Little Signers Club

Without question, this is the question we get asked the most at Little Signers Club.  The answer is a definitive No! Signing with your baby, if done correctly, does not lead to speech delay.  If anything we find that signing babies are more curious about language and start to us speech more confidently at an earlier age.  Not only that, babies who have learned to sign tend to have more complex language structure at an earlier age.  Signing must always be done in conjunction with speech to achieve this. 

Christina Schabow, speech and language pathologist from the US says; ‘Ultimately, signing will NOT cause your baby to have delayed speech. It WILL be one of the best things you do to help prepare your baby for talking!’

Absolutely anyone can use signing – from grandparents to babies! Baby signing is a fully inclusive activity and the whole family can benefit from using it.  Lots of people are kinaesthetic learners which means that they use the action of their body to help them learn – they are “do-ers”.  By using a sign and speech at the same time, this learning is facilitated and retained.  Older siblings love signing and will frequently use it with the baby in the family more than parents – they remember more signs too!

It’s recommended that you start signing with your baby from around 5 - 6 months as gross motor skills are starting to come under control, eye focus is better and a baby’s attention span is a little longer. However, you can start earlier if you wish, just remember to keep signing very limited to perhaps just a couple of gestures at this stage. All babies are completely unique and develop at their own pace.

As baby signing becomes more mainstream, Little Signers Club has found that this particular question is not as common as it was – but it’s a very valid point.  Gesture is a natural part of how a baby learns the ability to speak and is one of the building blocks of speech.  By using signing you are simply formalising your baby’s natural inclination to use gesture to a form that lots of other people can understand – grandparents, child care settings and also other children.   A baby is therefore able to communicate their wants and needs – and have them met more quickly, leading to a calmer relationship and a more confident child.  British Sign Language is the UK’s fourth largest indigenous language with one in seven people using it so it makes sense to use it with babies too.

Some babies are ready for signing earlier than others – a good indication of whether your baby is ready to start signing is to see if they are clapping and waving. This means that their gross motor skills are starting to come under their control.  The most responsive time for your baby to start using clear gestures and signs is between 9-14 months although some babies are much earlier.

You can help develop your baby’s gross motor skills by singing action songs such as Wind the Bobbin Up which your baby will love!

Some children naturally take longer to talk than others as it’s a really complex process to get to grips with.

Professional colleague Libby Hill, Speech and Language Therapist, comments "The more you know about all the factors involved in making speech sounds, the more you wonder how anyone manages it. The brain has to send a signal to the muscles, and then the airflow has to be co-ordinated with moving the tongue, mouth and gums (teeth in older children and adults). A baby can move their hands with some control from very early on. Babies will not talk until 12 months of age or later but they can indicate by gesture or sign much earlier. Early communication intention is about making choices and making your needs known."

Children who don’t know how to communicate their feelings easily resort to lashing out or biting or meltdowns. It’s been suggested that 90% of toddler tantrums are related to their need to eat, drink or sleep – all very easy signs to get to grips with.

Although children have generally started to communicate using speech by this point, sometimes the words themselves overwhelm them, they can’t think of the correct word or they have so much that they want to say that the words will not form. They stutter and stumble trying to communicate, becoming more and more frustrated with themselves when using just a few gestures can alleviate this problem for them until they are more confident with the necessary vocabulary.

Some British Sign Language does state a hand to use when signing.  However the practicalities of using baby signing are such that you may use your left or right hand depending upon which hand you have free at the time or your natural inclination.  The focus of baby signing is communication and fun and we will always try to make sure you are shown the correct sign with the correct hand.

This is a common question and we know it can be difficult to remember to sign as there are so many other things to remember.  Our recommendations:

1. Don’t get upset if you forget, do the signs when you remember them
2. Try and keep signs simple and relevant to your family’s lifestyle.  Aim for 4-6 signs initially and build up from there once you have got to grips with these signs.  If we had to pick 4 to concentrate on we would suggest milk, eat, bed and cuddle.
3. Try and have a signing routine in your home – for instance you may always sign as you get ready to go out, before you change a nappy or at bedtime.

We have a great magnet set of 10 key signs that you can attach to your fridge or bath or radiators around the home to jog your memory!

Absolutely!  In fact, signing for multi-lingual families is a huge help as it helps your baby, toddler or child to make the connections between the different words more easily.  You simply use the same sign but vary the language in which you say the word – for instance you could sign ‘Milk’ and say ‘Milk’ or ‘Lait’ or ‘Milch’.  Your local teacher will be able to give you guidance and advice on this subject.

Mr Tumble  is Makaton based. Makaton is the combination of a sign, word and simple black and white outline picture and is predominantly used for children with special needs. 

Little Signers Club uses British Sign Language, from which Makaton was derived.  They share an 80% commonality but at the level we are using signing in classes there are just 3 signs that are different.  If you are already using Makaton then there is no need to swap, carry on using and enjoying the signs that you and your baby already know.