Bunch the fingers of each of your hands together. Then, with palms facing each other, move your hands together so that all your fingers are touching. This is the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for "more". Now, hold up three fingers on your right hand †the index, middle and third finger †to form a "W" shape. In this formation, tap the index finger to your mouth a few times. This is the ASL sign for "water". Imagine how helpful it is for parents to be able to receive the message of "more water" from their young child. A child who may not yet be able to verbally communicate, or who may be hearing impaired, can at least have the ability, and the satisfaction, of being able to communicate some basic needs and wants to others. This communication is the reward for parents who learn sign language for babies. Baby Fingers, an organization in New York, offers sign language classes that teach children, teens and adults to communicate non-verbally. Their original and primary focus is to offer classes that teach sign language for babies. The company’s founder and director, Lora Heller, has long studied music therapy and deaf education. Her work has lead her to conclude that babies and young children who are able to interact with others using ASL are sometimes better able to express themselves than if using speech alone. Based on her studies and conclusions, she developed methods for teaching sign language for babies. The benefits of being able to communicate with young children and babies as young as six months old are extraordinary. Dr. Marilyn Daniels, author of â€Dancing with Words: Signing for Hearing Children’s Literacyâ€, proposes that sign language for young children can â€activate formative links in the developing brain; teach phonics, vocabulary, word recognition, and comprehension; become a precursor to the recognition of print; provoke positive feedback from others; â€engender feelings of self-worth; and ultimately aid reading and spelling and communicative ability in general.†Such remarkable and rewarding results warrant the parental effort to learn sign language for babies. At Baby Fingers, classes that teach sign language for babies are available for parents and children as young as one month. Classes are taught using a combination of American Sign Language, music, stories, games and dramatic play. Based on Mrs. Heller’s research and experience, classes are designed to increase family communication, enhance a child’s motivation to speak, improve a child’s vocabulary, literacy skills and motor coordination. Lora Heller, MS, MT-BC, LCAT is the founder and director of Baby Fingers and is a Board Certified and Licensed Music Therapist with a Master of Science in Special Education/Deaf Education. Mrs. Heller has offered ASL and music therapy programs at St. Mary's Hospital for Children, St. Luke's Hospital Division of Child Psychiatry & Roosevelt Hospital Preschool, The New York School for the Deaf, and the 92nd Street Y. For more information, or to view a class schedule, visit MyBabyFingers.
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