Baby Sign Language in the development of young hearing children: A review of selected studies

Abstract

The aim of this theoretical article is to increase the cognitive value of the subject of Baby Sign Language, in particular their positive impact and significance for the development of a hearing child. Addressing this problem seems important because of constant interest in sign language for children, both among parents and scientists. Equally important is the argument of the lack of a sufficient number of Polish studies in this area. The article consists of a short introduction and four thematically and logically arranged parts. The first contains a synthetic description of the process of language acquisition and development as well as the communication of a young child. The second part presents the history of the Baby Sign Language, its basic assumptions and principles. The third part discusses the importance and benefits of using the Baby Sign Language in the development of a young child. The study ends with a short summary with final conclusions, which show, based on the presented empirical material, that the Baby Sign Language has a positive significance for the child's development in almost all its spheres, i.e. e.g. in the linguistic, cognitive, emotional and motor spheres.