The concept of baby sign was first documented to be observed by William Dwight Whitney in the 19th century(Baby Sign Language, 2013). Whitney noticed that children of Deaf parents were able to communicate much earlier than children of Non-Deaf parents (Baby Sign Language, 2013). It was also documented that the hearing children of Deaf Adults, referred to as CODA's, had similar verbal communication skills development as children with hearing parents (Baby Sign Language, 2013). William Dwight Whitney's did not conduct any research beyond his initial observations. As a result, it wasn't until the 1970's, a century later, that the concept of baby sign was "rediscovered" and research began.
Dr. Joseph Garcia made similar observations as William Dwight Whitney, when he saw the children of his Deaf friends signing. Dr Garcia noticed that children as young as six months old were able to use signs to communicate with their parents, and by the age of nine months old had developed a significant vocabulary (Baby Sign Language, 2013; Baby Signer, 2004). This was considered significant, due to the fact most babies with Non-Deaf parents do not start to say their first words until twelve months old. Dr Joseph Garcia researched the impact sign language could have on early childhood language acquisition for his graduate thesis, published in 1986(Baby Sign Language, 2013; Baby Signer, 2004). Since then he has continued to examine the benefits of teaching preverbal infants baby sign, and the different teaching methods (Baby Signer, 2004).
During the same time period, Professor Linda Acredolo and Professor Susan Goodwyn, from the University of California, also began researching the benefits of baby sign. They were awarded the first series of research grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to officially study the impact(s) sign language can have on language aquistion (Baby Signer, 2004). Dr Acredolo and Dr Goodwyn were the first to conduct a comprehensive research study on baby sign taught to preverbal, hearing infants.
In 1998, the first official baby sign program for hearing infants was established at the Infant-Toddler Laboratory at Ohio State University, run by Kimberlee Whaley. The program taught infants nine months of age and older, signs taken from American Sign Language (ASL). Since then, countless baby sign companies have been established all over the world, referencing the research conducted Dr Garcia, Dr. Acredolo, and Dr. Goodwyn on the benefits of teaching baby sign. It has gained global popularity, as parents try to take advantage of the possible benefits of teaching their child how to sign.