Sign Language & Autism

 Autism is a developmental disability that often involves a delay and impairment in social and language skills and behavior.  It is a spectrum disorder, meaning that all cases are different and they vary in severity.  Some children will be able to speak, while some will have no speech at all.  Less severe diagnoses include Pervasive Development Disorder or Asperger’s Syndrome.  These children typically have normal speech, but have many of the social problems associated with autism.  

 The use of signing with autistic children has been growing consistently since the 1970’s.  The primary purpose of teaching sign language to children with autism, or similar disorders, is to give them an alternative means of communication.  Numerous studies have demonstrated that autistic children can be taught signing as a means of communication.  Furthermore, through the use of sign language, a portion of otherwise mute children acquire speech.  Thus, sign language can also be used to augment to communication with the ultimate goal of developing speech.   

There are numerous benefits to teaching sign language to otherwise mute autistic children.  Even if she only acquires a few basic signs, this gives the child a way of expressing her needs in an understanding and socially acceptable manner.  And by learning a conventional language, the child is made to take account of and interact with others.  All of the studies show that social awareness increases and tantrums decrease following sign language acquisition.  Moreover, by acquiring a language as early as possible, the child may acquire cognitive skills that provide a basis for continued learning and lessen the overall impact of her development disability.