Why learn baby sign language?

This is the first in a series of 6 blog posts about introducing sign language to children. We will discuss the pros and cons of signs, myths about their use, resources for learning them, and tips for easily incorporating them into your daily life.

Why use sign language with baby?

Advantages:

• It is often an easier means of expression than speech: for example, a child can wave 'bye bye' and clap 'bravo' long before they can say it.
• It is a spontaneous means of communication, like speech.
• It is a 'portable' means of communication, accessible everywhere and rarely interrupted: it requires only one's body and not an external tool (computer, pictogram binder, iPad...).

Caution: The use of signs does not exclude the relevance of using other communication modalities such as speech and images. The ideal = total communication.

Challenges / Disadvantages:

• As a communication partner, you need to take the time to learn the signs yourself.
• The different communication partners must know the signs (parents, siblings, CRDI/CPE/school staff, camp, respite...). They must also ensure knowledge transfer.
• The different communication partners must know how the child makes the sign (the sign can often be approximated).
• Variety of vocabulary: compared to communication through images, a child can generally understand and use more images than signs to communicate.

It can be interesting to use the spontaneity of signs to express a communicative intention and to support this intention with a repertoire of images that would allow for greater precision with a more varied vocabulary. All of this should always be accompanied by speech.

In the next blog post, we will talk about the myths surrounding the use of sign language with babies...