Celticty

I knew two Deaf kids when I was in grade school and got interested in sign language. I lived in a small town so I didn't get to learn much after grade school so I stopped and recently I had a huge desire to learn and maybe become an Interpreter. Started working at a hospital and worked with a deaf woman that was a patient a few times and once i started learning I was able to start talking to her and I loved it.

Deafness

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jamielee

i have been interested since i was a child, totally fasinated with it.. finally I meet some Deaf classmates and then ended up dating a Deaf fellow for a year, now I am fluent but no longer with the guy, we still chat and the rest in history. love the Deaf community here, its always a blast!

Hermes

I wasnt interested until I came here..

Hermes

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“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

web730

Cool

Music_Life

My friend's mom is an interpreter and gave me a few classes when I was about 11 or so, and I have a deaf friend, and then I found out they gave it as a foreign language credit at school and I've been taking classes for almost one and half years.

RedFox

Then why did you come here?

shel90

I am glad that AllDeaf got you interested in learning ASL. The more hearing people become fluent in ASL, the better because it gives hearing people a better understanding of deaf people and that we are not dumb.

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~Shel~

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

agentpigeon

I very much suspect you are being sarcastic here, but I just have to know for sure. Are you aware that there is no Matthew chapter 29, much less any verses that go with it? (Since the chapter you chose to "quote" is right after the last legitimate chapter in Matthew, I think it would be a pretty remarkable coincidence, but still...)

That reminds me of a joke I heard once where a Pastor gave a sermon on honesty, and at the end of the service promised to continue the following Sunday. He asked the congregation to read Mark 17 in the meantime, so they would be prepared for the upcoming sermon.
The following Sunday, when he asked how many had read the passage, some in the congregation raised their hands. The pastor informed the audience that there is no Mark 17, and promptly resumed his sermon on honesty.

Munchkinsdad

Well I would like to get my hands on that missing chapter about Jesus' life!

I am learning ASL at the over-ripe old age of...well old.
I became interested in it after I met a certain person who said it would be in my best interest. I went to an ASL Convention soon after and was so blown away that I never looked back.

faire_jour

I have a daughter who has a progressive hearing loss. We chose to sign with her right from the start. She is 5 now and is severe-profoundly deaf. We use ASL as the language in our home and for education. She is also receiving a CI in the next month or so.

Miss Kat's Deaf journey

Hermes

Do you really want to know?

I came here to talk on a specific topic. I had some questions to ask and you can actually read it in this thread: http://www.alldeaf.com/our-world-our...-thinking.html

But once I was here I enjoyed being here and talking to people and I came to visit more often.

But the way you ask the question, do you think all hearing people come here to learn ASL? Because I am not sure if AllDeaf forums function as a source for teaching this language.

-

__________________
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

AprilMB

Hi, all, I'm a newbie here I somehow stumbled upon your site and thought I'd join in on this thread. I was always interested in ASL as a child, and every opportunity I got to learn a new word I would do it. I moved to Florida in my 11th grade year of high school, and found that the high school I was going to attend offered ASL classes. I took two years of it, and now I work at a psychiatric hospital with a deaf unit. We currently have about 10 patients and maybe that many deaf care workers. I wouldn't say I'm fluent, but I'm pretty good!

web730

Cool and welcome aboard, AprilMB!

SimplyMints

I keep seeing this thread, and until now, haven't dared to click on it for fear I'd be unwelcome. I'm deaf, so if you don't wanna read what I have to say, don't.

I've only recently lost the last of my hearing this summer. After my first audiologist visits in 1999, I've known for 9 years that I'd "soon" be totally deaf. I've learned some ASL, but not much. Now, my family are learning SEE, so I thought it best that I learn SEE too because communication with my family is important to me, but I've decided that I'll eventually go back and learn ASL as best I can after I watched several videos on YouTube of deaf people fighting over how ASL was cool and everything else robs the deaf community of its cultural base. Even though I have no trouble understanding ASL, and ASL signers don't seem to be having any trouble understanding me, I don't wanna be considered a traitor and be excluded from social activities because I don't use proper ASL.

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"A world that is not on the verge of annihilation can still be perfectly stimulating, and definitely not boring." - Andrea Berlinghoff

RockingSigner

I first got interested when we had to take ASL in music class cause we would sign to the songs in Church. I also love the idea of speaking with the hands. I find that and deaf culture interesting. In a good way

SKOREAPV83

I went to school with Deaf kids (& HoH kids who sign). Due to my social impairment I saw little potential to having non-signing friends. Finneytown Secondary Campus in Cincinnati, OH is the Hamilton County unit for Deaf/HoH education. It's where Deaf/HoH kids go when they live outside the city limits of Cincinnati but within Hamilton County & are going to be mainstreamed.

It was International Day @ Finneytown Middle School. Classrooms were set up to represent different regions of the world during the educational event. A Deaf girl one school year behind me came into the area where I was volunteering - Latin America Food. I kind of stammered on the words, "Welcome to Latin America.........food." After everyone else left the room, the Deaf girl, her interpreter, & I stayed. I stared at their conversation & was thinking, "What are they doing? They're just moving their hands in special ways & not saying anything." But then it hit me so hard like, "BONK!!!" My thoughts continued: "Sign language. They must be doing what is called 'signing'. That girl must be Deaf. I wanna learn her language & see if I can have her as a friend."

