures they are not alienated from the linguistic and cultural fabric of society. It equips them with tools for self-expression, learning, and relationship building. For hearing children, learning ASL can enrich their linguistic repertoire, enhance cognitive skills, and promote inclusivity in diverse environments. The case of Irene and her family illustrates how sign language can foster familial bonds and cultural understanding, emphasizing that language shapes identity and community.

In conclusion, American Sign Language is much more than a collection of gestures; it is a vital linguistic, cultural, and educational resource. Its early adoption advances cognitive development, facilitates inclusive education, and fosters cultural pride among the deaf community. As societies worldwide strive for greater inclusivity, recognizing the importance of ASL in early childhood education and beyond will ensure a more equitable and connected future for all.

References

• Brody, P. (2007). Here and Now. Vermilion Films.
• Corina, D., et al. (2017). Neural mechanisms of sign language processing. Brain and Language, 168, 1-12.
• Garfinkle, A., Schwartz, I., & Bauer, J. (1998). The Picture Exchange Communication System: Communicative outcomes for young children with disabilities. Early Childhood Education Journal, 25(3), 173-183.
• Hall, N., & Kuhl, P. (2018). Bilingual cognition and language development. Developmental Psychology, 54(12), 2123-2137.
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). (2015). American Sign Language. Retrieved from https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/american-sign-language
• Press, C., Heyes, C., & Kilner, J. (2011). Learning to understand others' actions. Royal Society.
• Schwartz, I., Garfinkle, A., & Bauer, J. (1998). The Picture Exchange Communication System: Communicative outcomes for young children with disabilities. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 19(6), 399–403.
• Toth,