Signs Workshop: the Importance of Natural Gestures in the Promotion of Early Communication Skills of Children with Developmental Disabilities Ana Margarida P. Almeida 1 , Teresa Condeço 2 , Fernando Ramos 1 , Álvaro Sousa 1 , Luísa Cotrim 2 , Sofia Macedo 2 , Miguel Palha 2 1 Department of Communication and Arts, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810- 193 Aveiro 2 Differences, Child Developmental Centre, Centro Comercial da Bela Vista, Av. Santo Condestável, Loja 32, Via Central de Chelas, 1950-094 Lisboa This article emphasises the importance of natural gestures and describes the framework and the development process of the “Signs Workshop” CD-ROM, which is a multimedia application for the promotion of early communication skills of children with developmental disabilities. Signs Workshop CD-ROM was created in the scope of Down’s Comm Project, which was financed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and is the result of a partnership between UNICA (Communication and Arts Research Unit of the University of Aveiro) and the Portuguese Down Syndrome Association (APPT21/Differences). This project’s main objective was to research (and translate into an interactive multimedia application) examples of natural gestures from the Portuguese culture, in order to ensure the expansion and flexibility of its use by parent, educators and therapist who care for children with developmental disabilities, particularly children with difficulties in the development of speech. Children with developmental difficulties, especially those with Down Syndrome, present changes in the development and use of language, with particular emphasis at the speech development level [1] [2] [3] [4]. Hence, the subsequent difficulties to communicate surface since the pre-verbal stage, which result in a general tendency to show passivity in communicating and in a low ability to take initiative towards interacting with other individuals. The Sign Communication Systems or Sign Language Systems, when organized in symbolic or coded signs, are examples of the Augmented Communication Systems frequently used [5]. In effect, in the specific case of children with Trisomy 21, the Augmented Communication System designated as Total Communication (simultaneous use of signs and language) is intensively used as a temporary system of transition during the early stages of speech development. This transition temporary system is particularly appropriate to children who did not initiate speech exercise around the 12-18 months of age, and who, in consequence, present signs of frustration by their incapacity of being understood by parents, siblings or other individuals [5]. The research made by the APPT21/Diferenças team, with the objective of standardizing the signs to include in the CD-ROM, was gathered among Portuguese population (continent and islands) with diagnosed Down Syndrome, who, in an early