However, they usually are not able to produce speech until after 12 to 24 months of age. As parents, we are left to wonder what is going on inside their little heads as we wait in anticipation for their first words. By teaching your child gestures or signs as well as spoken words, they are more quickly able to understand and communicate with the world around them. In the last few years research has been conducted to show the benefits of signing to your pre-verbal child. It actually encourages earlier communication.
Sign enables a child to be an active communicator at a much earlier age.
He can initiate communication exchanges instead of being a passive observer. Additionally, researchers at the University of California have linked infant sign to a boost in IQ scores. I have been signing with my daughter since she was 6 months old. It has opened her thoughts to me. Thoughts that she would not have been able to share until she was much older.