The Science Behind the Baby Signs® Program

Child demonstrating sign language representing research on baby sign language and early communication development

Research on Baby Sign Language: How Simple Signs Support Language, Bonding, and Learning For over two decades, research on baby sign language conducted by child development experts Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn has shown that simple gestures—now widely known as the Baby Signs® Program—can have a powerful impact on infants’ early communication, emotional…

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The Baby Signs® Program: A Movement Built on a Solid Foundation

Scientific Research

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D. ,Professor Emeritus, UC Davis Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, CSU Stanislaus Why Sign Language for Babies? There’s nothing more heart-wrenching than hearing a baby cry and not knowing why. The problem for babies is with the painstakingly slow development of the ability to produce words. Fortunately, babies are a good deal more…

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Enhancing Early Communication: The Baby Signs® Program and Early Head Start

HOT

Communication is a fundamental skill that shapes the way we interact with the world around us. For infants and toddlers, the ability to express their needs and thoughts is especially vital as they navigate their early years of development. One innovative program that has gained significant attention for promoting early communication skills is the Baby…

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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,…

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The Baby Signs® Program: A Helpful Tool in Bilingual Settings

Dad and daughter

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D. & Susan Goodwyn, Ph,.D. As more and more parents learn the value of exposing their children to second and even third languages early in life, the number of babies being raised in “bilingual homes” is rapidly increasing. Just what does this mean? In many cases it means that one parent speaks one…

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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.…

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