The isolation caused by the pandemic contributed to some post-pandemic babies and toddlers to struggle communicating and interacting with their parents, teachers and other kids.

At the Learning Experience in New Albany, children aren’t just learning their ABCs and 123s. They’re also being taught American Sign Language (ASL).

A research study based in Ireland showed that more babies born during the pandemic had developmental concerns in the communication domain compared to their predecessors.

Rachel Phillips, who serves as the curriculum coordinator at The Learning Experience, said ASL is a great compliment to toddlers and babies learning to communicate.

“They use it when communicating at lunch, asking for more, saying that they’re all done, you know, saying that they want a drink or that they’re ready to eat lunch,” said Phillips.

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