4 Benefits of Using Baby Sign Language

Hi, I’m Amanda, a licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist (Speech Therapist). I am passionate about empowering you with the tools to get your child talking. I love working with parents to take the guesswork out of getting your baby, toddler or preschooler talking.

Are you 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 about baby sign language? Are you 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 if sign language is 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡?
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You could read the rest of this caption but I’ll keep it short and simple.
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If you have not already started introducing sign language, this is your message to START now.
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There are many 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨 of using sign language.
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It is a MYTH that using sign language will 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙮 spoken language.
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4 BENEFITS OF USING BABY SIGN LANGUAGE
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1. Sign language gives your child another way to communicate. It gives your baby a way to communicate BEFORE spoken words. You can introduce sign language to your baby early on and as early as 6 months of age.
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2. Sign language promotes the development of 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨.
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3. Sign language 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨 frustration. This will help during times when your child is upset and it will give your family another way to communicate.
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4. Research indicates that children who are exposed to sign language early on, have 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙫𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 later on.
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Baby sign language supports communication, motor and social emotional development.

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You can find one of my favorite books for introducing sign language by clicking here.

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Do you use sign language? Comment below and let me know!

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If you found these tips useful be sure to download your FREE Speech Sound Development Guide with first words tips to learn what sounds to expect and how to encourage those first words!

Looking for more tips to help get your toddler talking. Check out my online course, Talking Tips Academy™ that is now available for preorder by clicking HERE.

What counts as a word? How many words should my toddler say?

Hi, I’m Amanda, a licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist (Speech Therapist). I am passionate about empowering you with the tools to get your child talking. I love working with parents to take the guesswork out of getting your baby, toddler or preschooler talking.

One of the most common questions I get asked by parents is, “How many words is my child expected to say? ” It’s important to know what counts as a word. When children are learning to talk their words are not expected to sound exactly like the adult version.

What counts as a word?

1. Word Approximations- This is common in very young children. A word approximation is when a child says part of a word versus the entire word. For example, “ba” for ball.

2. Animal Sounds “oink”, “moo”, “woof”, “quack”, “meow” (These are easy for children to say and imitate. This is a great place to start if your child is not talking yet.)

3. Sound Effects: beep-beep , vroom (These are perfect sounds to make while playing with cars.)

4. Exclamatory Words: These words easy for children to imitate and are fun to say. Some examples include “wee”, “yay”, “ow”, “uh-oh”.

5. Sign Language

We count it as a word if your toddler uses the word CONSISTENTLY, INDEPENDENTLY and INTENTIONALLY to refer to someone or something. If your baby or toddler says the word once, it would NOT count as a word. It is important to keep these word types in mind when counting the number of words that your child has. You may find that your child says more words once you refer to this list of what counts.

If you found these tips useful be sure to download your FREE Speech Sound Development Guide with first words tips to learn what sounds to expect and how to encourage those first words!

Looking for more tips to help get your toddler talking. Check out my online course, Talking Tips Academy™ that is now available for preorder by clicking HERE.