[EDLING:45] Helping hands: Sign language gets thumbs up for kids ’ communication skills

[Francis M. Hult]

Boston Herald

Helping hands: Sign language gets thumbs up for kids’ communication skills

Move over, Dora. Today’s kids are adding yet another language to their 
repertoires. 
 
    Teaching sign language to children and toddlers has gone mainstream, as 
more parents use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with their 
youngsters. And it recently got the Disney stamp of approval: The insanely 
popular Baby Einstein video learning series released “My First Signs” last 
month. 
 
    While ASL has long been taught to help hearing-impaired children and kids 
with developmental delays communicate, only recently has it become widespread 
among typically developing children. Parents say it’s a key tool to bridge the 
speech gap between infancy and the start of language, helping to avoid tantrums 
of frustration and foster preschool learning.

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