All children deserve communicate with others, share ideas, create thoughts, understand things… And to do all this is necessary language. Deaf children, and all people with hearing problems, have sign language that enables them to communicate with others. Language is essential for our correct social, psychological, cognitive and academic development. Let's see how he is deaf children learning sign language.
Do deaf children learn sign language the same as hearing children to speak?
The answer is yes. Deaf children learn sign language spontaneously and naturallyl. A hearing child is babbling and begins to say the words in the wrong way, going through several stages before learning to speak correctly, since deaf children learn sign language in the same way. First with mistakes until they have mastered sign language. Hearing and deaf children need more or less the same time to master the type of language they need. His first signs are usually around 12 months.
How does a deaf child perceive the world?
For by having the sense of hearing deprived, perceive the world through sight. Sign language is very visual and there are many signs to watch out for. Not only to the sign itself, but to the facial expression, your posture, movements ...
Children need to be able to communicate with the outside so as not to get frustrated. That is why there needs to be a good communication with parents, they will have to learn sign language in order to communicate with their child.
How is sign language developed?
Well, it has practically the same stages as spoken language. Let's see what the stages of sign language are.
- Balcuceo with his hands. Babbling is the forerunner of sign language, just as it is of spoken language. It is much easier for babies to express themselves through signs than through words. They start to do baldness between 9-12 months, as if it were a game. At first they will be poorly done and with errors, but little by little they will be corrected until they express themselves easily.
- First signs. As you go to your parents or others to do them and through repetition and games, you will get better and better. Take the opportunity to play games to make learning fun, and be more motivated to communicate. It will be easier for you to learn words that you are familiar with, words from your environment.
- His first sentences. Just as hearing children put words together to form sentences, so do deaf children with sign language. When they have mastered the signs they will begin to join them to make little phrases. Roughly it usually appears between 17 and the 22 months, although each child is different and have their own rhythm. Don't be in a hurry.
How to help deaf children learn sign language?
Thanks to sign language, deaf children can say their tastes, express their emotions, express their ideas, ... If the parents are listeners, you will have to get involved in the child's learning and yours, and the sooner the better. Your communication and interaction will be related to the future success of your child, since you will be giving them a resource to be able to communicate. There are associations in each city that can help you to have more information and advise you if you have any questions.
All family members should learn sign language to be able to communicate with him / her since he is a baby. At the beginning it is convenient to exaggerate facial expressions so that they are associated with the sign.
It also helps them interact with other deaf people to learn new words and immerse themselves in sign language.
Because remember ... it doesn't matter what kind of language we communicate with, the important thing is that we do it.