Tiny Talk guides

Does baby sign language delay talking?

No. Studies of hearing babies who sign have not found any delay in talking, and reviews of the research found no sign that baby signing gets in the way of typical development. The research also has not shown that signing makes babies talk sooner. Think of signs as one more way to connect, not a shortcut to speech.

What the studies found

A handful of controlled studies have compared hearing babies whose parents signed with babies whose parents did not.

• The largest early trial followed 103 hearing babies from 11 months to 3 years. Its authors reported an advantage for the signing group on most language measures and concluded that signing did not hamper talking¹. Parents knew which group they were in, and two of the authors founded a commercial baby sign program¹¹, so the positive result deserves some caution.
• The first randomized controlled trial followed 40 babies from 8 to 20 months. Babies whose mothers modeled gestures did not differ from the other babies on any language outcome².
• A smaller study of 16 babies found that more of the signing babies reached early word milestones, but the differences were not statistically significant, and signing did not change how fast vocabulary grew³.

Reviews pull these studies together. One review of 17 reports concluded that the claim that signing speeds up language was not supported⁴. A later systematic review found the benefit for communication unclear, and found no evidence that baby signing interferes with typical development⁵.

Why the worry doesn't hold up

The worry goes like this: if a baby can sign for milk, why would they bother to say it? Research on gesture points the other way. Gesture is part of how all babies learn to talk. Many words that children first express with a gesture later show up in their speech. Children who start pairing a gesture with a word earlier also start putting two words together earlier⁷. Signs fit naturally into that process. Keep talking while you sign, and say the word every time.

The same holds for many children with speech or developmental delays. In a research review of people with developmental disabilities, none of the best-controlled cases lost speech after starting augmentative communication, including manual signs, and most gained some speech⁸. A systematic review in autism found that augmentative communication did not hold back speech⁹. If your child has a delay, signing can be one part of a plan with a speech-language pathologist.

What signing can't promise

Websites that sell baby sign products often claim much more. Researchers checked the evidence cited by 33 such websites. Most of it was opinion or product description. There was not enough good evidence to support claims about language, IQ, tantrums, self-esteem, or bonding⁶. So we make no promise that signing will make your baby talk earlier, raise their IQ, or end tantrums.

What signing can offer is a reason to slow down and watch your baby. In the randomized trial, mothers who gestured with their babies were more responsive to their babies' nonverbal cues².

When signs and words overlap

Many children use fewer signs as they say more words, and some keep a few favorites. Either way is fine. When your child says a word, celebrate it, with or without the sign. A sign plus a word, like signing more while saying "milk," is an early two-word sentence.

Signing is not a reason to wait

Keep an eye on CDC's communication milestones whether or not you sign. By 15 months, most babies try to say one or two words besides "mama" or "dada" and point to ask for things. By 2 years, most say at least two words together, like "More milk"¹⁰. If your child is not meeting milestones, has lost skills, or you are worried, talk to their doctor now instead of waiting to see whether signing helps.

This is general information, not medical advice. Ask your baby's doctor about your own baby.