by Wendy Bulawa

Created on: July 15, 2008   Last Updated: January 16, 2011

For some, it looks like little more than fingers smacking one another in almost random fashion. For others, it's a vision of rhythmic conversation.

Widely considered the fourth most commonly used language in the United States, American Sign Language (ASL) employs gestures made with the hands and other movements, including facial expressions and postures of the body.

Once reserved for communicating with the deaf, sign language is undergoing a rebirth as a way for new parents to understand the needs of their children long before verbal communication begins. In the Special Needs community however, sign language has, and can, provide a meaningful piece of the early language development pie often bringing much needed relief from months of inquisition, frustration, sadness, emotional desperation and worse, silence.
Imagine how frustrating it would be if you knew what you wanted to say, but were unable to say it. This exact same frustration grips infants and children who oftentimes know what they want or need, but cannot express themselves.

According to Signing Time (www.signingtime.com) co-founder Rachel Coleman, "Children naturally play with their hands as they develop fine motor skills. Adding rhythm and movement to hand play helps commit all elements to memory." Perfect examples of the marriage between physical and verbal communication are childhood favorites, The Eensy Weensy Spider' or Pat-a-Cake.'

Coleman, a mother of two girls-Leah (who is deaf) and Lucy (who has cerebral palsy and spina bifida)-created a captivating and entertaining family of products to make sign language accessible to all children. "Every child can benefit from sign language," she said. "Pre-verbal infants and toddlers can easily communicate through signs before they can speak. Children with special needs often find that sign language is the miracle of communication. I have never once heard from a parent who did not feel there was benefit to using sign language."

For Stow, Mass. residents Joshua Libby and Maisie Hochella, sign language isn't just a supplemental form of communication, it is a daily ritual. Joshua, who became deaf at the age of three, not only uses standard ASL, but an advanced form of sign called cueing' with his wife Maisie- who is not hearing-impaired. In 2005, the couple gave birth to daughter Harper, who was born with Down syndrome and consequently, failed her newborn hearing test. The initial concern was that Harper would be permanently hearing-impaired. Harper, now

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