Does Sign Language Delay Spoken Language?
TLDR: No. Absolutely not.
One of the most common questions in my DMs is, “Will using sign language stop my baby from talking?” So, it was time for me to drop my very lengthy answer in one place.
I’m sure you’ve heard it some of these before:
“Oh, don’t sign with your little one- it’ll make them lazy and they won’t want to talk.”
“Well, if they can say it with their hands, they won’t want to say it with their mouth.”
Or my personal favorite, “wait until [insert arbitrary number of months here] to sign with your baby for [insert completely unfounded reason here].”
As a pediatric speech-language pathologist, I am a huge supporter of using sign language with littles from birth. No, not because it’s the “fad” thing to do or because “it’s cool.” It’s because it is backed by research, and honestly it just makes SENSE.
Sign Language is Natural
Without even diving into all of the research that supports using sign language to help littles achieve spoken language milestones (though we do in the next section), it is common knowledge that sign language is part of typical language development.
Yes, you read that right- sign language should be included in communication exchanges with all babies from birth because it is a natural part of language development. How so? Take a look at the Communication Hierarchy and pay special attention to numbers 6 and 7.
There are generally 10 steps in communication for little ones to achieve the milestone of a single, true, independent word around their first birthday. Just like we don’t want to skip any steps in motor development (cough, cough- crawling- cough, cough), we don’t want to skip any steps in language development either! In that first year of life we are focusing on creating a strong language foundation that is built upon in toddlerhood, and yep, that includes using sign language!
Research Supports Using Sign Language
Like most areas of pediatric development, sign language is being researched as we speak. The studies that we do have about sign language mainly surround analyzing the language development of Deaf children (Fitzpatrick et al., 2013). Luckily, we can all use our common sense here and recognize that language development doesn’t change because a child has hearing loss or is Deaf. The Communication Hierarchy remains the same, and therefore, communication strategies and recommendations do, too.
For example, just because a child has a diagnosis of Down Syndrome, Developmental Delay, Autism, etc, does the Communication Hierarchy change? No, it doesn’t. You start at the bottom of the chart and continue to work your way up, catering to the needs of any child along the way. All children are deserving of language, and all children should be supported on this Communication Hierarchy.
There are research studies that look at the impacts of using sign language with children with hearing loss and children without. A 2021 study out of the University of Connecticut found that “early exposure to language, whether signed or spoken, supports the development of typical cognitive skills.” This quote from Corina Goodwin, a psycholinguist at UConn perfectly sums up the entire point. Language is language. Early exposure to sign language and spoken language is beneficial. For all children.
And if you still don’t believe that sign language can positively impact children’s language development, you can take it straight from the NIH itself. They completed a comprehensive literature review and found that:
“Contrary to predictions often cited in the literature, acquisition of sign language does not harm spoken vocabulary acquisition” (NIH, 2023).
And the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association agrees (quite literally, word-for-word): “Contrary to predictions often cited in the literature, acquisition of sign language does not harm spoken vocabulary acquisition.” (ASHA, 2023).
The research is there. Let’s listen to it.
Sign Language Leads to Spoken Language
A common question from parents is, “When will my baby say their first word?” It goes without saying that we can’t predict exactly when any one child will say their first true word. It depends on a lot of factors, most importantly, where a little one is at on the Communication Hierarchy. If they are on the lower steps, it’s going to be a little while before they get to step 10! If they are hanging out around step 7-8, a first word is likely on its way soon.
BUT, one of my favorite research articles found have some very interesting information:
“Not only can we predict the size of children's spoken vocabulary from looking at the size of their early gesture vocabulary, but we can also predict which particular words will enter a child's spoken vocabulary by looking at the objects that child indicated using deictic gestures several months earlier (Iverson & Goldin-Meadow, 2005). For example, a child who does not know the word “dog,” but communicates about dogs by pointing at them is likely to learn the word “dog” within three months (Iverson & Goldin-Meadow, 2005). Gestures pave the way for children's early words.” (Goldin-Meadow, 2015)
Now THAT is some cool information about gestures! We know that from the Communication Hierarchy, signs are specialized gestures- and they are CLOSER to single words because they stand for a very specific item/object/thing! From the research, we know that if a child can communicate by using gestures (like pointing at the thing they are trying to communicate about), they are likely to communicate that word using SPOKEN language just 3 months later. Since signs are much closer to single spoken words on the communication hierarchy, that means that signs are getting little ones CLOSER to spoken language, and littles may even get to that spoken word quicker once they learn the sign for it.
When Will My Baby Sign To Me?
If you start in infancy, your little one can communicate signs back to you as early as 4-6 months. Some have even reported imitation of signs as early as 3 months of age! From my personal experience, I started signing with my daughter consistently around 3 months of age. She imitated the sign for “milk” at 6 months, was independently signing it at 8 months and said the word independently at 10 months. By 12 months of age she had over 10 single spoken words and the signs to match them.
