Hands that Speak: Understanding Sign Mand Training
What is Manding?
Communication is one of the most fundamental human skills. For children who are not yet speaking, the ability to make their needs known can be life-changing — not just for them, but for the people around them.
In Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a request is called a mand. It is a type of communication that occurs when a person asks for something they want or need. Many of our daily interactions include mands — ordering a cup of coffee, asking for directions, requesting a colleague to send a file. For learners developing early communication skills, mands are often the most functional and socially significant skill to target.
What makes a mand distinct is that it is driven by motivation. If a child is thirsty, the value of water increases, and the motivation to request it becomes strong. This is why mands are so powerful: it directly benefits the speaker. Mands meet the learner’s immediate needs while showing them that communication has a meaningful impact on their environment.
But what happens when speech isn’t yet available? That’s where sign mands, i.e., using signs to request come in. Signs can act as a powerful bridge, allowing a child to “speak” with their hands while their speech is developing. They are visual, physical, and like spoken words work immediately to reduce frustration and build independence. Additionally, research suggests that signs may become paired with sounds or words, supporting speech development.
Who is Sign Mand Training for?
For sign mand training to be effective, it must align with the learner’s current abilities and communication needs. Sign mand training is often considered for:
Learners with limited or no vocal speech — children who are not yet using words reliably to communicate.
Learners with motor imitation skills, particularly fine motor imitation, as this supports learning and producing reliable signs.
Learners who are not yet successful with other augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, like Picture Exchange (PECS) or Speech Generating Devices (SGD).
The key is to match the communication method to the learner, ensuring it is accessible, functional, and motivating — allowing the child to take part in meaningful interactions without unnecessary delays.
What to teach? Selecting Signs based on Motivation
For any form of communication to be meaningful, it must connect directly to what the learner wants or needs. Sign mand training is no different — the first signs taught should be for items or activities that the learner is genuinely motivated to obtain.
Both vocal and sign mands are taught under the same principle: motivation drives communication. Whether a learner “says” ball or “signs” ball, the process begins with a motivating operation (MO) — the desire for the ball — and the behavior of requesting/manding for the ball must be reinforced by getting that ball.
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Here is a general sequence to follow when beginning sign mand training-
Pick signs that the child can reasonably approximate with their motor skills
Begin with specific mands for single, highly preferred items or activities. These give quick, reliable opportunities for successful communication and reinforcement.
If teaching more than 1 sign, pick signs from different reinforcement categories (i.e., play, social, edible, activity)
What does the Research say?
Parents often raise a concern- “will my child not speak if he begins to sign?”
Here’s the answer- Several studies have examined how teaching manual signs can support communication in learners with developmental disabilities, often alongside or compared to other AAC systems. Here are some key findings:
✋ Tincani (2004) – In a PECS vs. sign-language comparison, some children using signs showed increased vocalizations, suggesting signs can support speech development.
🗣️ Carbone, Kasper, et al. (2010) – Manual sign mand training with prompt-delay not only taught signs effectively but also boosted vocal requests in some learners. This is directly on point for sign-mand work and prompt-fading procedures.
📚 Sundberg– Mand-focused teaching accelerates development of other language skills, such as echoics and tacts, supporting a strong early communication foundation.
✅ McGreevy et al. (Essential for Living) – Recommends signs as a practical, functional communication method for many learners with limited vocal behavior.
How to Teach Sign Mands: From Prompting to Independence.
Teaching sign mands is a step-by-step process designed to move learners from requiring prompts to communicating independently. The approach blends careful prompting, consistent pairing of signs with speech, and immediate reinforcement to ensure signs are both functional and motivating.
The Autism Clinic’s Sign Mand Training Protocol at a glance:
Identify when the learner shows motivation for an item.
Model the sign while naming the item.
Prompt using the least intrusive prompt
Fade the prompt: full physical → partial physical → model → independent.
Always pair signs with spoken words to encourage vocal imitation.
Deliver the item immediately while repeating the word.
Use differential reinforcement to shape accuracy and independence over time.
Prompt fading is the cornerstone of effective mand training, ensuring that communication shifts from being dependent on adult prompts to being controlled by the learner’s own motivation.
The videos below will demonstrate the fading progression using real clinic examples:
Beginning Sign Mand Training (Providing Full Physical Prompts)
Fading to Imitative Prompts (Full Prompt to Imitative Prompt)
Prompt Removed to evoke the Independent Sign Mand (Imitiative to No Prompt)
Fading from Reinforcer in sight to out of sight (Item to Motivation Transfer Procedure)
Children with autism may initially learn to request preferred items using speech or manual signs only when the item is present in sight. To build more independent and generalized communication, it is essential to teach mands for items that are not immediately visible.
In this video, the therapist systematically creates this learning opportunity by briefly removing the item, waiting for the independent sign under motivational control, and then delivering the reinforcer immediately.
Sign mand training offers children an immediate and accessible way to communicate, effectively giving them a voice from the very start. By equipping learners with a functional means to request and interact with the world, it lays the groundwork for the development of more complex verbal behavior. In many cases, the ability to communicate in this way also helps reduce problem behavior, as children gain an alternative to frustration-driven responses. For some learners, sign mands become a bridge to vocal speech — a significant step toward independence and a more connected life.