Benefits of using Key Word Sign with Emotions
Key Word Sign (KWS) is a communication approach that combines manual signs with spoken language to support understanding and expression. In early childhood education, KWS is increasingly recognised as a powerful tool for supporting emotional development, self-regulation, and inclusive communication.
Emotion regulation is a foundational developmental skill that is shaped through co-regulation with adults, repeated emotional experiences, and access to meaningful communication tools(10). When children can communicate their feelings effectively, they are more likely to engage in positive social interactions and develop stronger long-term emotional competence.
Research consistently shows that combining gesture with speech improves comprehension, memory, and learning, making KWS particularly valuable in emotionally rich and socially complex early childhood environments(1,2).
Supporting Emotional Regulation in Young Children
KWS provides children with an immediate and functional way to communicate emotions before they develop full spoken language. This is particularly important in the toddler and preschool years, when emotional intensity is high but language skills are still emerging.
Studies on infant and toddler signing demonstrate that children who are given access to simple signs experience reduced frustration and fewer behavioural escalations because they can communicate needs earlier and more effectively(21,22). This reduces the gap between emotional experience and communication capacity — a key trigger for distress behaviours.
Emotion regulation is strongly linked to a child’s ability to express internal states. When children can sign emotions such as “sad,” “angry,” or “help,” they are more able to seek co-regulation from adults rather than relying on behavioural expression alone.
Programs such as PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) also demonstrate that explicit teaching of emotional vocabulary and regulation strategies significantly improves children’s social and emotional competence(9). KWS strengthens these outcomes by providing a multimodal, accessible pathway for children to express and practise these skills in real-time contexts.
Making Emotions Visible and Understandable
Emotions are abstract concepts, and young children often struggle to link internal physiological states with language labels. KWS makes emotions visible by pairing spoken words with consistent, meaningful gestures.
Gesture plays a critical role in early learning. Meta-analyses show that children understand and retain information more effectively when gesture accompanies speech, particularly when children themselves produce the gesture(1,2). This is especially important for emotional learning, where abstract concepts must be grounded in physical experience.
Research on emotional development highlights that emotion knowledge — understanding what emotions are, when they occur, and how they are expressed — develops rapidly in the preschool years but requires adult scaffolding and repeated exposure(11). KWS provides this scaffolding by making emotional language concrete, consistent, and repeatable across contexts.
Reducing Emotional Intensity through Labelling
One of the most powerful mechanisms in emotional regulation is affect labeling — the process of naming feelings. Neuroscience research shows that labeling emotions can reduce activation in the amygdala (emotional reactivity centres) and increase engagement of prefrontal regions associated with regulation and control(7).
KWS strengthens this process by providing a simple, stable “motor label” for emotions. Because signs are brief and consistent, they are easier to access during moments of high arousal than spoken language, which may be disrupted under stress.
Early childhood interventions such as PATHS and other SEL programs emphasise that naming emotions is a foundational regulation strategy that must be explicitly taught and practised repeatedly(9,8). KWS supports this by embedding emotion labeling into everyday interactions, not just structured teaching moments.
Supporting Communication and Reducing Behavioural Challenges
When children cannot communicate effectively, frustration often manifests as challenging behaviour such as hitting, crying, or withdrawal. Manual signing systems, including KWS, function as unaided AAC systems that reduce this communication breakdown by providing an alternative expressive pathway(20).
Research in AAC shows that when children are given functional communication systems, there is a reduction in behaviours associated with communication frustration and an increase in appropriate communicative attempts(20,13). For example, studies have shown that when children are taught signs for requesting (“more,” “help,” “book”), challenging behaviours decrease because needs are understood earlier.
The Sign 4 Big Feelings intervention specifically demonstrated that sign-supported emotional learning in early childhood settings can improve children’s ability to manage feelings and behaviour(6). This program embedded signs into storybook discussions and daily routines, showing that emotional learning is most effective when it is contextual, repeated, and socially embedded.
Strengthening Educator-Child Co-regulation
Co-regulation refers to the process by which adults support children to manage emotional states through responsive interaction, modelling, and guidance. It is a critical foundation for the development of self-regulation(10).
