Research has shown that teaching sign language to young children is beneficial to all children, whether they have speech and language delays or not. Let me first discuss why it’s a good idea, and then I will go into how to do it.

Is Sign Language Helpful for Children with Language Delays?

• According to a research review by Millar and Light, the current research provides evidence that using alternative communication means (such as sign language) does not prevent children with developmental disabilities from talking and may actually support their ability to speak.
• Millar and Light also found that using alternative communication (such as sign language) can help older children learn to communicate as well as younger children.
• A Study by Capirici, Cattani, et. al. found that learning sign language could actually improve cognition (intelligence) in typically-developing, hearing children.

Will Using Sign Language Prevent a Child from Speaking?

This means that teaching baby sign language with your child will help him develop his language skills and it will not prevent him from speaking. When a child uses sign language, they are able to develop their language system even before they are able to speak. This actually gives them a head start on communicating until their mouth and speech system can catch up. This means that typical children as young as 9 months can begin communicating and learning language, a whole three months before children who must rely on their ability to speak to communicate (typically begins at 12 months).

As for children with speech and language delays, using sign language will allow them to begin communicating before they are able to speak as well. For some children, this is the push they need to begin speaking. This is often true for children with autism. Once these children learn the power of communication (through the use of signs), they often are more motivated to communicate through speech since they now realize what will happen when they communicate.

How to Use Sign Language to Help Children Communicate:

Teaching Vocabulary:

You can use these sign language to teach your child a new word. Choose one sign each time you work with your child. Get out the object that represents that word or if it is an action word, get out several objects that you can use to perform that action. Play with that object with your child and say/sign the word many times for your child. Encourage your child to imitate your word or sign the object or action to request it.

Expressive Vocabulary:

Ask your child “what is this?” when showing him a picture of an object or “what is she doing?” for pictures of actions. Help your child say or sign what they see in the picture.

Model Words Throughout the Day:

Sign common words as they come up throughout the day. Learn a few each week and then as you say those words, do the sign at the same time. You don’t have to sign every word you say, but pick a few that you think will be most helpful for your child to know.

Use Signs When Giving Choices:

If you’re giving your child a choice on something (what to eat, what to wear, etc.), tell them both choices while also doing the sign language signs for each one. See if they will repeat those signs back to you as they choose.