What do you do?

Ethereal

Ethereal

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I was talking with my ASL instructor today (I was in her class last semester) and she said she had surgery a while ago that made it impossible to use her hand and she wasn't able to sign for (if I recall correctly) 7 weeks. What does a deaf person do when something happens that makes it impossible or highly difficult to use their hands? (Whether permanently or temporarily)
 
You do what you can. Keep a closed fist and see if you can carry a mock-conversation. Don't forget your facial expressions! They become very important now!

Steve
 
Well, I said "hands" because I am curious what you do if you can not use both of them.
 
It sounds like you're talking about Carpital Tunnel Syndrome. It's where the wrists and hands lose their nerves and feelings. It's caused by signing too much and typing too much. Sometimes, it's caused when the wrists and hands are used the wrong way. They do have surgery and it does help... but the surgery can only be done once. If you get CTS again, then you're screwed for life. I know a few people like that.
 
My ASL teacher had CTS surgery and they specifically did her surgey ONE hand at a time so it wouldn't be an issue.

I've also seen people who've had their jaws wired shut (because they got broken) use a pointer device and word/symbol card to communicate while they were healing.This would still be an option for someone Deaf since the pointer can be attached to the hand cast.
 
Ethereal said:
And what do they do?
Click to expand...
They reduced signing and moved to different departments. The former Dean of NTID had this problem. He used to sign for himself. After the surgery, he had to have a full-time interpreter at his side. He later resigned from his position and a new dean took over. He's now a faculty member who is now a director of a different department (I think).
 
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