10/19/2020
Baby sign… why, when and which ones?
Teaching your little one a functional, age appropriate way to communicate can help them learn to identify, process and express their emotions, as well as communicate with your more effectively. Signs can be an effective tool not only to help your little one learn to communicate things they don’t have the words for, it can also be a great opportunity for you to become more in tune and responsive to communication attempts, especially pre-verbal/gestural ones.
As to the when, you can start as early as you’d like, sign is a method of communication and just like spoken language, little ones need to be exposed to it consistently in order to learn to understand and use it to express themselves. What research shows so far, is that little ones will more likely start using signs to express themselves between 8-12 months, which is the same range when we would expect the first [verbal] word to appear.
Lastly, which signs should you start with? If you’re using signs as an alternative way to support your little one’s communication...
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