Remembering Dr. Linda Acredolo
Co-Founder of the Baby Signs® Program
With deep sadness and profound gratitude, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Linda Acredolo, co-founder of the Baby Signs® Program and a pioneer in the field of early communication.
Dr. Acredolo’s work helped change the way parents, caregivers, educators, and professionals understand babies. Through her research, vision, and dedication, she helped show the world that babies have so much to say long before they can talk.
Her impact lives on in the families she helped, the professionals she inspired, and the generations of children who have been given the gift of early communication.
A Legacy of Respect, Connection, and Communication
Dr. Linda Acredolo’s work began with a simple but powerful idea: babies are capable of meaningful communication before spoken language develops.
Together with Dr. Susan Goodwyn, Dr. Acredolo helped bring this idea to families around the world through the Baby Signs® Program. Their research and teaching gave parents and caregivers a way to better understand babies’ needs, feelings, interests, and discoveries.
The Baby Signs® Program has always been about more than signs. It is about connection. It is about reducing frustration. It is about honoring babies as capable communicators and helping adults respond with greater understanding, respect, and joy.
Dr. Acredolo’s contributions have touched families, educators, early intervention professionals, speech-language professionals, childcare providers, and instructors across many countries. Her work will continue to guide and inspire all of us who carry the Baby Signs® Program forward.
A Personal Note from the Baby Signs® Family
For those of us who have had the privilege of working with the Baby Signs® Program, Dr. Acredolo’s influence is deeply personal.
Her research gave the program its foundation, but her warmth, insight, and belief in babies gave it its heart. She helped create something that has changed the daily lives of countless families, giving parents and babies a way to understand one another during one of the most important stages of development.
We are heartbroken by her passing, and we are also deeply grateful. Grateful for her work. Grateful for her vision. Grateful for the trust she placed in those of us continuing to share the Baby Signs® Program with families, instructors, educators, and communities.
As we grieve, we also recommit ourselves to honoring her legacy by continuing the work she helped begin.
A Shared Vision
Together with Dr. Susan Goodwyn, Dr. Acredolo helped bring the Baby Signs® Program to families around the world. Their research, teaching, and shared commitment to early communication changed how countless parents, caregivers, and professionals understand babies’ ability to communicate before they can talk.
The Research That Changed How Families Communicate
The Baby Signs® Program grew from years of research into what babies can understand and communicate before they are able to speak. Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn helped show that babies are not simply waiting for language to begin. They are already observing, learning, connecting, and trying to share what they know.
Their work helped families, caregivers, and professionals see babies with new respect: as capable communicators with thoughts, feelings, needs, and discoveries to express.
Learn More About Dr. Linda Acredolo
Linda's family has published her official obituary, celebrating her remarkable life, career, and the many people she touched. If you would like to learn more about her life, leave a condolence for her family, or view memorial service information, please visit her official obituary.
Dr. Linda Potter Acredolo (1947-2026)
Co-founder of the Baby Signs® Program, pioneering developmental psychologist, researcher, educator, author, and beloved friend whose work transformed early communication for families around the world.
Share a Memory or Message of Condolence
We know that Dr. Acredolo’s work touched people around the world. If you would like to share a memory, message of condolence, or reflection on how the Baby Signs® Program has impacted your family or work, we welcome you to do so.
Messages may be shared with Dr. Acredolo’s family. With your permission, they may also be included on this tribute page or in future memorial materials honoring her life and legacy.
Continuing the Work She Helped Begin
Dr. Acredolo’s legacy will continue every day through the Baby Signs® Program, through the instructors who teach it, through the professionals who share it, and through the families who use signs to connect with their babies.
We extend our deepest sympathy to Dr. Acredolo’s family, friends, colleagues, and all who loved her.
With gratitude and love,
The Baby Signs® Program