Baby Sign Language Impressed a Child Development Specialist

by Kirsten
(Bethlehem, PA, USA)

I have been using the sign for "milk" with my daughter since she was approximately five months old to indicate her desire to breastfeed.

She took to the sign very well and started making it consistently at about 8 months old. She would use it most usually when being cared for by other people on the rare occasions

I left her alone to ask for a bottle of expressed milk. One day when I was feeling ill, my mom took my daughter to visit her sister who works with autistic and developmentally challenged children.

While there, my daughter wanted a bottle of milk and clearly signed "milk" to her Nana.

My aunt was astonished to see a 9-month-old child communicate more clearly her desires than some of the school aged children she works with every day.

It was a very poignant example of how sign language can help a child make her wishes known without conflict or confusion.