About The Baby Sign
Language Academy And Our Team

About BSLA

The Baby Sign Language Academy was created to give parents, caregivers, child care professionals and anyone else involved with young children a place to go to find quality information about using American Sign Language with preverbal infants, toddlers, preschoolers and young children. In addition to providing valuable information in the area of baby sign language, we are proud to have assembled a fantastic team of professionals who work in the areas of deaf education, pediatric speech and language development, early childhood development, early childhood literacy, special needs and parent bonding. We are pleased to tell you about the Baby Sign Language Academy team and to have the members introduce themselves to you by sharing a little bit of information about themselves in the paragraphs that follow below.

About Our Team

Colleen Brunetti
I am Masters level educator with a heart for kids who need that special boost. My undergraduate degree is in Special Education and I triple majored in Special Education, Elementary Education, and Communications. My Master's Degree is in Literacy, with a focus on diagnostic and remedial services for children at risk and/or experiencing reading difficulties. I have also completed additional post-graduate work as a Reading Consultant, with training in designing and implementing reading programs, and creating and leading professional development opportunities for teachers.

After seven years in the public school systems, where I worked as both a special educator and a reading specialist, I left the classroom to stay at home more with my son. For the past three years I have been an online college instructor with the Community College of Vermont. This has allowed me to stay at home and continue my commitment to teaching at the same time. In the Spring of 2010 I started the company "Little Hands, Big Ideas" which specializes in sign language for kids, caregivers, and teachers. Please feel free to contact me either through the Baby Sign Language Academy Contact page or directly through my website, Little Hands, Big Ideas.

Abbey Cook
I am a licensed Speech Language Pathologist specializing in communication therapy with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and the founder of Communication Junction. I have a small speech and language private practice and teach sign language classes for all ages. I am also a certified Master Instructor with the Signing Time Academy as well as the Associate Director of the Academy's Upper Midwest Region. I received my Master's degree from Gallaudet University.

Growing up, I took several sign language classes through the park district and two ASL classes in my undergraduate program. At Gallaudet I was not only able to learn more about American Sign Language and Deaf culture, but I was able to communicate with Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals everyday as I was an assistant coach for the University's swim team.

I currently live in Peoria, Illinois with my husband and two young boys. I have experienced the power of signing both professionally and personally and am truly passionate about the use of sign language to help facilitate language for all. You may contact me either through the Baby Sign Language Academy Contact page or directly through my website, Communication Junction.

JoyAnn DiGiovanni
I am proud that I am Deaf from a deaf family which spans four generations. I received my Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education and have a Master's degree in Deaf Education. I earned both degrees from New York University. I taught ASL and Interpreting courses for more than 25 years. I am working as an American Sign Language Teacher as an Adjunct ASL professor at Palm Beach State College. I wanted to share my outstanding skills with ASL and wanted to see students get the best benefit from a Deaf instructor employing my native language. I give ASL signing classes and workshops. I have volunteered countless hours teaching various groups and organizations. Some examples include baby classes, sign language classes for hearing parents of deaf children, home school courses, a specialized course for medical care givers of deaf children and adults, and a judge for a sign language competition. I am a licensed early childhood and elementary teacher and teacher of the deaf. I hold a New York State Teacher Certification where I worked as a teacher of the deaf in NYC for 15 years and also have a Florida State Teacher Certification. I have an American Sign Language endorsement from the State of Florida Department of Education and have been teaching ASL classes for more than 25 years. I am a workshop presenter and an ASL performer and have been involved in the performing arts in NYC. I am a State Director for Miss Deaf Florida and a Board Director for the Florida American Sign Language Teacher Association of the Deaf. I am very happy to serve as BSLA's ASL consultant and am pleased to share my experience with all our visitors. I may be reached through the Baby Sign Language Academy Contact page.

Kimberly Fries
I am a licensed pediatric speech and language pathologist and founder of Little Hands...Make Big Words. I am a certified Master Instructor with the Signing Time Academy as well as the Associate Director of the Academy's Southeast US region and the Caribbean. I attended the University of Central Florida for both my Bachelor's and Master's Programs. I am married and have two school-aged boys.

While working at an internship during my Master's program, I realized I would always work with children. I admire and adore their thirst for life and knowledge. They do not know their own limits and nothing can stop them from achieving their goal. Children have the ability to persevere when many adults would have given up.

I am involved with many special needs organizations and have experience working with many populations of children, including typically developing, late talkers, Down Syndrome and other genetic disorders, deaf and hard of hearing, cleft lip/palate and autistic. Each child and family teach me something new and I value each of those lessons beyond words. My own children have taught me more about life and love than I ever thought was possible. Both children signed before they spoke and continue to sign today. My older son used his first words right on time, then quickly excelled to be highly verbal and was reading at age four. My younger son was a late talker with other speech issues. He is doing exceptionally well in school now. I have the unique experience of being both the therapist and the parent. The experience reinforced the importance of early language learning and having a rich environment from which to experience life. You can contact me directly through my website, Little Hands...Make Big Words or through the Baby Sign Language Academy Contact page.

Ryan Michaels
I am a freelance graphic artist from Pottstown, Pennsylvania, who specializes in 2D and 3D illustration and animation. When not coaching wrestling or teaching, I work on creating exceptional art and interactive media for the web and mobile devices. My passion is gaming, and I love to create vivid and immersive worlds for people to explore!

Although I started learning about art, gaming and technology at an early age, college is where my real education came. I have a B.S. in Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). While at RPI, I learned about every aspect of game development, from coding and game mechanics, to 3d art creation and poly counts. Throughout my college career I got the chance to work with diverse groups of programmers and designers, and learned to make interesting, efficient art. I learned about effective communication, tight deadlines, and all-nighters. I am proud of my work, but know that I must progress to keep up with an ever-changing industry. I work on sharpening my skills by designing and creating projects on my own; you can view some of these on my website, RCM Games. My passion for the industry drives me to improve every day and work hard to be part of something I have grown up with and enjoyed all of my life. Please feel free to contact me through the BSLA contact page.

Amanda Paxton
I am the founder of Itty-Bitty Signers, a baby sign language education company located on the southern Treasure Coast of Florida and the creator and publisher of the Baby Sign Language Academy Website. My interest in American Sign Language began at a very young age. I took a formal ASL class after graduating from high school but did not pursue further study until seeing first hand the numerous educational benefits my youngest daughter gained as a direct result of using sign language with her. I began formally studying ASL at our local state college where I was pursuing a degree in exceptional student education. I continue taking ASL courses whenever I can and get occasional, supplemental private tutoring with a Deaf instructor so that I may one day become fluent in this beautiful language that has become such an essential part of my life.

I am a Certified Master Instructor with the Signing Time Academy and teach baby signing classes and workshops for parents and caregivers and provide professional development training for early childhood educators throughout northern Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast. I have presented on the subject at local, regional and state conferences in Florida as well as to local child care provider groups in Connecticut and cannot imagine doing anything else! It is such an honor and privilege to work with so many wonderful families and child care providers and facilitate the process of enriching the lives of their children through the beauty of sign language. Please feel free to contact me through the BSLA contact page.
Thanks for taking the time to read About the BSLA Team!