Through Your Child's Eyes Review Paper

There may be more benefits of teaching babies and children American Sign Language (ASL) than you think. A YouTube video titled “Through Your Children’s Eyes: American Sign Language” was published Feb 5th, 2011. The video was a collaboration by the California State University at Northridge and the California Department of Education to review what they know about ASL and bilingualism. (“VL2, ‘Through Your Child’s Eyes: American Sign Language’”). American Sign Language can be beneficial to all levels of hearing children and adults. ASL primarily benefits families with members who have different hearing levels. The video explained reasons and benefits for babies and children to learn American Sign Language. The first reason for ASL to be taught to babies would be for them to be able to communicate their needs and wants to their parents. Being able to have this communication would be crucial to develop a trusting relationship, especially for babies and their parents. Parents and their children naturally have a bond but without being able to communicate can be harmful to that relationship. Michelle Tompkins, an Early Childhood Education Teacher Specialist, stated “…. It’s so critical for children to have the relationship to their parents, to have the attachment to their parents, and to have the love and caring that their parents can give them, and communication is the key to that.” (Through Your Child’s Eyes: American Sign Language, 3:00 - 3:20) Second, teaching babies or children sign language gives them the opportunity to start developing language skills earlier. Children would normally not start developing these skills until they began speaking / learning a spoken language. “Early acquisition of a language provides the foundation for cognitive growth, the thinking and learning skills children need throughout their lives. Through cognition children are able to engage in more complex actions and think more abstractly. Early language is a critical aspect in this process.” (Through Your Child’s Eyes: American Sign Language, 3:50 - 4:10). Teaching babies and children sign language is beneficial to start developing and improving language skills early on. This provided me with a better understanding of the Language Milestones lesson in chapter 4 of Deaf Culture. (Leigh et al., Deaf Culture: Exploring Deaf Communities in the United States, 107). The lesson outlines the differences between hearing children who were not taught ASL and deaf children who were taught ASL. I developed a deeper understanding of the lesson with the video because I got to hear about personal experiences from parents and children who were raised learning ASL. Babies and children of all hearing levels should be taught American Sign Language at the first opportunity available because it is immensely beneficial to them as well as their families. ASL is beneficial to develop skills earlier than other children who may have waited to learn their first language, a spoken language. ASL provides a way for early communication between babies and caregivers, this communication that is vital to build trust on. The filmmaker was successful at completing their purpose of sharing information about ASL and bilingualism. American Sign Language can be beneficial to all levels of hearing children. The first reason being ASL would give babies the ability to communicate their needs and wants to their parents. Second, teaching babies or children sign language gives them the