Baby Sign Language: When to Start, First Signs and Does It Delay Speech

What it is

• Using a handful of simple hand signs, usually borrowed from American Sign Language (ASL) or another local sign language, alongside spoken words, so a baby can share wants before they can say them.
• Babies can control their hands before their mouths. Many naturally wave, point and lift their arms to be picked up between 9 and 12 months. Signing builds on that.

What research says

• Signing does not delay speech. That's a common worry, and studies don't support it.
• Evidence that it makes babies talk sooner or boosts later language or IQ is weak and mixed.
• The likely benefits are real but modest: some fewer frustrated moments, more face-to-face attention, and the fun of an early "conversation."
• It's optional. Talking, reading and back-and-forth play do the heavy lifting for language (see the talk to your baby guide).

When to start

• Around 6 to 8 months is a good time to begin, when babies watch faces and hands closely.
• Most babies sign back somewhere between 8 and 14 months. Expect weeks or months of watching before the first sign. Starting later is fine too.

First signs to try

• More: fingertips of both hands tapped together.
• Milk: a hand opening and closing, like squeezing.
• All done: both hands turned palms out and twisted back and forth.
• Eat: fingertips brought to the mouth.
• Help, up, sleep, bath, dog: add these once the first few click. Look up the signs in a free ASL dictionary or from a Deaf-led source, so you learn them accurately.

How to teach

1. Pick 3 to 5 signs tied to daily routines: meals, milk, bath, bed.
2. Always say the word as you sign it, looking at your baby.
3. Sign in the moment: "Do you want more?" while holding up more food.
4. Repeat a lot, every time the situation comes up. All caregivers can use the same signs; write them on a card for a grandparent or childcare.
5. Accept approximations. A baby's "more" may be clapping or a poke at the palm. Respond warmly and say the word.
6. Keep talking. As words arrive, babies drop the signs on their own.

Families and sign language

• In families with Deaf or hard of hearing members, ASL or another sign language is a full language, not a bridge to speech. Babies can learn sign and spoken languages together.
• Multilingual families can pair signs with words in each home language.
• Signs can also help some children with speech delays communicate while their speech develops, often with guidance from a speech-language pathologist.

When to check in

• Mention it at the next checkup if your baby doesn't react to sounds, doesn't babble by 9 months, doesn't use gestures like waving or pointing by about 12 to 15 months, or loses words or signs they had.
• Ask for a hearing test any time you're unsure your baby hears well; newborn screening doesn't rule out later hearing loss.