With the problem solved, the Greenwood family bedded back down for the night.

That incident alone convinced Patrick and Dana Vargo of the benefits of teaching their hearing child to sign.

"If we were skeptical, that did it for us. That one sign alleviated a long restless night for us," said Dana, 33.

Gabrielle, now 15 months, is among a growing number of hearing babies and toddlers who are being taught simple sign language to convey their needs. About 200,000 parents nationwide have enrolled in "Baby Signs," a program developed by Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn, two California-based child-development professors.

Their program is featured in the Universal Pictures' release "Meet The Fockers," in which 2-year-old twins Spencer and Bradley Pickren use sign language in their shared principal role of "Little Jack." Some of the hand gestures between the twins and their grandfather, played by Robert De Niro, are hilarious as De Niro portrays his grandson as a baby genius.

In real life, the gesturing is used to help infants and toddlers express themselves nonverbally, even before they can utter their first words, said Mary Morris of Greenwood, one of four Baby Signs instructors in Central Indiana and the district manager for the program.

Since Acredolo and Goodwyn first released their book 10 years ago, Baby Signs has been translated into 14 languages.

"It all started when my daughter Kate was a year old and she pointed to a rose bush and sniffed," Acredolo said on the phone from California. First the sniffing gesture, then a scratch under the armpits for the word "monkey," and next a flap of the arms for the word "bird." That's how Kate's sign vocabulary grew."

Acredolo and Goodwyn began recording Kate's gestures and eventually her verbal development.

"There is absolutely reason for babies to communicate what they are thinking and feeling . . . there is no down side, no negative effect," said Acredolo, citing research conducted with the National Institutes of Health on how sign language impacts a child's verbal and cognitive development.

In their third book, "Baby Hearts," scheduled to be released this summer, Acredolo and Goodwyn expand on research about the emotional and social development of a child's first three years of life.

Interest in Baby Signs has been sparked over the years by word of mouth. In the past two years, about 500 Central Indiana children have learned Baby Signs through various workshops.

Tested in day-care center

Morris first introduced the sign language to infants in her home day care.

"By the time the infants were three months old, they could recognize the signs and words that I would say," said Morris, 46, who added that the children first responded by waving their arms, cooing and kicking their feet. Eventually, they began to sign back to her.

As word spread, Morris gave up her day-care business and began teaching Baby Signs full time, offering two-hour introductory workshops, followed by six-week, 45-minute playgroups. The workshops cost $50; six-week classes cost $125. Both include materials.

At one recent workshop, Gabrielle joined her mother and other parents and toddlers in a circle facing Morris and a large bear puppet named Beebo, the program's mascot. Together, they sang about mealtime, signing the words for "eat," "drink," "more" and "done."

The six-week "Sign, Say, and Play" workshops are themed to introduce parents and their children to some of the most popular signs that apply to their daily lives. More than 130 drawings are included in the Baby Signs dictionary; many are similar to American Sign Language.

Sometimes distracted by the playgroup, Gabrielle wandered off to follow her own interests, but in no time, she puckered up her lips, demonstrating the sign for "fish."

"It looks like she's not paying attention, but when she first learned the signs for 'ball' and 'jacket,' she came back with the signs a few days later," said Vargo, who practices the signs with her daughter at home during mealtime and playtime. Even Gabrielle's extended family -- aunts, uncles and grandparents -- have learned to communicate through sign language.

"The biggest thing is, this cuts down on frustrations when she can't say what is on her mind," said Vargo. "We were at Disney World recently and waited in line over 45 minutes for some rides, but we never had a tantrum because she could tell us what she wanted -- a drink, snack, or to be held." She also made up her own sign for sunglasses by blinking her eyes toward the bright sunlight.

Proponents of the program say Baby Signs is a natural progression of an infant's instinctive movements such as waving "bye-bye" or using a headshake to say "no."

Builds social skills, too

In addition to reducing frustrations, those who participate in Baby Signs workshops say, the circle time helps children learn to socialize.

"She isn't in day care, and this gives her a chance to be around other children," said Elizabeth Orsay, who is learning Baby Signs with daughter Nicolette Balazs, 8 months.

Whether or not signing helps children speak earlier depends on whom you ask.

"A slight concern I would have is that these kids might rely on sign language later on as they begin to speak," said Derek Houston, director of the Infant Language Lab at Riley Hospital for Children. "Maybe that frustration they feel is a motivator to get them to talk." He added that, as early as nine months, children can identify the rhythm of their native language.

"I think the biggest benefit is that infants are able to communicate their basic needs at an early age, when an infant's comprehension of speech is way ahead of his ability to produce the sounds," Houston added. Research indicates the median number of words understood by a 12-month-old is 70; the median number produced is six.

Linda Carroll, a speech pathologist with St. Vincent Hospital, said some research suggests children who learn sign language in infancy do better with English, spelling and overall literacy than those who do not.

"I look at signing as a second language. I think it should be introduced along with verbal language, similar to teaching Spanish with English," said Carroll. "We all know children catch on quicker than adults when it comes to learning languages."

In the Baby Signs play circle, each word is sung as it is signed. During class, Gabrielle's hands flailed through the air. While her motor skills are developing, she sometimes second-guesses the signs -- but eventually catches on, her mom said. It's similar to children's early speech: The words aren't always clear.

As the recent group session came to an end, Gabrielle continued dancing to the music. Her tongue tickled the inside of her mouth for the word "frog." Jumping around the room, she grabbed her coat to leave, giving her mom the sign for "slide," indicating she wanted to go play.

"What's really funny is when Gabrielle gets together with her friend from the class," said Vargo. "Sometimes they run into each other in Wal-Mart and have their own little conversation in sign. It's fun to watch them talking like two adults."

By T.J. Banes