Interesting Article about Signing with babies. This topic is always a big decision for families of newly identified kids with hearing loss.
Researchers from the University of Hertfordshire have found no evidence to support claims that using baby signing with babies helps to accelerate their language development.
Dr Liz Kirk said: "Although babies learnt the gestures and used them to communicate long before they started talking, they did not learn the associated words any quicker than the non-gesturing babies, nor did they did they show enhanced language development."
However, of significant interest, the study's findings did reveal that mothers who gestured with their babies were more responsive to their babies' non-verbal clues and encouraged them to think of their baby as an individual with a mind. This has great potential in clinical situations where early gestures from babies or young children may provide timely interventions where there is risk of language delay or impairment.
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