She said babies are ready to learn sign language long before they can begin talking.

"They know what they want to say," said Thumann. "They're just not mature enough physically to say these things."

The mothers who attended Thumann's 45-minute class at the Montvale Public Library on Friday morning learned to sign such words and phrases as "don't touch," "pay attention," "toilet" and "juice."

Anne Marie Christensen of Montvale said she signed up for the class in the hopes that her 16-month-old son, Andrew, would be able to communicate his needs to her. In the two weeks that passed since the first class, Christensen said, Andrew had learned how to sign, for example, that he was thirsty.

Some experts say that when hearing babies learn sign language, their brains develop further than those of babies who learn only one language. Young children who learn to sign develop their eyes sooner because American Sign Language uses the eyes to transmit information more than any spoken language, according to Marilyn Daniels, a professor of speech communication at Pennsylvania State University and author of the book "Dancing With Words: Signing for Hearing Children's Literacy."

Language is stored and processed in the left side of the brain and information received through the eyes is processed by the right side. Children who sign have the opportunity to use both sides, Daniels told the Magazine of the World Federation of the Deaf in 2001.

"This is a wonderful advantage because you are using both hemispheres of the brain, building more synapses in the brain," Daniels said in the article.

In recent years, baby sign language has been receiving increased attention. In the 2004 movie "Meet the Fockers," 18-month-old twins signed to actor Robert De Niro. In January 2005, the national chain Gymboree began offering sign language classes for babies and their mothers.

On Friday, 19-month-old Ricky Kanai sat peacefully in his mother's lap, quietly observing, while his mother, Aiko, vigorously moved her fingers, trying to keep up with all the signs.

At the end of the class, Ricky waddled over to a gray bag and curved his hands, with his palms facing each other and fingers spread, as if gripping an imaginary ball. He remembered that Thumann had earlier placed a small pink and black rubber ball inside the bag.

"See, he was soaking it in," said Thumann.

By Zinnia Faruque
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