Tiny Fingers - Baby Sign Language

Whose hands are behind
tiny fingers?

All Tiny Fingers teachers are fluent in American Sign Language.

The tiny fingers program was developed by Eileen Ladino. Eileen is a state certified

teacher with a B.A. in Elementary Education from the State University of New York and an M.A. in Deaf Education from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. She has spent the past 15 years teaching both hearing and deaf children of all ages and abilities. She has taught in both mainstreamed and self-contained settings for various programs in New York, Virginia, and South Korea. In addition, Eileen has enjoyed working as a freelance sign language interpreter since 1989 and is currently experiencing the joy of using American Sign Language with her own daughter. Eileen is dedicated to improving communication between babies and their parents & caregivers through her tiny fingers classes.

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Alexis Greeves, LPC, RPT-S is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor with a specialized training in work with children, adolescents and their families. She received her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University and received her MA from Gallaudet University. Upon graduation, Alexis worked as a school-based mental health counselor at the elementary school on the Gallaudet University campus. She then worked in the training department where she presented nationally on using play therapy techniques with deaf and hard of hearing children. Alexis sees children of all ages in private practice and teaches the graduate-level Play Therapy class for the Department of Counseling and the Department of Social Work at Gallaudet. Alexis has experienced the benefits of using sign language with typically developing hearing babies and toddlers and is enthusiastic about bringing her knowledge of sign language and its benefits in early communication to families.

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Kristie Ketchum started signing in 1975, while working on her BA in

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Lisa Blumenthal is certified Elementary School teacher, with a B.A. in Elementary Education from Washington University in St. Louis and a M.A. from Gallaudet University in Deaf Education. She has spent the past 5 years working at Deaf Addiction Services At Maryland (DASAM) working with Deaf adults throughout the State of Maryland. Lisa believes in the use of sign language as a natural manual communication tool for children. Lisa has been using American Sign Language to enhance communication with her daughter since she was 9 months old.

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Tina Lopez was born and raised in Visalia, California. In high school she started taking American Sign Language classes at the local community college, College of the Sequoias. She absolutely fell in love with the language and decided to pursue a career in Deaf Education at California State University, Fresno.
     She started attending the university in Fall 2004. During her classes at CSU Fresno, she also had the chance to work with a variety of Deaf children and she knew she was meant to teach Deaf children for the rest of her career.
     In May 2006 she graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education and in Fall 2007 completed her Multiple Subjects Credential Program. She graduated with her Master’s Degree in Deaf Education in May 2008. She also received her Education Specialist: Deaf/Hard of Hearing Credential in 2008.
     Tina recently relocated to Virginia with her husband as he pursues his Master’s degree at Gallaudet University. Tina currently works for Fairfax County Public Schools as a high school English teacher for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. Tina has always had a passion for teaching American Sign Language and has seen her own three-year-old niece use sign language to express her thoughts, wants and needs, eliminating the frustration of not being able to communicate many babies and toddler feel. Tina hopes to educate parents of all children on the benefits of using American Sign Language from an early age.

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Mandy Stenger is a DC native and started learning sign language as a toddler from her parents, who are hearing, but had learned sign language

from a deaf family member. Little did her parents know that those signs would stick with her until she grew up and became an interpreter herself. Mandy holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Elon University in North Carolina, and worked as a professional actress all up and down the East Coast. Later, Mandy taught for Gymboree early childhood play programs and also performed and taught children's theatre classes with the Round House Theatre. But it was working as a nanny in New York City, where Mandy had the experience of teaching sign language to young children. Now, Mandy is a professional interpreter with Birnbaum Interpreting Services, and lives with her husband, rambunctious dog, and baby girl, Lucy, in Kensington, Md.

Kristie Ketchum started signing in 1975, while working on her BA in Deaf Education. She got her MA in Deaf Education from Gallaudet University in 1982. She’s had a varied 25 year career in education, including working as an au pair for a deaf toddler in Belgium, teaching at a private pre-school in Washington, DC, and providing speech and language services for infants and toddlers at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, for 13 years. Apparently unable to get enough of Deaf Education, she returned to Gallaudet University, and got her Ph.D. in 2001. As her own children reach adolescence, she is reminded daily of the value of good early communication, and she thoroughly enjoys facilitating language and communication between infants and toddlers and their families.

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