Let’s Start with the Basics

Hi there, this is my first official post so I thought I start by covering the basics and then we can move on to the fun stuff!

My name is Sara Bingham and I am the proud founder of WeeHands! Currently, we have 80+ instructors across North America teaching parents to use American Sign Language vocabulary with thier babies, toddlers and preschool children!

I completed an honours Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics at the University of Ottawa, and also have a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Carleton University. In addition, I have an post graduate diploma from Georgian College, as a Communicative Disorders Assistant. Before starting WeeHands, I worked for 6+ years with children with special needs. I have been studying American Sign Language (ASL) since 1991 with the Canadian Hearing Society, the Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf and at Durham College.

I’m the proud mom of two signing not so wee ones: Joshua, age 9 years, and Sabrina, age 7 years (they keep aging!). I also teach at Durham College within the Communicative Disorders Assistant program and I am a retired group leader for the parent support group, Attachment Parenting International of Durham Region.

WeeHands™ was born in 2001 in my empty dining room. Eventually, the class size got too big for the room (and my brother-in-law gave us a dining set!) so I had to find space in the community in Whitby (Ontario). This same month a group of moms from Mississauga (Ontario) requested a class-on-demand and our schedule quickly snowballed after that!

Our classes teach parents how to use American Sign Language vocabulary with their babies, no made up signs here! We also have a strong focus on language development and provide parents with activities that help them teach their babies ASL vocabulary and include language development strategies.