Twelve little ones brought a parent and sat on the blue rug to listen to Sign2me instructor and mother of three Mitzi Jones.

"Kids naturally mimic," said Jones. "Signing is a mimicking activity."

The class, which is occasionally taught throughout the Salt Lake County Library system, was an introduction to the benefits of teaching American Sign Language (ASL) to pre-verbal children.

Marci Numbers, of Sandy, brought her 2-year-old twins, James and Kate, and 10-month-old, Lizzie, to Tiny Signs. Numbers said she began teaching ASL to her twins when they were about 10 months old. She said when Kate learned to sign "eat" and "more," she was a noticeably less frustrated baby.

Jones said the No. 1 concern people have is whether teaching babies ASL will delay speech.

"That's been proven false," she said. "It's probably because the child is getting a lot of verbal interaction along with the signing. Parents will say the word 'shoes' while signing 'shoes.' "

If James is any indication, parents need not be worried about that. He was conversing in full sentences as well as demonstrating his skills in ASL for the class, signing "thank you" and "sharing." Mom Marci says twin sister Kate also has plenty to say, but not in front of a class full of strangers.

Jones first became interested in sign language when she was a teenager living in Australia as an exchange student. Her host family had a nonverbal Down syndrome son who was about 10, and the family used ASL.

Jones took some ASL classes in college and used some sign language on her own with her first two children. When Jones' third daughter was born, she learned there were programs designed to teach parents to use ASL to communicate with babies, and she became a certified instructor through Sign2me. Jones now teaches sign language classes for babies at St. Mark's Hospital and Salt Lake Regional Medical Center.

The Sign2me program was started by Joseph Garcia, who began his career as an interpreter. He noticed that children of deaf parents who used ASL learned to communicate their needs earlier than children of hearing parents.

Jones said there are many benefits to teaching pre-verbal children ASL.

"Doctoral research has shown decreased tantrums," she said. "That can lead to increased parent interaction and bonding."

She said studies have shown children who were signed to as babies do better in school and score higher on IQ tests.

"We do know from a human-development perspective that during those first through third years the brain is exploding with axon and neurons and making permanent connections in multiple fields," said Jones.

ASL also helps in a bilingual home. For example, the ASL word for "water" is constant, so parents can sign "water" while saying it in any language.

Beyond cognitive development, Jones feels parent-child bonding is the most important aspect of teaching ASL to kids.

"The whole growth aspect comes from paying attention to your kid, talking to them, loving them, being interested in them."

By Lynda Percival
http://www.sltrib.com/sandy/ci_3582918