Who needs words?

Sign language is a form of communication. But what is communication? In my own words, communicating is imparting information by speaking, writing or using some other medium.

I'm sure you've heard that 7% rule going around the Internet; "93% of communication is body language and words account for the other 7%."

Back in the 1920s, silent movies portrayed communication via body language. One of the pioneers of body language skills was Charlie Chaplin. He was able to make the whole theatre understand what he was portraying. People who sign are at an advantage, they can’t hear words, so they have a higher sense of communicating with their bodies.

I have always wanted to learn how to sign. I have worked with children who pick up signing quickly. There is beauty in using sign to communicate. I want to be able to teach my future children how to sign because it gives them the opportunity to communicate how they feel. The reason why they are called the ‘terrible two's’ is because toddlers aren’t able to communicate what they need using their words. This is where signing can be very helpful and this way the parent or caregiver can decipher what the child needs. Children are like sponges they will pick up everything and anything around them.

There is more awareness today about sign language than there was 20 years ago. It is time we educate ourselves for our future generation. Sign language gives hope to those who are unable to use speech to be able to live to their best abilities and reach their highest potential.

So the next time you want to learn something new......why not learn how to sign?