Westside : Santa Claus Takes Requests in Sign Language

Santa Claus is a pretty amazing guy. He seems to know all the spoken languages--and sign language, too.

The jolly old elf proved that he can “sign” when he showed up with live reindeer at a party for about 250 hearing-impaired children in Santa Monica on Tuesday. Using hand signals, Santa reassured the anxious youngsters that he would bring his sleigh by their homes Dec. 24 to fill their Christmas requests.

The party is an annual event called Silent Sleigh, which was started 10 years ago by Mike Glad, the father of a 15-year-old deaf son, Michael. Frustrated that he and his wife could not find a Santa to speak in sign language to Michael, Glad began hiring his own deaf Santas.

Now Glad hosts several annual events in California cities. . . .