How to Use Sign Language

Sign language isn't used only by the deaf anymore. It's used for nonverbal children and adults as well as in infants and toddlers to add to their communication skills. Those skills help may people who couldn't otherwise communicate, talk to the world. Read on to learn how to use sign language.

Instructions

• 1

  Learn a few signs that will be most useful for you. For babies, these are basic words like milk, up, please and more. For communicating with older signers, learn the who, what, when and the alphabet. Even if you don't know all the signs, learning the alphabet will allow you to spell the unknown word.

• 2

  Use your signs often. This helps signing become second nature as well as adding to your list of known signs. When learning to sign to communicate with an immediate family member or close friend, the more you use the signs, the faster you will be able to fully communicate with that person.

• 3

  Add to your list of known signs whenever possible. Look up new signs for words that you find you use frequently. Learning everyday words will help you build your signs quickly.

• 4

  Sign whenever you meet someone who can sign. This person may be hearing impaired, non-verbal or simply know how to sign. Many non-hearing and non-verbal communicators enjoy meeting new people who are able to sign. It shows respect for the person that you have taken the time to learn how to communicate with them.