While more and more literature supports the use of signing as a valid communication alternative for nonverbal autistic children, few clear statements exist that speak to the efficacy of training in one mode over another. This article presents a summary of the language characteristics of autistic children and relates them to existing research supporting both sign alone and sign plus speech as viable training modes. Although no definitive conclusions can be drawn from the literature regarding the choice of teaching language in one mode over another for all autistic children, clinical implications are given regarding existing data and its application to autistic children. Procedures for determining the optimal sign teaching mode for a given child are also discussed, and a call for additional research is made.
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