News
Baby signing: the view from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
27 Oct 2003
Do parents need to buy baby signing 'programmes' to teach their child to talk - as advocated in recent publicity concerning commercially available baby signing programmes? Not according to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT). An RCSLT spokesperson says: "Research evidence supports the use of gestures to help babies focus on what they hear - much as child-directed speech does - as part of 'normal' parent-child interaction. There is also some evidence that supports signing for babies with Down Syndrome to help speech and language development. "However, it is not necessary for parents to learn formal signing such as British Sign Language for children with no identified risk of speech and language development. A structured signing 'programme' is not necessary to enhance the communication development of typically developing children. "The College is concerned that the use of signing does not replace/take priority over the need for parents to talk to their children."
(Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, Press Release)
