Laura O鈥橦anlon鈥檚 introduction to sign language came at an early age.
There was a classroom for deaf children next to O鈥橦anlon鈥檚 Kindergarten class, and she befriended one of the children in the classroom. The friend taught O鈥橦anlon some basic signs.聽
鈥淚 just fell in love with the language of American Sign Language (ASL),鈥� O鈥橦anlon told the Mercury.
But she wants people to know sign language is not just for communicating with the hearing impaired. It鈥檚 a great tool for enhancing communication skills and language development at an early age.
鈥淭he benefits of teaching sign language to anybody are outstanding,鈥� said O鈥橦anlon.
O鈥橦anlon was at the Estevan Public Library on Saturday to present a WeeHands Baby Sign Language class. Several young people and their parents attended the interactive session, which included music. Parents learned more about the benefits of sign language with children. 聽
O鈥橦anlon, who moved to Estevan last year, is very knowledgeable when it comes to sign language. She has studied ASL 101, 102 and 103 at a college in Ontario. She then became acquainted with the deaf community, and interacted with the hearing impaired at a bank where she worked.
Her interest in sign language continued to grow.聽
鈥淲hen I had my own child, and had started reading on the benefits of it 鈥� because it was starting to grow in popularity 鈥� I knew that I was going to sign with her,鈥� said O鈥橦anlon. 鈥淭hen when I learned about the opportunity to share this with other families, after seeing what a great fit it was with our family, I knew it was something I wanted to share.鈥�
Even though Quinn is now four years old, O鈥橦anlon still uses sign language every day when communicating with her daughter. They have seen a lot of benefits.聽
鈥淗er language skills and abilities to communicate, and her vocabulary (are excellent),鈥� said O鈥橦anlon. 鈥淪he鈥檚 starting to read because she had a good understanding of letters from a young age. By the time she was 18 months old, she signed and sang her full 础叠颁鈥檚听in English and French.
鈥淧utting the hand gesture to the word helps children get a better understanding of it more quickly.鈥�
The presentation at the library was the first time O鈥橦anlon has led a course through WeeHands in Estevan. The opportunity to teach came about when the library鈥檚 children鈥檚 program coordinator, Maureen Curtis, saw O鈥橦anlon communicate with Quinn through signing.聽
O鈥橦anlon said people who attended her session at the library would learn about eight sign language gestures. They will pick up signs that they can use to interact with their children on a daily basis.聽
鈥淭here will be lots of other opportunities, lots of other signs we will do,鈥� said O鈥橦anlon. 鈥淚鈥檒l be showing them how to incorporate it while reading stories or singing songs.鈥�
She also stressed that if people don鈥檛 practice their sign language skills, they will eventually lose the ability.聽
Using sign language to communicate with a child will never prevent infants and other young children from developing or learning to speak; so O鈥橦anlon believes parents should be increasing their use of sign language.
O鈥橦anlon is a certified instructor through WeeHands, which encourages sign language for babies, infants and toddlers. It was founded in 2001 by Sarah Bingham, who is also the author of The Baby Signing Book. O鈥橦anlon is hoping to offer classes on a more regular basis while in Estevan.聽
