When it comes to giving her 15-month old son Spencer a jump-start in life, Lisa Fazzio is all ears.

An elementary school teacher in Chalmette, Fazzio keeps up with the latest research in child development and applies what she learns through daily reading, creative play and classes that help her reinforce her son's progress at home.

So far, she and Spencer have done a baby music class and a baby gymnastics class. In a few months, she plans to enroll in a baby reading class and a baby art class.

But among their more intriguing summer activities is a baby sign-language class that aims to help tots with perfectly normal hearing communicate through the use of simple physical gestures before they achieve spoken language.

"At first we were concerned about it stifling his speech," said Lisa as she, Spencer and husband Zachary waited in Harahan for a class to begin called Talking Toddlers. "If anything, it has made him want to talk more."

Although research into the value of sign language for hearing babies dates to the early 1980s, it is only in the past year or so that the concept has gained widespread popularity, with hundreds of classes springing up across the United States.

Much of the credit goes to actress Debra Messing, who used sign language with her own baby, and the movie "Meet the Fockers," in which toddler Little Jack uses signs to communicate with his grandfather, played by Robert DeNiro.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, most toddlers master at least 50 spoken words by the end of their second year and can talk in short sentences, although there are differences among children. Boys, for example, typically develop language skills more slowly than girls.

Fazzio said it is for that reason that signing has had such a positive impact.

"(Through signing), he can tell us if he's hungry and if he wants more," she said, demonstrating the signs for each thought. "He tells us when he's had enough, and he tells us when he wants a bath. He's not as frustrated because he is able to tell us what he wants."

In addition to classes, there are dozens of books, Web sites and DVDs on the topic, among them "My Baby Can Talk," part of the "Little Einstein" video series; "Signing Smart with Babies and Toddlers" (St. Martin's Griffin, $15.95), which uses songs, games and other activities to introduce signing to children; and "Signing Time," a sign language video series.

"Babies have thoughts and ideas before they are able to speak and they use their hands and arms long before they can speak," said Betsy Dobson, a preschool special education teacher who specializes in language delays and hearing-impaired education. "The whole idea is that if you can communicate with your child and your child can communicate with you, the frustration level will melt away."

A teacher at McDonogh 26 Elementary School in Gretna, Dobson started Talking Toddlers this summer after delving into the research and testing sign language on the children of relatives and friends. Just as she does in her class, she started out using simple signs, speaking the words simultaneously, to teach such concepts as "more milk," "I'm wet," and "I'm full."

She was amazed at how quickly the children picked up on her communication.

"When my mom saw my nephew do the signs for 'more cheese,' " Dobson said, "she was convinced and said, 'You should teach this to hearing kids.' "

Dobson's class runs weekly for six weeks and is geared to children from about 10 to 24 months old. She uses play stations such as music, art and stories to introduce 12 to 20 new signs each week. At the fourth class of the series, Dobson incorporated sand and water play to teach the concepts of "dirty," "wet," and "dry."

Dobson said such signs are especially helpful in teaching children how to let you know when they have a dirty or wet diaper.

Developmental psychologist Dr. Pat Blackwell is a strong proponent of sign language for hearing babies and incorporates signing in her Wee Wonders brain development classes for infants.

"This is not meant to replace verbal communication," Blackwell said. "In fact the opposite is true. The research shows that when parents communicate using signs, babies show an advantage in language throughout their early development."

The process begins with making eye contact, demonstrating the sign and saying the word that corresponds with the sign, she said.

"Then you encourage your child to do the sign by literally making the sign with the baby's hand. Through repetition, the baby will master the sign, then the sign and the word together. Eventually, the sign will drop out and the baby will use the word exclusively."

Blackwell uses the research of Susan Goodwyn, a professor at California State University at Stanislaus, and Linda Acredolo, a professor emeritus at the University of California at Davis, to extol the benefits of baby sign language.

In a long-term study financed by the National Institute of Health and conducted at the University of California, they compared children who had been encouraged to use signs with those who had not and found that babies in the sign language group consistently scored higher on standardized tests measuring receptive language development (how they understand) and expressive language development (how much they can say).

In 1996, the two came out with what is believed to be the first book on the topic, "Baby Signs: How to Talk With Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk." They have since formed their own company, Baby Signs Inc., which certifies instructors and produces videos to help parents who want to teach baby sign language at home.

Earlier this year, Catholic Charities of New Orleans tried a baby sign language class for the first time, and although only two parents and toddlers attended, they will offer it again in September, this time at a location more convenient than Catholic Charities' downtown office.

Shari Bernius, director of the agency's Deaf Action Center and lead instructor of the class for hearing babies, said the smaller the class the more effective the outcome.

"It allows you to give special attention to each child and parent," she said. "It's not a structured type class. We allow for a lot of flexibility and we make it fun."

Each week was devoted to a different theme, incorporating the use of books, stuffed animals, puppets and toys. Themes included animals, colors, food and sports.

"Each child has their own needs, and we try to cater to them in different ways," Bernius said. "The most important part of the class is for the parent to learn the signs and consistently use them at home while their child is eating or playing. If they don't use it at home, they will forget it."

Patti Ready, who enrolled in the Catholic Charities class with her daughter McKenzie, then 15 months old, said what they learned was remarkable.

"All of a sudden out of the blue, she will use one of the signs," Ready said. "She uses the sign for 'more,' and she can tell me if she's hungry. If she hears a bird, she will do a sign for bird.

"She's just at the age where she's starting to say more and more words. But the sign language has really helped her put it all together."

Rushell Chabaud began using sign language with her daughter when she was about 10 months old. She made up a lot of her own signs and purposely kept signs to a minimum so as not to overwhelm her. Initially she didn't see any results and questioned the effectiveness of such communication.

"It was frustrating," she said. "I felt like I wanted to quit because nothing was happening. Then all of a sudden, it started. She was about 12 months old. It began with eating. I would feed her, then stop. And she would give me the sign for 'more.' She would wake up in the morning and put her hand to her mouth, which told me she was ready to eat. She'd put an imaginary cup to her lips and tilt her head back, which told me she was thirsty. It helped tremendously with her frustration level because she could let me know what she wanted."

In time, Julia began replacing signing with verbalizing. Now that Julia is 20 months old, "It's been an explosion of words," Chabaud said. "She's like a parakeet. She mimics everything, and every day it's something new."

Ready said signing not only minimized her daughter's frustration but hers as well. "Instead of yelling across the room or raising a big stink with your child, you can communicate calmly," she said. "The whole experience has been awesome."

By Barri Bronston