About Us

Happy Baby Signs  helps parents live with more joy by illuminating new ways to nurture, communicate, and connect with their children. We have been providing baby sign language classes since 2005 and have taught more than 20,000 parents how to sign with their babies. Our program is founded on more than four decades of evidence-based research and uses American Sign Language (ASL). We believe using ASL with the hearing population nourishes a more inclusive community. Our classes are a fun-filled way to teach parents how to introduce sign language into their baby's everyday routines through songs and interactive activities.

We offer on-demand recorded and live online classes. We have taught at multiple locations nationwide including Kaiser Permanente Hospitals, Sutter Health, Dignity Health, Stanford WorkLife, Children's Creative Learning Centers at Cisco Systems, Bright Horizons at Lucas Films Digital Arts, and multiple libraries and parent clubs.

Bill White
Founder, Author, Teacher, Dad

Photo: C. White

Bill White is the founder of Happy Baby Signs, co-author of Signs of a Happy Baby, with Kathleen Harper. He has facilitated baby sign language programs at medical centers such as Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health,and Dignity Health hospitals, childcare centers such as Stanford WorkLife, Cisco Systems, Children’s Creative Learning Centers, Genentech, The Down Syndrome Association of Toronto, and parent resource centers such as Blossom Birth, The Nesting Spot, and Natural Resources. Bill is passionate about how signing greatly helps babies connect with their parents and is the proud father of two hearing sons who both sign.
​
Bill received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychobiology from University of California, Santa Cruz. In addition to teaching sign language courses, he has worked as a commercial print and hand model. He has had 25 years of dance training and has taught dance classes locally to children and adults. He worked as Director of Operations for Kidsfaire and was the fashion show director and choreographer for Modern Bridal Productions for 25 years.

Email Bill

---

Kathleen Harper
Author/Life Coach

Photo: C. White

Kathleen Harper is the author of The Well-Crafted Mom, co-author of Signs of a Happy Baby, a Certified Martha Beck Life Coach, and certified massage therapist (CMT) for moms.  She believes that at the heart of each of us, we know exactly what we need in order to be happy. As a life coach, Kathleen helps moms shift from overwhelm to awesome.  When Kathleen was a new mom she struggled with feeling confused, resentful, and overwhelmed. By focusing on the difficulties of motherhood, she missed out on so much joy.  "After working with my own life coach, my life doesn't look all that different - same house, same family, same job - but it FEELS extraordinary," she says. "I experience joy daily. I am authentic in my relationships. I truly love what is.  Life coaching changed my life.  Let it change yours."

Email Kathleen

---

Lauren Conley M.A. CCC-SLP

Lauren Conley is a bilingual (Spanish/English) Speech Language Pathologist who also has a passion for sign language! Lauren received her Master’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology from the Ohio State University, where she took American Sign Language.  Lauren has worked in early intervention since 2013 where she uses her ASL signs daily, with songs and stories.  Lauren found that signing is not only beneficial to teaching early communication, but it is also FUN!  Lauren has a baby girl who loves to watch her favorite song ‘let it go’ come to life with sign language.

____________________________________________
​

Hi!

I am Lauren Conley, owner of Dynamic Expression LLC. I have been a Speech Language Pathologist for over 11 years, with a specialization in Autism. I began as an ABA therapist, and now am a neurodiversity affirming therapist with trainings in Gestalt Language Processing, Play Project, Hanen More than Words, Relationship Development intervention, and Augmentative Alternative Communication supports. 
'
I want to share something personal about myself. In 2020 my daughter was born, and in 2022 I found out that she was Autistic. There is a panic that every parent feels when they are not sure what their child needs. The world of parenting special needs children, and especially Autistic children, is one of the most overwhelming and chaotic messes I have ever encountered.
I started with what I knew, which was the INTERACTION is the secret sauce to long-term growth. It wasn’t how many words she had or what concepts she learned or what toy brought her joy.  My goal for her third year of life was to engage WITH her and help her stick with me, even when there were moments of uncertainty.
'
This is how I run my sessions. I work with families to increase the authentic connection with their child. We also learn about unique communication styles (think Gestalt Language Processing.) We follow a total communication approach (think Baby Signs and tablet devices with pictures) with individual support that is unique for every family. When you work with me, it will feel like visiting a friend who lives and breathes the world that you are newly (or perhaps not so newly) entering.
'
Licensed in: Relationship Development Intervention (RDI), and Hanen More than Words. With additional trainings in the Play Project, DIR Floortime, The SonRise Program, and ABA Therapy (past).'

Lauren Conley, M.A. CCC-SLP
Located in Columbus, OH, and licensed Speech Language Pathologist in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, and California.

---

Courtney Laschkewitsch

Courtney has a strong passion for American Sign Language because when she was young, she became hard-of-hearing for about 3 years. This gave her a glimpse of the deaf world at a young age, what it was like to communicate, and the passion to share and teach American Sign Language and Deaf Culture. Her aspirations include teaching sign language in 3rd world countries, doing work as a photojournalist, and bringing her creative product designs to market. Courtney is ambitious, organized, and loves to add her own creative style to her classes.

Other than teaching and tutoring students in American Sign Language, Courtney loves to travel, Swing dance, does a variety of martial arts, and loves dipping her feet into new and exciting activities. She can’t wait to change the world, one sign at a time.

---

Erika Vetter

Erika Vetter fell in love with sign language in her childhood, when she befriended a Deaf girl in her Brownie Scout troop. This friendship continued for many years and led her to volunteer in the hard-of-hearing preschool during recess when she was still in elementary school.  Erika received her Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology and Audiology with Teacher Certification at Elmira College.  She earned her Master's Degree as a Teacher for the Deaf for grades K-12 from Canisius College in upstate New York.  Erika has taught both Deaf and hearing children for the past 18 years in schools such as the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and the California School for the Deaf in Fremont and currently works as an ASL interpreter and instructor.  Erika's thesis on teaching ASL to preverbal hearing children, along with her recent coursework in bilingual education, has reinforced her belief that signing with children can produce amazing results.  All three of her children started signing between six and seven months old and still sign on a daily basis.  Erika delights in seeing ​children empowered with a tremendous ability to communicate effectively at a very early age and is eager to share her experience and enthusiasm with you.

---