Key Benefits of Key Word Signing (KWS)

Welcome to our overview of the key benefits of Key Word Signing. If you’re exploring Key Word Sign as a communication tool for your child, it’s important to understand the many ways it can support and enhance their development.

This page summarises some of the most significant advantages of incorporating Key Word Signing into your child’s communication strategy. Whether you’re new to Key Word Sign or looking to deepen your understanding, this overview will help you appreciate how this approach can positively impact your child’s ability to express themselves, connect with others, and develop essential skills.

Gestures are a natural precursor to speech, and this principle supports why children can often use signs before they develop spoken language.

Just as babies use gestures to communicate before they speak their first words, Key Word Sign (KWS) enables children to express themselves using signs even if they haven’t yet mastered verbal communication.

The act of using signs is more visible and tangible than internal speech, making it easier for children to understand and replicate.

By incorporating signs into their daily routines, children can begin to communicate their needs and wants effectively, providing a crucial means of expression before their spoken language skills fully develop.

For children with auditory processing challenges, such as those with Down syndrome or autism, Key Word Signing offers a helpful visual approach.

Since many children process visual information more effectively than auditory, using signs alongside spoken words caters to their preferred learning style.

This multi-modal approach supports better communication by providing a clear visual aid, making it easier for children who struggle with auditory processing to understand and engage.

Signs offer a static, visual form of communication that helps children grasp and remember concepts more effectively.

Unlike spoken words, which are transient and quickly disappear, signs can be held and repeated, giving children more time to process and learn them.

This visual reinforcement allows children to see and review signs at their own pace, which supports better comprehension.

By integrating signs into their communication, children benefit from a clear and consistent representation of ideas, helping them connect words with their meanings more thoroughly and build a stronger foundation for understanding spoken language.

Using Key Word Sign, like how babies naturally use gestures, can stimulate areas of the brain involved in speech production, such as the Broca’s area.

Just as babies begin with gestures before they speak, using Key Word Sign helps activate the neural pathways necessary for verbal communication. This early engagement with gestures could potentially be preparing the mouth and jaw for speech, making it easier for children to learn and produce spoken words.

By incorporating Key Word Sign into their communication toolkit, children not only enhance their understanding and use of language but also encourage the brain’s development in areas crucial for effective speech. 

Iconic signs are particularly beneficial because they visually resemble the objects or actions they represent. This visual connection helps children to recognise and understand the signs more easily.

As children grasp the meaning of these signs, they may develop an earlier receptive understanding of the associated spoken words. This early recognition can lead to an improved ability to identify and mimic the sounds of these words.

Essentially, by connecting the visual sign with its spoken counterpart, children may be more likely to comprehend and produce the words more quickly and accurately, supporting their overall speech development.

Key Word Sign (KWS) plays a significant role in enhancing literacy, as outlined in Marilyn Daniels’ book, Dancing with Words: Signing for Hearing Children’s Literacy. This book highlights how integrating signing into literacy activities can profoundly support children’s literacy development.

By associating signs with specific words, children engage in both visual and tactile learning processes. This dual approach helps reinforce word recognition and comprehension. The visual nature of signs provides a concrete representation of abstract concepts, making it easier for children to grasp and remember new vocabulary.

Furthermore, the touch-based aspect of signing allows children to physically interact with language, which can enhance their understanding of word meanings and improve their ability to recall and use these words in reading and writing tasks. Overall, incorporating Key Word Sign into literacy practices offers a multi-sensory approach that can boost children’s ability to use language more effectively.

Research shows that iconic gestures, similar to Key Word Signs, can be highly beneficial for learning a second language. These gestures help learners visualise and remember new words and concepts more effectively. Using gestures alongside verbal learning not only aids in comprehension but also enhances retention of the new language. This approach supports quicker and more robust language acquisition, making it easier for learners to grasp and retain new vocabulary over time.

Key Word Sign brings a range of benefits, from improving communication and aiding speech development to boosting literacy and cognitive skills. If you’re eager to use Key Word Sign with your child, check out our Getting Started page for helpful tips and resources. For personalised training and more resources like posters, flashcards, and storybooks, visit our Training and Resources sections. We’re here to help make communication easier and more effective for your child.