Many of us tend to focus only on a child’s spoken communication – Are they speaking yet? What kinds of words are they using? Are they putting two words together? These questions are important and tell us about the child’s language skills – but what about gestures? Are they using gestures yet? What kinds of gestures are they using? Are they putting gestures and words together? These are important questions as well. Gestures, the actions we use to communicate ideas, are significant in communication development. The gestures a child uses, even before they begin speaking, give us helpful information about a child’s communication development!
One way to understand how gestures develop is following the ‘16 by 16’ framework. By 16 months, children may use at least 16 different gestures. Children may develop gestures in different ways, but may use at least 2 new gestures each month between 9 and 16 months. Gestures prompt the learning of spoken words. At around 18 months, children may combine gestures and words.
Let’s look at gesture development!
Below, you can see which gestures tend to develop at different times. Not all children follow this framework; it serves as a guide to what we may see. For more information, read the complete 16×16 package here: https://firstwordsproject.com/16-gestures-by-16-months/.
- 9 months
- Take and give objects and shake their head for “no.”
- 10 months
- Reach toward objects and raise their arms to be picked up.
- 11 months
- Hold up and show objects and wave by wiggling their hand.
- 12 months
- Point with an open hand and fingers spread, and tap objects to express interest or draw attention.
- 13 months
- Clap and blow a kiss by watching and copying others.
- 14 months
- Point with their index finger and use their index finger to make the “shh” gesture.
- 15 months
- Nod their head or give a thumbs up for “yes,” and use other symbolic gestures to share ideas (e.g., wave a hand in front of their face to show something is stinky or hold up a hand to say “wait”).
- 16 months
- Use more symbolic gestures, such as giving a high-five or shrugging to say, “I don’t know.”
Speech-Language Pathologists encourage caregivers to use gestures with their children all the time. However, sometimes caregivers express concern wondering if gestures will hinder their child from speaking. Let’s look at how gestures influence speech development.
Gestures help children communicate with their hands – engaging in symbolic and creative actions – when speaking may be difficult. Gestures also elicit speech from others. For example, when a child uses a gesture, a listener may respond with speech, giving the child an opportunity to hear new words.
What does the research say?
Research shows a strong link between gestures and communication development.
- Children combine gestures with words before combining words together.
- Children who use more gestures in early life have larger expressive language vocabularies as they grow up.
- Children with and without expressive language delays have more language gains when caregivers use words gestures and words at the same time in interactions.
With this in mind, we can be confident that gestures play a very positive role in children’s language development. Gestures can be part of your everyday communication. Consider how you can use gestures to help your child understand words in your daily routines.
Here are some ideas to get you started!
- Use gestures in songs.
- Use gestures and words at the same time.
- Point to or hold up objects as you talk about them.
- Use iconic gestures to show what new words mean (e.g., spreading your arms for ‘big’; pretending to eat for ‘eat’).
- Acknowledge gestures your child uses by copying them or adding words to match the gesture.
- Respond to gestures instead of waiting until your child uses words.
Gesture development is crucial in communication development. Though gesture development does not look the same in every child, gestures are important indicators of early language development.
If you have questions or concerns about your child’s gesture development, consult with a Speech-Language Pathologist!
