The Importance of Gestures

Why Are Gestures Important?

Gestures can be a very important skill that can be observed by speech-language pathologists to assess a child's language development and cognitive development, a treatment target to help children develop communication, and a tool for assisting a child's language comprehension.

Gestures can provide children a means of communication when spoken communication is not fully developed. They can provide a way for children to indicate their wants and needs and decrease frustration. If a child can learn to use gestures successfully to communicate, it can create a positive interaction and build the child's self-esteem and confidence, encouraging further language development.