Dr Elizabeth Kirk is a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of York. Her research focuses on the role of nonverbal behaviours in parent-infant interaction and the impact on linguistic and socio-cognitive development; the development of symbolic abilities in infancy and the relationship between gesture, pretend play, mind-mindedness and theory of mind; and the role of children’s hand gestures in cognitive and linguistic processes, including creativity and spelling.
Elizabeth Kirk, University of York What if babies could tell us what they want, before they start crying for it? Bring in baby signing, a system of symbolic hand gestures for key works such as “milk”,