The Benefits of Learning ASL
Sam Sanders: [communicating in ASL]
Interpreter: Because motor control develops before speech control, ASL provides a sense of expressive communication before spoken communication. Signing engages our physical and visual senses at the same time. When we are using multiple senses to learn new information, it helps to remember it because it's stored in different places in our brain. The reason for this, as you all know, is that our brain language centers and spoken centers are in different places. Signing is engaging both visually and socially, as you have to look at the signer and actually focus on them. Learning ASL has been shown to increase English vocabulary retention, and, of course, they know sign language as well.
Children get frustrated very easily, as we know, when they can't communicate something. ASL gives them communication access earlier than spoken, and it actually tends to reduce unwanted behaviors based on frustration. Signing, of course, is also a communication bridge. Children who are dual-language learners may not speak English and providing them with a tool to communicate some basic needs is going to help so much with other adults and, of course, their peers.
Marie Baeta: Yeah, I love seeing this list. There are so many great reasons for introducing American Sign Language into young learning environments. For our educators who are watching, this is such a great list to share with your other educators, with your managers or other folks to try to get them on board to really support your efforts to learn ASL, and also really wonderful to share with families like, "Why would you be learning ASL in the classroom?” You can share some of these benefits with the families, too. After learning all of the benefits, you got nothing to lose.
Learning ASL in early childhood has many benefits for all children across all learning domains. Watch to find out how ASL can support the young children in your life!
