Occupational Therapy and Sign Language


In class several days ago, there was an interesting presentation on the topic of sign language. This is a topic that I know only a minor amount about, however it can be a very useful skill as it allows one to communicate with those who have verbal language difficulties. It is also a skill that has a benefit of making one more marketable in a job setting because it provides a valuable ability to communicate with clients in which others may have difficulty.

In this presentation, I learned that while there are hundreds of various sign languages used in the world today. In America, we use the type referred to as American sign language or ASL. The use of ASL can be wide ranging and is used by as many as 1 million deaf individuals. The Mayo Clinic also suggest that baby sing language might give a typically developing child the ability to communicate several months earlier than those who only use vocal communication.

Another important topic that was covered during this presentation was all of the important components of word formation. These components include shape, placement, and movement of the hands as well as facial expressions. The alphabet was taught during this presentation. This allows someone to be able to finger spell expressions that they might not know how to sign the complete word. We were also taught various essential words that may be useful in a clinical setting. These words include eat, drink, pain, and numbers. I think this presentation was very useful and could very well benefit me as I develop professionally.

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