How can learning ASL benefit (any) child developmentally and academically?
Developmentally ASL helps a child develop fine motors skills at an earlier age. I have also observed that children who sign typically maintain greater eye contact when communicating than those children who don’t learn ASL. They might even develop a greater sense of self confidence because they are able to communicate their feelings and needs sooner. ASL definitely gives children a head start on learning. Academic research has shown that children who sign are able to communicate their feelings at an earlier age. This early communication leads to larger vocabularies, higher IQs and better test scores if they continue their bi-lingual language development. The increased vocabulary is because the brain stores signed language in a different location than a spoken language. A child has two places to recall the same information is more likely to be able to remember. (Thanks, Missy, for taking time out to answer these questions!) You can purchase both of these Scholastic ASL titles from Schola
