Sign Language for Babies With Down Syndrome

All babies can benefit from communication through sign language.

Baby sign language provides a simple version of traditional sign language that parents can pick up quickly and teach to their children even before the child is old enough to speak. Babies with Down syndrome or other developmental disorders can benefit greatly from sign language.

Function

Baby sign language uses hand gestures to help parents communicate with young babies that cannot speak or only know a few words. The baby learns the hand gestures and can use these to communicate simple needs such as hunger.

Significance

All babies can learn to communicate through sign language before they can talk, which is beneficial in itself, but this is especially helpful for babies or children with Down syndrome who may have trouble talking. It gives them another way to communicate.

Learning

As a parent or caregiver, you can learn baby sign language from books, websites and software or videos. These tools will teach you some basic signs to use with your children.

When to Start

You can start using sign language around babies of any age. The sooner you start and the more frequently you use it, the sooner your baby will begin to make gestures and signs of her own.

Benefits

Signing allows babies to communicate without speech, and can help children with Down syndrome who have trouble communicating even after they learn to talk. This greatly reduces frustration for babies and children as well as adults.

References

• Babies and Sign Language: Baby Sign Language Benefits Babies with Down Syndrome