Hearing Loss in Children
Finger Spelling
Finger spelling is a building block in which you or your child uses hands and fingers to spell out words. Hand shapes represent the letters in the alphabet. Finger spelling is used with many other building blocks; it is almost never used by itself. It is most often used with American Sign Language (ASL), Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE), and Manually Coded English (MCE) to spell out words that don't have a sign — such as the names of places or people.
Like all building blocks, you can start using finger spelling when your baby is very young. He or she can learn finger spelling naturally — the baby doesn't need to know how to spell. He or she will just learn that the movements of the hand mean something. For instance:
Contact Us:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
Hearing Loss Team
1600 Clifton Road
MS E-87
Atlanta, GA 30333 - 800-CDC-INFO
(800-232-4636)
TTY: (888) 232-6348
New Hours of Operation
8am-8pm ET/Monday-Friday
Closed Holidays - cdcinfo@cdc.gov
