Sign Language and Makaton for Speech Development

Sign systems like Makaton give your child a way to communicate before — or alongside — spoken words. Many parents worry that signing will delay talking. The consistent message of current research is the opposite: alternative communication tends to support spoken language, not prevent it. When your child can communicate successfully, that success motivates them to keep trying.

BSL vs. Makaton — they are not interchangeable

	British Sign Language (BSL)	Makaton
What it is	A full, independent language of the UK deaf community (declared an official language in 2003), with its own grammar and regional dialects; it has existed for over 250 years	A communication support system created in the 1970s by three UK speech and language therapists, combining signs, picture symbols, and spoken words
Who it's for	Deaf and hearing-impaired children and adults; for deaf children born to deaf families it is typically their first language	Hearing children with speech, language, or communication difficulties — used alongside speech, and usually faded out once spoken language develops
How it works	Signs plus fingerspelling, with its own syntax	Signs (some borrowed from BSL, but the systems differ) plus symbols plus speech — signs are always accompanied by spoken words

The deciding question is simple: BSL is a language; Makaton is a scaffold for spoken language. Which one your child needs, if either, is a decision for the specialist team — a speech and language therapist, audiologist, or educational psychologist.

Why you should not fear signing

• Teaching alternative communication does not stop children from speaking, and it can support speech development. For babies, it is a communication tool before the typical age of speech. For children with delays, successful communication creates positive experiences that motivate spoken attempts.
• Signing may also benefit cognition in children without hearing loss or learning difficulties — a possible bonus, not the main point.
• One caveat: if your child has speech-sound difficulties, those difficulties usually appear in all the languages and systems they use where the sounds overlap. Signing does not bypass an underlying speech disorder — but it does keep communication flowing while therapy works on it.

Practical resources

• Makaton: makaton.org is the official site (including non-English support); the BBC's "Something Special" with Mr Tumble teaches Makaton signs and symbols to children. Makaton is used in around 40 countries.
• BSL: british-sign.co.uk offers courses and a fingerspelling practice game.
• Your speech and language therapist should have resources tailored to your child — ask before buying anything.

These resources are UK-based, since Makaton and BSL originated there. If you live elsewhere, check what sign and symbol systems your local services use — for example, American Sign Language (ASL) in the US — with your child's therapy team.

For children who may not develop full spoken language

For children who may never fully master spoken language, therapists work on other forms of communication — symbol systems, gestures, or sign language — rather than waiting for speech. This connects to AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) devices and to approaches like intensive interaction and objects of reference. Early signing is also standard practice in many programs for children with Down syndrome.

Not medical advice. Choosing between BSL, Makaton, or another AAC approach should follow an assessment by a speech and language therapist or audiologist — the systems serve different needs and are not interchangeable.