Itty-Bitty Signers

Hello, my name is Amanda and I am the founder of Itty-Bitty Signers. Words cannot amply express how much my family and I love signing with our little signer, Alexandria. There is not enough space on the web, let alone this page, to describe what a gift it has been to us.

My interest in American Sign Language began shortly after reading a biography about Helen Keller when I was in the 6th or 7th grade. The last pages of the book contained the manual alphabet. I was fascinated to discover that it was possible to spell with your fingers and I wanted to learn how. Studying the signs from the back of that book became the focus of much of my free time, and I am pretty sure that before I was through, those last few pages were just about worn out!

I took a formal American Sign Language class after graduating from high school but then life took over and I did not pursue further study. ASL seemed to pop up at various times in my life, but I never gave it the attention is seemed to be asking of me until the birth of my youngest daughter, Alexandria.

I began reacquainting myself with sign language and using it with Alex a few months after she was born; I thought it would be a nice tool to aid in her communication and a great bonding experience for the family. I could not wait for her to start expressively signing and knew it would come eventually, but the absolute joy I experienced when she did begin to sign back took my breath away...I was hooked! As Alex’s signing vocabulary grew so did my enthusiasm for baby signing and ASL. I have become an absolute advocate of signing with babies as I have seen first-hand the remarkable effects it has had on my own child.

Signing has become my passion. When I realized that I wanted to pursue teaching parents to sign with their babies, I began once again to formally learn ASL. In addition to book and video study, I have taken several on-line classes from Signing OnLine and ASL University (Lifeprint.com). I am currently working toward obtaining ASL interpreter certification through the local community college and continue to take courses through Signing Online.

I am a Level One Certified member of the Sign2Me® Presenters' Network.* My curriculum is based on the use of American Sign Language as outlined in Dr. Joseph Garcia's award-winning SIGN with your BABY® program. I would love nothing more than for every parent and child to experience the amazing joys and benefits of signing together. What a pleasure and an honor it is to help facilitate this process.

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*Sign2Me® is the original baby sign language company based solely on American Sign Language. The Sign2Me® Presenters' Network is a group of instructors coordinated and supported by Sign2Me®/Northlight Communications for the purpose of raising awareness about the benefits of using signs with preverbal infants. Sign2Me® is a highly respected, established company whose primary focus is the development, production, publication, and distribution of print, video, and multimedia resources to help establish two-way communication between hearing parents and their hearing children through the use of American Sign Language signs. Before becoming an approved Presenter, each candidate must meet a rigorous set of qualifications and prerequisites. Presenters who have achieved their Level I Certification have demonstrated a competent knowledge of frequently-used signs and strategies for incorporating signing into daily routines.