I haven't followed this thread for some time now... but I thought I'd jump back in. My DS is now 19mos and has nearly 150 signs I'd say... and understands even more of them. BUT he seems to be lacking in verbal communication. I'm convinced he's just taking his time talking and that the signing isn't what's delaying him... but I sometimes wonder.
He can hear perfectly well, and actually communicates well too. He chatters lots, but his words are so far from being intelligible to most. I mean, I can understand him... "ma" means "up", "Gaga" means "Daddy", Animal sounds are the animal, and the list goes on. But no one else knows what he's saying. Also, he says "gaga"for about 5 different things and "bada" means another 10 (at least), and if it weren't for the signs, even I wouldn't be able to tell the difference!
So... is the signing making him lazy? Or... shall I just be super grateful that we did sign in the first place, cause he's able to communicate so effectively until his speech does catch up with his peers?