One of my favorite things about ASL and deaf culture is that they have a whole set of sign specifically for children. Just as hearing children learn simple words (and sometimes even make up their own words for things), deaf children are shown simplified signs for the things that would need to say the most often, like “mom,” “dad,” “yes,” “no” and others.
Even babies who are not deaf can often understand sign language far before they begin talking and many parents recommend teaching babies ASL so they can communicate before they are able to use their voice. There are also some studies that show that children who learn how to sign as babies have a higher IQ and greater literacy as adults, but there hasn’t been a lot of research on the subject yet.
Even though all babies can learn ASL, it is especially important for deaf and hard-of-hearing children to learn ASL, so they do not run into any (or fewer) learning delays later in life.
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