Deaf Children to Get Their Own Story Time

Volunteers from the National Center on Deafness at Cal State Northridge will launch “Sign Language Story Time” for children Thursday at a local bookstore.

Two center staff members will interpret several stories during the hourlong session, said center director Merri Pearson. Nina Treiman will sign this week and Heather Benjamin will read the stories aloud.

The free presentation will be a regular bimonthly event in the children’s department of Borders Books & Music in Northridge. Young children and their parents are invited to this and sessions July 27, Aug. 10 and Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. The stories will be suitable for children in first through third grades.

Peter Bisuito, community relations coordinator for the Northridge bookstore, contacted CSUN officials in the spring with the idea of a children’s story time in sign language. He said “Sign Language Story Time” is a perfect program for Borders, which has a history of community service.

CSUN was an obvious place to look for sign language experts because the university is known for its National Center on Deafness, which serves nearly 300 deaf and hard-of-hearing students, he said.

Several trial sessions of “Sign Language Story Time” were held in May and June, with Pearson providing the sign language one evening.

The outcome was positive enough to make the program permanent, she said. She was particularly impressed that the sessions helped the parents of deaf children with their sign language skills.

The National Center on Deafness “is happy to provide volunteer interpreters and storytellers for this endeavor,” Pearson said. “Anything we can do to promote better communication between parents and kids is great.”

The children’s amphitheater is on the second floor of the bookstore at 9301 Tampa Ave., near the Northridge Fashion Center. For more information, call (818) 886-5443.