Then Duchini brought out the soap bubbles.

Aiden stumbled around the classroom with four other children, popping the bubbles in his open hands. After the last bubble burst, he put his fingers together and pulled his hands apart _ the sign for "more."

"Do you want more bubbles, Aiden?" asked his mother, Andrea Balogh.

Long used by the deaf and hearing-impaired to communicate, sign language is now being taught to babies and toddlers with normal hearing. It was even written into the plot of the recent movie "Meet the Fockers."

Supporters say that teaching youngsters how to sign increases IQ, facilitates language development, reduces temper tantrums and boosts self-esteem.

"Gross motor skills are more developed in babies and toddlers than their oral skills," said Duchini, who has taught sign language for 24 years. "This allows them to use their hands to express what their mouths can't convey yet."

Saint Vincent's chief of pediatrics said it's never bad to spend time with your toddler, but he isn't sure teaching them sign language is any better than simply playing with them.

Joseph Barber, M.D., a pediatric neurologist, said he hasn't read a single peer-reviewed article that says children who learn sign language are less frustrated and less moody than other children.

"As a pediatrician, I support anything that fosters communication and attachment between caregiver and child," Barber said. "It's great play therapy, but saying it's anything more than play therapy is a big leap."

Duchini's class certainly seemed like fun. She sat cross-legged on the floor on a recent Tuesday with three moms and a half-dozen children, ranging in age from 1 to about 8.

Focusing on animals, Duchini put her hands on top of her head and waved them back and forth.

"Bunny is an easy one," she told the group. "You just wiggle your ears, and that's a bunny."

Each mom followed Duchini's motions perfectly, and so did a couple of the older kids. Aiden and the other toddlers weren't so compliant.

That's OK, said Duchini. She doesn't expect young children to pay attention throughout the entire hourlong class.

"The classes are actually for the parents," Duchini said. "They learn the signs and use them at home with their kids. I don't expect toddlers to pick up the signs and do them right away."

Besides the sign for "more," Aiden knows the signs for "all gone," "hi" and "bye," said Balogh, who has incorporated signs into everyday activities like changing his diapers.

"You do the signs and hope he starts to pick them up," Balogh said. "He's already picked up a few signs. It's helpful because he can communicate when I'm feeding him."

Jennifer Damon, the mother of 20-month-old Flora, learned about baby sign language classes while searching the Internet. She read that it was a good way to help prevent temper tantrums.

They have attended classes each Tuesday since the training started in June. It took a while for Flora to learn any signs, but then the toddler realized that signing could help fill her belly.

"It seemed like nothing was happening, then she found out it could get her more food," Damon said with a laugh. "We learned more than 60 signs, though now she's talking more, so she isn't quite as interested in signing."

Duchini said it's common for children to become uninterested in signing once they begin to speak. Signing doesn't delay the onset of speech, she said.

"It's quite the opposite," Duchini said. "It helps some children with speech difficulties because it takes the pressure off trying to communicate. But when children start speaking, the signing often fades away."

By David Bruce, Erie Times-News