Is baby sign language the same as ASL?

Are you wondering if baby sign language is some secret hand signal system that only each mother and baby would recognize? Or, is it the same as American Sign Language? Or, is it somewhere in between?

Check out our article about which system is best for communicating with your baby by clicking on the link below:

Article - Are baby sign language and American Sign Lanugage the same thing?

Baby Sign Language article

Are you wondering if baby sign language is only for deaf babies or babies who are identified as hard of hearing?

If so, check out our article, "Baby Sign Language is not only for Deaf Babies" by clicking on the link below:

Baby Sign Language article

Baby Sign Language Research

There has been a lot of research regarding using American Sign Language with children in the following areas:

1. baby sign language for hearing babies
2. baby sign language for non-hearing babies
3. baby sign language for babies and children with learning disabilities
4. baby sign language for babies and children with genetic conditions that pre-dispose them to learning and developmental disabilities or delays
5. using American Sign Language in daycare and school settings

For details on any of these areas of research, visit our website:

Baby Sign Language Research Link

ASL for hearing babies

A lot of people ask me if they should use American Sign Language with their hearing baby. If their baby can hear, why promote a language geared towards deaf people? Won't it just delay their actual speech?

I thought the same thing. I wondered if they may have a delay in spoken language if I taught them baby sign language.

In both of my daughters' cases, they signed about 40 signs by the time they were 2 and they also spoke about 40 words. Now, some of the signs and words were the same, but not many, so they ended up with a total vocabulary of about 60-70 "words". They both talked at 2 years of age, which although it was not early, it was not late either.

It simply allows babies to communicate before their vocal chords are sophisticated anough to vocalize their needs and wants. It really works!

For more articles on the benefits of using baby sign language, visit our website:

Baby Sign Language website

Turning a non-believer into a believer

My sister-in-law was not convinced that sign language would work. She was certain that babies could not be communicated with and that all they did was cry (obviously she does not have any children).

One day in the summer, while most of my in-laws were visiting, my husband and I went golfing and left our daughter with my mother-in-law and my three sisters-in-law. We left them a list of all of the signs that Casey could do along with a book describing each sign.

When we returned home from golfing, they were all raving about how easy it was to babysit Casey. She would sign for them and they would look up the sign in the book and give her what she wanted. There was only 1 sign we forgot to put in the book (probably one she just learned). They said that there was only thing they could not do for her and when they asked her for the sign, she made the sign for "music". She wanted them to turn on the radio!

Now, all of my in-laws are firm believers in teaching children American Sign Language!

More info on teaching your baby to sign

Wikipedia has this to say about teaching your baby sign language:

"Children can begin to learn sign language at between six and eight months of age. At this age, a baby can hold a gaze for a couple of seconds. Teaching usually starts with three to five signs. Because speaking remains a goal, words are usually used along with the signs. Eye contact and emphasis on the word also help."

For the rest of the Wikipedia information on ASL for babies, which includes tons of research links, click the link below:

Wikipedia's information on teaching ASL for babies

Baby sign language classes

If you are interested in getting some hands on time with other parents learning sign language, or if you prefer to learn from a teacher instead of a bookor video, here are some classes you can check out:

Click here for classes in the US, Canada, UK as well as other international countries.

Happy signing!

Baby Sign Language Research

American Sign Language has been used extensively with babies, infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-aged children since the 1970s and earlier - and not only deaf children but hearing children as well. There is a great deal of research in this field.

For example, in 1974 the Chicago Linguistic Society published a study showing that the hearing children of deaf parents who were exposed to both ASL and the english language were able to communicate more effectively using ASL than they were able to communicate using their verbal skills.

Stay tuned for more details of completed research in this field showing the benefits of communicating with hearing children through American Sign Language.

My babies' first sign

I remember when my children were born and I was trying to teach them sign language. I was fully committed to the idea, as I had read up about it and was really looking forward to having it pay off in allowing me to communicate with my baby.

With both of my daughters, they signed at about 6 months of age, which is phenomenal!

I nursed each of them and when I would nurse them, I would say "milk" and make the sign for "milk" at the same time. Then, I would nurse them (you would do the same with a bottle). It didn't take much effort at all and I was rewarded with my baby crawling over to me and holding up her hand to sign "milk". WOW! No more crying, all she had to do was ask.

And so our sign language for our babies began!