In its infancy, structured sign language was developed as a method for Deaf people to communicate with each other. In one form or another, it has been in practice for many years. In fact, one of the founding fathers of sign language was a sixteenth-century Italian physician named Geronimo Cardano. He developed the notion that Deaf people could learn to communicate by using a standard set of symbols. Until the late 1950s, however, the use of sign language was a controversial subject, and not everyone saw it as a legitimate form of communication. For years, sign language was banned even in schools for the Deaf. This was done in an attempt to mainstream children who were deaf or hard of hearing.

Today, sign language is widely used and accepted but is still considered to be the method of communication used primarily by the Deaf and hard of hearing. Certainly, the Deaf and hard of hearing make up the largest portion of signers, but sign language can be used by anyone with speech limitations to communicate with others. The Deaf, the mute, the developmentally challenged, and those with speech delays or handicaps all use sign language.

All young babies, regardless of their hearing capabilities, are unable to speak for the first few months of their lives. On average, babies do not speak their first words until around twelve months of age (though any time from nine months to fifteen months of age is considered within normal limits). Babies will not begin to construct simple sentences of two to three words until at least eighteen months of age. In fact, many toddlers are nearly three before they have a well-established command of the English language. This lack of communication can be frustrating for both the baby and his parents. Fortunately, however, babies typically have more control over their hands than they do over their speech. If their gesturing skills are cultivated, they can use this control to communicate long before they are able to speak.

Though sign language has been around for hundreds of years, it has only been in the last twenty years or so that baby sign language has grown in popularity. Even more recently, baby sign language has become almost trendy. As more and more families continue to discover the immense benefits that signing provides to their babies, baby sign language may someday be viewed as a traditional, legitimate, and even a common use of sign.