KWS enhances co-regulation by giving educators clearer insight into children’s emotional states in real time. When children can sign emotions or needs, educators can respond more accurately and promptly, reducing escalation and strengthening relational safety.
Programs such as PATHS and other evidence-based SEL frameworks emphasise that adult responsiveness and emotion coaching are central to children’s emotional development(9). KWS strengthens this responsiveness by reducing ambiguity in communication and providing shared emotional language.
In practice, consistent signs such as “I see you’re angry” or “let’s breathe” become predictable co-regulation scripts that support emotional safety and reduce cognitive load for both children and educators.
Inclusion and Universal Design for Learning
KWS is an inclusive communication strategy that benefits all children, not only those with identified communication needs. It aligns strongly with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles by providing multiple modes of representation and expression.
Research in inclusive education highlights that communication partner interventions such as KWS increase participation, belonging, and engagement for children across diverse learning profiles(3). This includes multilingual learners, children with developmental delays, and neurodivergent children.
Importantly, inclusive communication supports are associated with stronger peer interaction and increased opportunities for emotional learning through social engagement(19). Because emotional development is inherently relational, increasing access to communication increases access to emotional learning itself.
Embedding Emotional Learning in Everyday Practice
Effective social and emotional learning (SEL) requires more than isolated teaching — it requires repeated practice in meaningful contexts.
Large-scale meta-analyses of SEL programs show that explicit teaching of emotional vocabulary, self-regulation strategies, and problem-solving skills significantly improves children’s emotional and behavioural outcomes(8). The PATHS program further demonstrates that structured emotional learning improves emotional understanding, prosocial behaviour, and self-control when implemented consistently over time(9).
KWS enhances SEL by embedding emotional vocabulary into everyday routines such as transitions, conflict resolution, and play. For example:
- signing “calm” during breathing exercises
- signing “sad” during comfort moments
- signing “stop” during peer conflict
This repeated exposure strengthens neural pathways associated with emotional recognition and regulation.
Evidence for Sign-Supported Emotional Learning
A growing body of research supports the use of sign-supported and AAC-based approaches for emotional learning.
The Sign 4 Big Feelings study found that children participating in a sign-supported emotional learning intervention demonstrated improvements in managing feelings and behaviour within early years settings(6). This highlights the effectiveness of integrating sign into story-based and routine-based learning.
Similarly, AAC-focused studies show that when children have access to emotional vocabulary through supported communication systems, emotional conversations increase in both frequency and complexity(5). This includes improved ability to express causes of emotions and coping strategies.
Storybook-based interventions such as STEPS also demonstrate that structured adult-child emotional conversations during shared reading significantly increase emotional language use, particularly when adults are supported to model emotion vocabulary consistently(5).
Together, this evidence suggests that emotional competence is strengthened when children are given repeated, supported opportunities to both express and observe emotional language in context.
Why Key Word Sign works for Calming Strategies
KWS is particularly effective in supporting calming strategies because it provides a simple, consistent, and embodied cue system.
During emotional dysregulation, children often experience reduced access to verbal language. KWS reduces cognitive load by providing single, high-impact cues such as: “breathe” “calm” or “stop”
These cues function as both communication tools and behavioural prompts, supporting self-regulation through embodied learning.
Research on physiological regulation shows that strategies such as controlled breathing can significantly reduce arousal in young children(23). When paired with consistent visual-manual cues, these strategies become more accessible and repeatable across contexts.
KWS also increases consistency across educators, ensuring that children receive the same regulation cues regardless of who is supporting them, which strengthens predictability and emotional safety.
Key Word Sign is a highly effective, evidence-informed approach for supporting emotional development in early childhood. It strengthens emotional vocabulary, supports regulation, reduces behavioural challenges, and enhances educator–child co-regulation.
When embedded within high-quality SEL frameworks such as PATHS and supported by evidence-based interventions like Sign 4 Big Feelings, KWS becomes a powerful universal tool for building emotional competence, inclusion, and wellbeing in early childhood settings.
Reference List
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- Obradović, J., et al. (2021). Breathing and physiological regulation in children.