Etel Leit

Etel Leit (born November 10, 1971) is a linguist and educator who specializes in American Sign Language, (ASL) Baby Sign Language, and technology for children. She is a pediatric communication consultant and the founder and owner of SignShine, a parenting center in Los Angeles County.
Biography
Etel Leit was born in Jerusalem, Israel. She attended Boyer High School, a school for gifted teenagers. In 1989-1992, she served in the Israeli Intelligence Corps. In 1995, Leit graduated with a BA in Hebrew and Arabic Literature from Hebrew University. At the age of 23, she moved to the United States as part of a teacher exchange program. In 1998, she earned an MSc in Educational Administration and Leadership from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Leit resides in Los Angeles. She has two children.
Academic career
While studying at Hebrew University, Leit worked as an Arabic language teacher. From 1998 to 2002, Leit taught at the University of Judaism’s graduate school and Hebrew Union College. She also developed programs for Hebrew language learning for English-speakers. She has appeared as a speaker at conferences of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Leit is a psychology and communications mentor at UCLA.
Sign language
While pregnant with her first child, Leit began to think about what language she should use to communicate with her growing family since her native tongue was Hebrew and her husband spoke English. Discovering that sign language could fulfill this function, Leit decided to devote herself to integrating sign language with parenting for better family communication and developing the critical thinking skills of babies and toddlers. Her focus was sign language for very young hearing children. While sign language was developed for the hearing impaired, Leit believes it is also valuable for babies with the cognitive ability to communicate and sufficient muscular ability to use body language even before they have sufficient vocal ability to form words.
In her Sign, Sing and Play classes, parents and children engage in interactive games, music, singing and storytelling. They are exposed to over 100 signs.
Leit founded SignShine in 2005. According to Leit, "babies and toddlers who do not sign express themselves by crying, pointing and sometimes screaming," whereas "children who do sign are more articulate because they express exactly what they want, see or need." The benefits of Leit's method, which can be learned from books, flashcards, videos and classes, are said to be "improved IQ, accelerated speech development and less frustration for everyone during the 'terrible twos.'"
Leit is the developer of the SignShine iPhone app. She has been interviewed on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,KTLA Morning News and other news programs. She is a certified Sign2Me Presenter.
Literary and music career
Leit contributes to online magazines such as Ezine, HubPages, and Opposing Views, and maintains a blog. She wrote a chapter for Jenn Berman’s SuperBaby: 12 Ways to Give Your Child a Head Start in the First 3 Years.
Leit has produced three music albums,You are my SignShine: Children's first songs (2018); Let the SignShine: Children's holiday songs (2019) and Here comes the SignShine: Children's activities songs (2019).
Published works
*You are My SignShine!: A Complete Guide to Using Sign Language to Connect and Communicate with Hearing Babies and Children.
Awards and recognition
In 1995, Leit won an award from the Teddy Kollek Fund while studying at the Hebrew University. In 2009, SignShine was voted "Best of LA" by Parents Magazine.

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