Birgit Schwickert and SeeMeTalking


Birgit, born in Germany, a mother of 5 little children and a husband who is German as well, raises her children trilingual: English, German, and American Sign Language (ASL). She has been living in Austin, Texas since 2006.
Birgit has a Ph. D. in Physics from Ohio University, was a Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley for 2 years and then worked for IBM in San Jose, California. When her first son was born 6 years ago, Birgit decided to change her life. She quit work, enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom, and started the journey of learning ASL with her hearing son. Having seen first hand how powerful and enlightening it is to have a signing baby, Birgit decided to become a presenter with Sign2me and form her own company, SeeMeTalking. She is holding classes, workshops and childcare and teacher training – spreading the word on ASL to the hearing community through story times and family nights.

“It has been one of the most special moments for me as a mother to see my children sign their first signs. I wanted to share my enthusiasm with other hearing families: There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the parents’ proud faces when they tell me in class that their baby has signed, to see the smile on a pre-K child when he mastered to bend his fingers in a way to get the sign just right.
American Sign Language, widely accepted now as a powerful communication tool for babies, empowers older children to expand their literacy skills. I love working with Preschoolers and Elementary school children, seeing their tremendous progress in fine motor development skills and expanding their vocabulary through ASL.”

 - Birgit Schwickert