With my son, I started signing consistently around 8 months of age. He imitated signs by 9 months, independently used them by 11 months, and had 5 single spoken words at 12 months of age.
The earlier you sign, the earlier your baby is likely to sign back to you.
How Can I Start Using Sign Language?
The first step is by modeling those gestures and signs consistently in routines early on. Every time you throw away a diaper, model “dirty” and “all done” with the sign. Every time you go to pick baby up off the floor, model “up” with your arms up or pointing “up” and pause before picking up baby. Every time you finish a book, clap and say “yay!” and add the sign for “all done!” Make sure to pause and look at baby with intent after performing a gesture, since you want to give them a cue that they should respond.
When is the Best Time to Introduce Sign Language?
As soon as you’re ready! That will look different for everyone, but the sooner, the better! Signing is ALWAYS beneficial and it’s never too early or too late to start. You can start including signs in your routines as soon as you’ve established them! For me most recently, that was around 3-4 months of age.
While any age is a good age to start signing, we want parents to keep the 9-10 month mark in mind when talking about communication. Why? That is a milestone marker for gesture use. 90% of little ones are using some gestures (e.g., waving, clapping, putting arms up) consistently by that age, with many babies gesturing much earlier, too. So, if your little one is not using gestures or attempting to imitate your use of gestures by the 10 month mark, talk to your pediatrician or reach out to a specialist.
What Signs Should I Use with My Baby?
The most common sign to teach baby is “more” since it can be used universally to request (toys, food, etc.). However, it doesn’t teach baby to request anything SPECIFIC. So, while it is an important sign, teaching signs for actual items like “milk, book, car” can be equally important for development. When modeling signs, think about FUNCTION. I typically model “more, all done, eat, drink” and then common toy items in play, as well as “mama” and “dada” or other important family members and caregivers. The words that you are saying the most often will be the best ones to sign while you say them! Communication Junction is a great resource for parents and they have a Free Download sharing how to use common signs at home with your little one!
Using Sign Language At Mealtimes
CAUTION: Most parents introduce signs for the first time in the high chair because baby is seated and you’re at eye level, but I caution against baby’s FIRST experience with signs being around food for two reasons. First, feeding can be an overwhelming sensory experience for baby. Adding a new communication component can cause more stress, especially if baby feels like communication demands are being placed on them. Instead, I recommend that you model signs in the high chair (e.g., eat, drink, hot), but don’t expect baby to imitate them. Focus more on imitation of signs with toys and other motivating play items.
Second, you are going to feed your baby regardless if they use signs in the high chair. So, when teaching signs, baby might not make the connection that signing is requesting, or that signing results in them getting something. Since sometimes they will get another bite of food when they sign “more,” but, sometimes they will get food when they DON’T sign at all. You want baby to make a connection that signing results in an action consistently. So, again, model signs to show baby how to use them to request, label, and comment, but don’t withhold food or make baby sign to get something.
Remember the Communication Hierarchy
Remember that in order for baby to use gestures to communicate, they need to have established imitation of body movements first. So, if baby is imitating arms up for “up” and clapping, putting their hands together to sign for “more” or “all done” is coming! With spoken language likely up next right after signs!
Something to keep in mind: Lack of imitation is a risk factor for a communication delay. If you have been modeling body movements, gestures, and signs, and your little one is approaching their first birthday and they don’t attempt to imitate you, reach out to your pediatrician or a specialist. Early intervention is key in making progress!
Snag the most Comprehensive Milestone Checklist out there!
Sources:
Goldin-Meadow S. Gesture as a window onto communicative abilities: Implications for diagnosis and intervention. Perspect Lang Learn Educ. 2015 Mar;22(2):50-60. doi: 10.1044/lle22.2.50. PMID: 26366247; PMCID: PMC4564136.
Fitzpatrick, E.M., Stevens, A., Garritty, C. et al. The effects of sign language on spoken language acquisition in children with hearing loss: a systematic review protocol. Syst Rev 2, 108 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-4053-2-108
Iverson JM, Goldin-Meadow S. Gesture paves the way for language development. Psychological Science. 2005;16:368–371. doi: 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.01542.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Pontecorvo E, Higgins M, Mora J, Lieberman AM, Pyers J, Caselli NK. Learning a Sign Language Does Not Hinder Acquisition of a Spoken Language. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2023 Apr 12;66(4):1291-1308. doi: 10.1044/2022_JSLHR-22-00505. Epub 2023 Mar 27. PMID: 36972338; PMCID: PMC10187967.
https://today.uconn.edu/2021/11/to-young-brains-language-is-language-whether-signed-or-spoken/
