Sign language in the SEN classroom

Sign language is used increasingly by child development experts and educators as an additional avenue of communication – and it’s been proven to strengthen speech and language development.

Sign language also provides numerous social and emotional benefits for SEN children:

Storybook bullet pointReduction of negative social behaviours
Storybook bullet pointIncrease in social interaction
Storybook bullet pointDevelopment of cognitive structures in the brain


Purple speech bubble“If you have ever known a child with autism then you know the hope that communication development provides. Sign language stimulates and strengthens communication development and offers hope for families and children that are affected by autism.” Babies-and-sign-language.com
 
Orange speech bubble“We use signing (Makaton) in our school, and find it an essential tool in helping our young people understand and communicate. All of our youngsters have additional support needs and developmental delay, but only a few have a hearing impairment. However it is of great benefit to all of them, as it is so visual and builds on natural gesture.” Marion Dunn, special needs teacher in Glasgow.

Next page