Sign Language – Is it only for the hearing impaired?

During the second year of my graduate course in Speech and Hearing, we had a sign language training class weekly once. My college was also a school to the hearing-impaired students where they were fitted with hearing aids and also taught total communication. Some of them relied solely on sign language. It was an amazing sight to see them converse in a whole new language without words!! Weekly classes introduced us to the various sign languages and how to use them. Sad to say, I never took it beyond those weekly classes.

So, is sign language only for the hearing impaired? Research states that all of us use sign language from when we are babies. As infants, we indicated “give” by showing out our hand, “hunger” by putting hand in the mouth, “potty” by tugging at our pants.

Though learning sign language is not mandatory for a speech language pathologist, it is always an added benefit to learn, so that communication becomes easier with those who use the same and also to get a whole new perspective on a new language. In some countries an individual is considered as a bilingual if he/she knows sign language.

For children with speech and language delays, teaching sign language (a form of AAC), does not hinder spoken speech but actually supports and promotes speech. When using a sign language, a child develops their language earlier and this promotes their spoken language.

There are many sign standardized forms of sign language that can be followed and learned to help easier communication wherever it is needed. Research has shown that SLP’s who learn sign language are better able to relate to those individuals who sign as they have a common communication platform.

All in all, using signs is not only for the deaf community but for any individual who is willing to learn and appreciate a whole new language.