I looked around the lunch room for 20-something days & NEVER saw the same interpreter. Nor did I see a different one. So I realized I was totally on my own to learn sign. One week there was a book fair, & The Pocket Dictionary of Signing by Rod R. Butterworth & Mickey Flodin was available for $7. I had a $10 on me so I turned right back around & bought it. What few signs I knew in 1997, I signed them so well that the Deaf kids at school could NOT tell I was a beginner. So when we'd have communication breakdowns, they'd get very angry. I continued to self teach for 4 years then finally began ASL classes at Cincinnati State College. I later decided to earn a Deaf Studies Certificate from them too. Now I am proud to have my Deaf Studies Certificate. I've known ASL now for 11 years. But I most often sign PSE cuz I am closer friends with the Deaf-Blind who tend to prefer PSE more than ASL. But if a signer prefers ASL, it's no problem.

My mom tells many people that I've always "been good with my hands". So I know that signing is a very good use of my hands. I am so glad I know ASL/PSE now. I will make sure I NEVER forget it until the day I die.

My first big success with the Signing Community was in 1999. Nearly all of the Deaf kids became my good friends (& are still my good friends to this date) once I discovered that when I don't recognize a sign I can just try to show them the sign I don't recognize & tell them to fingerspell what it means. I had an even bigger success with the Signing Community in 2002 & 2003 when I was in college. That second big success all fell down right before my eyes the very next night after my grandfather died, but I will NEVER give up.

ssumma

I started for several reasons. Number one reason, is I have several friends that I want to understand completely when they talk to me. I also want them to understand what I'm saying when I talk to them. That was my main reason for learning ASL.

Secondly, I'm a 9-1-1 dispatcher. The new wave of 9-1-1 technology called "NG911" (Next Generation) vs E911" , will probably have video capabilities, to include allowing for the deaf to VP their nearest 9-1-1. So, I wanted to have my foot in the door, and to allow my knowledge to make the new technology as good as we possibly can. I'm heavily involved in VRS, VP, any kind of technology that , that allows.

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shel90

Due to some hearies' experiences with deaf people at their school while as children, that's why I think it would be so awesome if there was a BiBi program for ASL/English in some classes at the public schools and both deaf and hearing can attend. I think that will help hearing people be more understanding of Deaf culture and ASL when they become adults. Love reading your posts aobut your experiences with deaf children while u were children.

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~Shel~

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

jillio

That would be a great alternative to traditional placements.

Juana29

Hi everyone!
I am a preschool teacher from Peru, but now I live in Miami. My first language is Spanish, my second German, my third English and now my fourth ASL... and I love it!!! (I am in my first month lol) I will love to teach someday to Deaf and HOH Kids... I' ve always been interested in learning Speech pathologies but ASL crossed in my way when I was learning English in the college. Each day it turns to be a very interesting language... the bad news is that I don't know anybody from the Deaf Community in Miami... but I'll keep looking!!!

shel90

Wow! 4 languages! I am impressed! Welcome to AD!

I am sure there is a large Deaf community in Miami. I do not know anyone who lives there but I am sure many of my friends probably know someone there. Hopefully, someone from Florida can help u out there. During the meantime, enjoy it here!

__________________
~Shel~

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

SimpleMan

Originally, many years ago when I was still in highschool, I used to go to Wag's restaurant (they're like Denny's) and I would remember often seeing deaf people at a table signing to each other and always thought it would be great if I could talk to them. I had been in boy scouts in the past and we were fortunate enough to learn to sign the alphabet, but that was all I knew. Then a few years ago I met a deaf girl and her friends and in one month that she visited me, she taught me many signs and I got to the point where I could communicate my point across at least. She also later found and introduced me to this website and I have hung around since. Unfortunately, things got whacky and we went separate ways, but I am still grateful for what I learned from her and for having been introduced to your community.

As a side note, last year I was doing direct sales and while I was at a customer's house, I found that the lady's son was deaf. They were both impressed that I was able to communicate with him, and it made me feel good that I could communicate with him. I found that I can communicate almost as well with sign language as I can with german (I took 2 years of german in high school but only remember very basics).

Ms. Lopez

I want to study to become a teacher for the Deaf and hard of hearing in graduate school and recently made some deaf friends so I am slowly teaching myself through the internet until I start school.... If anyone would like to help me learn...I'd love that!

Adam

Our youngest son was very slow to learn how to speak. We taught him signs so he could communicate with us. That was 10 years ago. It really got me interested in the language as I think it is a very beautiful language. Back then my hearing was perfect. Now I have a profound loss in my left ear and a severe loss in my right. My wife and I use it now in certain situations out of necessity.
Adam

Passionate4ASL

My first exposure to the Deaf community and ASL was when I was growing up; we had an elder couple that lived next door and was Deaf. As a child I was often bewildered and mesmurized by them. One time we were playing soccer in the yard and the ball hit their house, we immediately paniced afraid to be in trouble but then thought, oh no they are deaf they will not know. Our nerves no sooner settled that He came outside and was not happy! Now as an adult I know better. Stepping stones like this along with learning the ABCs in Girl Scouts led up to meeting my Grandmother-in-law. Her name was Jincey and she was deaf, at first I was way to nervous to attempt to sign and soon after I started trying to learn she was tradegicly taken away from us in a house fire. I promised myself I would continue to learn in her honor, my passion for the Deaf community and ASL has only grown stronger and stronger the longer I learn. I had taken classes in college while going for an Elem Education degree. I wanted to finish my degree but just couldn't resist that Miami Dade College is offering an Interpreting degree, so I changed degrees and working towards my dream job.

Juana29

great !! I am taking the same Sign Langugage Interpretation at MDC, just started ASL1... maybe we have seen each other before

Passionate4ASL