Tina Cavanaugh: Certified Baby Signs® Instructor from Austin, TX

Tina C's class

In the bustling city of Austin, Texas, where the culture is as diverse as the food scene, there’s one woman who stands out for her unique and impactful work. Meet Tina Cavanaugh, a certified Baby Signs® Instructor who has been changing the lives of infants and their caregivers for over a decade. The Journey to…

Read More

Keeping the Bough from Breaking: Signing and Attachment

Mom and baby smiling

By Linda Acredolo, Ph.D, co-founder of the Baby Signs® Program What do you think is the optimal age for a child to be adopted? If you’re like most people, your answer is “at birth.” It just seems like common sense to us today. Unfortunately, however, for centuries of adopted children that was not the typical…

Read More

Helping Toddlers at a “Loss for Words”: The Baby Signs® Program and Social Development

A baby in a pink shirt is sitting on the floor, engaging in social play.

By Linda Acredolo, Ph.D. and Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D. Co-founders, The Baby Signs® Program Every parent wants his or her child to enjoy other people and to be well-liked. In Developmental Psychology, we include both these goals under the term “social development.” Although most parents are aware that innate differences in temperament contribute importantly to individual…

Read More

Late-Talking Toddlers: How the Baby Signs® Program Can Help

Sad toddler

By: Catherine Brown, M.A., CCC-SLP Speech-language pathologists refer to children as “late-talkers” when they are slower to develop verbal/expressive skills than their peers even though they have very good receptive (language comprehension) skills. This pattern distinguishes them from “language-impaired” children who have significant deficits in both language comprehension and production. In contrast to language-impaired children,…

Read More

Enhancing Communication and Safety

Safety signs

Celebrating National Baby Safety Month with the Baby Signs® Program Welcoming a new baby into your life is an exhilarating experience, accompanied by immense joy and a strong desire to keep your little one safe. As parents and caregivers, ensuring the safety and well-being of your baby becomes a top priority. This National Baby Safety…

Read More

Linking the Baby Signs® Program and Literacy Development

baby reading Baby Signs book

By Linda Acredolo, Ph.D. and Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D.Co-founders, The Baby Signs® Program The buzz word is literacy…. All around us we hear about the importance of literacy. Parents are told to read, read, read to their children—whether it’s cloth books, board books, or chapter books. With all this emphasis on literacy, it seems particularly important…

Read More

Using Infant Sign Language in Multilingual Classrooms

Baby and toddler

Classrooms today are increasingly diverse, with students coming from families that speak a variety of languages. This presents challenges for comprehension and communication, both for students learning English and for teachers trying to support the needs of multilingual students. One innovative solution that can help bridge these language gaps is using infant sign language. Infant…

Read More

Enhancing Communication and Development

CDC Window Sign

The Baby Signs® Program in Child Development Centers In the ever-evolving landscape of early childhood education, innovative programs are continuously being explored to support children’s growth and development. One such program gaining recognition is the Baby Signs® Program, a communication tool that uses basic sign language with babies. Its implementation in child development centers has…

Read More

Infant Sign Language and Learning to Talk

Mom signing CAT

By far the most frequently voiced concern about encouraging babies to use signs to communicate before they can talk is that doing so will slow down verbal development. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Using sign language actually speeds up the process. How do we know? With a grant from the federal government, Drs.…

Read More

Infant Sign Language: A Helpful Tool for Communication

Baby Signs®

Infant sign language is a way for babies and toddlers to communicate before they are able to speak. It can be a helpful tool for both babies and parents, as it can help to reduce frustration and promote bonding. Babies are born with the ability to learn language, and they can start to learn signs…

Read More