Using sign and gestures can be an important way to develop communication for some children.

The Research:

There is much confusion among parents, teachers and other health professionals about using key word sign with your child. The most common question I come across is “will signing cause my child to stop/delay speech development”. The current research indicates that signing will not stop speech development if the person is going to learn to speak. It may actually support their ability to speak!

What does this all mean?

Signing, or any other form of augmentative communication, can take the pressure of having to ‘talk’ while giving the person a way of communicating, of interacting and becoming social.

How do I teach my child?

The potential for using sign and gesture is unlimited, so where do you start?

• Choose key word signs: You don’t need to sign EVERY word you speak. Instead, select words that are common first words in typically developing children and just sign those when they come up in conversation. For example,
  • Nouns: dog, car, girl, boy, block, milk
  • Social words: no, stop, more, finish, my
  • Verbs: eat, throw, open, help, wash, sit down
  • Family: I (me), mum, dad, brother, sister
• Learn the key word sign: Using flashcards, with a picture of the word and the sign, is an effective approach.

• Use key word approach: Sign the words you have chosen by themselves, when doing the action or showing the object to your child, or when you say the word in a sentence. For example, if the sentence “Lucy, go wash your hands and eat your banana” was said, the words underlined will be signed as you say it.

• Repeat, model and be persistent: Some children may take a while to understand what is being said (and signed) and require consistent repetition and modelling. Children will learn to use sign quicker if they see it around them all the time! Below are some ideas of activities:

PLAY: When playing with the child:

• Sign the key concepts about what you and the child are doing when using toys in play (e.g. teddy bear jump, doll eating, big banana).

Books: When looking at books with the child

• Sign key concepts when completing routines throughout the day such as taking a bath and getting ready for bedtime (e.g. shoes off, in the bed).
• Sign the question word and key information when asking questions (e.g. “Where is the girl?).
• Sign the key words within you or the child’s comments when describing the picture and/or answering a question (e.g. “the girl is under the table”).

         Sing songs/nursery rhymes

• Sign the key words within the song (e.g. star in ‘Twinkle Twinkle’, the different animals in ‘Old Mac Donald’).

Daily Routines: For example:

• When asking for food (e.g. “I want apple please”).
• When asking for a drink (e.g. “Can I have water please?”).
• To go to the toilet (e.g. “I need to go to the toilet“).

Keep doing this and eventually your child may begin to imitate the signs or word on their own!!

Written by Didem Karademir, Speech Pathologist.