For most of 2016 I worked as an early intervention therapist for infants who had hearing loss and their families. Sign language was a hot topic with almost every family I worked with.Application of cognitive theory in learning most families viewed it as a positive addition to the communication strategies we were implementing. Some families were discouraged from learning sign language by other professionals .Application of cognitive theory in learning some families struggled to see the benefits of it.

Everyone has their own opinion and preferences for their family and I completely respect that.Application of cognitive theory in learning however, there are some popular misconceptions about sign language that I feel need to be clarified and shared so that families are better informed before dismissing the idea of sign language altogether!Application of cognitive theory in learning sign language misconceptions the main point about sign language that I would like to help support and spread awareness of is that sign language is a positive communication tool and modality and can be extremely beneficial for almost any child.Application of cognitive theory in learning

Based on prior knowledge, these thoughts at one time made sense. In my opinion, however, the culprit of these thoughts is lack of information.Application of cognitive theory in learning I have not conducted any studies, but from what I have learned, researched and experienced, sign language works as a positive communication modality for kiddos who have hearing loss and kiddos who have typically developing hearing.Application of cognitive theory in learning

I met a woman once who discovered I was in college studying to become a deaf educator. She immediately started signing to me asking if I knew sign language.Application of cognitive theory in learning I replied with an over-the-top excited “yes!” come to find out, she had taken sign language classes in years past and saw the benefit of infants learning to use sign language in order to communicate wants and needs prior to learning how to talk.Application of cognitive theory in learning later in life she made it a goal to teach all 5 of her babies. I then asked her the million-dollar-question: “does your husband sign too?”

She laughed and explained that it took her a while to convince him of the benefit, but once he saw it – he quickly learned.Application of cognitive theory in learning I asked if I could meet him and introduce him to my boyfriend. Coincidentally, we found her husband and my boyfriend had already met, so I walked up to them and began signing with the woman’s husband – you should have seen my boyfriends jaw hit the floor as the man carried on a conversation with me in sign language.Application of cognitive theory in learning I asked him to talk to my boyfriend and explain to him, you know man-to-man, why he learned sign language, how it helped him as a father, and how he found it useful to use in his profession!Application of cognitive theory in learning I’ll never forget what he said that day, “man, when a screaming baby wakes you up at three in the morning do you want to spend forever going through eight combinations of bottle, diaper, rock, sing, etc.Application of cognitive theory in learning until she stops crying, or do you want to walk in, see her sign “milk”, make a bottle and go back to sleep in ten minutes?”

That was a pretty solid argument if you ask me!Application of cognitive theory in learning and it was enough to convince my husband too! He suddenly took an interest in learning some basic everyday signs and has since observed babies use sign language prior to talking and now finds it fascinating! **UPDATE!** A few years later, we now have our own baby squish who just used his first sign a few weeks ago at just 10 months!!Application of cognitive theory in learning this leads us into some of the basics of language learning.

In my opinion, the first step to learning language, verbal or manual, is mastering the pragmatics or the rules of communication.Application of cognitive theory in learning we all know that babies are not born with the ability to interact and talk to us on a social level as they have had no exposure to social communication in the womb. (that would be strange…) so in the time, between when they are born and when they use their first word, they learn how to listen, try to make sense of what they are hearing, observe, and put together the pieces of the social communication puzzle before beginning to experiment with language and formulate their own words/signs.Application of cognitive theory in learning eye contact

Next, we as adults begin talking to the infant when they achieve eye contact, modeling pragmatic rule number two: the pattern of conversation or turn taking. We begin talking to them and they begin “answering” us by reacting with a smile, flailing arms/feet, or responding with a vocalization.Application of cognitive theory in learning as they continue to build their communication skills they will begin to babble back and forth but will not quite master actual words for a time.Application of cognitive theory in learning because they do not have words yet – infants move on to utilize alternative developing skills such as fine and gross motor movements to communicate.Application of cognitive theory in learning you guys know what I am talking about here; you’ve seen the little one communicate to momma that he “wants that” as he points to a toy, reaches and clenches his fingers like he is grabbing it and staring at her.Application of cognitive theory in learning or when dad walks up to baby and she immediately throws her hands up communicating through gesture, “pick me up!” (grab this ASL alphabet and number puzzle HERE! ) enter sign language!Application of cognitive theory in learning

Babies have more developed physical control of their body movements at this time than control of their mouth and processes utilized to form words.Application of cognitive theory in learning in my opinion, this is the opportune time to teach an infant to use sign language to communicate their wants and needs. They have already been working on the pragmatics learning eye contact and turn taking and they have the physical ability to mimic meaningful gestures and/or sign language vocabulary so why not start pairing meaning to communication actions?!Application of cognitive theory in learning this will help them continue to develop their communication skills, inform you of their wants and needs, and possibly lower everyone’s frustration!Application of cognitive theory in learning

Whether the child has hearing loss or not, they will typically go through the motions of observing language and learning pragmatics, or social rules, first then move onto acquiring the spoken or manual language.Application of cognitive theory in learning studies have been conducted and have found results stating that teaching infants sign language prior to learning how to talk supports their cognitive, social emotional, language, and behavior development in a positive way.Application of cognitive theory in learning it has also NOT been found to inhibit their ability to learn to talk. (see references below to dig into the research yourself!) sign language tips to consider:

application of cognitive theory in learning

In my experience sign language has opened my eyes to a beautiful culture and allowed me to explore manual communication in many different formats.Application of cognitive theory in learning I have taught families of infants who have hearing loss sign language and watched it flourish and bring their family together through communication.Application of cognitive theory in learning I have used sign language in pre-kindergarten classrooms and watched 3, 4 and 5 year old children light up as they (quickly) pick up on new communication skills.Application of cognitive theory in learning I have taught toddlers with almost no vocabulary some of their first words and watched their love for learning grow as they gained the ability to communicate.Application of cognitive theory in learning lastly, I have fostered many amazing friendships by being able to communicate in their native/preferred language. I have experienced sign language in many different formats and scenarios and it has added nothing but positive aspects to my life and the lives around me.Application of cognitive theory in learning so let’s open our mind and our hearts to this beautiful language and watch how it allows us to make more connections and come together. Please share your thoughts and/or experiences about infants learning sign language below!Application of cognitive theory in learning we would love to hear from you! For more information on teaching infants sign language, check some of these resources: