FAQ

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Maria thinks that signing helped improve her son's speech

Q. Was baby sign developed for deaf children?

ITV BabySign was developed for hearing babies of hearing parents as a logical additional way of improving early communication between parent and child. But the video guide based on British Sign Language may be useful to anyone learning sign language to communicate with deaf people.

Q. Won't teaching baby sign delay my baby's speech?

No. In fact, research suggests the opposite is true. Research on babies in the USA has shown that those who were taught signing alongside speech were more advanced than babies who didn't learn sign. But it's important to use both. Signing is not a substitute for speech – it’s an addition to use alongside it.

Q. Why bother teaching baby sign if my baby will eventually learn to speak?

ITV BabySign is primarily a here-and-now tool, making daily life easier for you and your baby. It provides an early successful way of communication before your baby can speak. And that means it can help reduce the everyday frustrations of trying to guess what your baby wants or needs. It's useful – and it's also fun!

Q. Isn't sign language difficult to learn?

Human beings naturally use hundreds of gestures to express meaning. Our distant ancestors signed before developing speech. For parents it's very easy to pick up. For babies, signing requires concentration as their motor skills improve. You can help through a lot of repetition, and by being both consistent and patient.

Q. How long before you see the results?

The speed at which babies learn signing will vary. You can start to sign with them from about six months but it may take several weeks before they start to sign back. Using a few signs on a regular basis with lots of repetition has proved to be the key to success.

Q. What do I do if it's not working?

Don't fret. It can take a while before a baby is confident enough to use signs but, as long as you reinforce the word(s) on a daily basis and keep the learning fun, your baby will eventually grasp the concept. Don't expect too much too soon. And look at our Top Tips section to make sure you're doing everything you can do to help.

Q. My baby's over a year old. Is it too late to start signing?

No – it’s never too late. Toddlers will pick up signing very quickly and the same key words are just as useful later on. At the age of one, your baby's more advanced motor skills will help them make clearer hand shapes.

Q. Is it true that learning to sign makes a baby more clever later in life?

There's some evidence from a study in California which shows that the average IQ of eight-year-old children who learned to sign as babies was 12 points higher than those who didn't. But much more research is needed before any link between baby sign and improved intellect can be proved. And the best reason to use baby sign is that it helps babies while they are growing up – it’s a tool for now, not later.