For Hearies Only

jillio said:
That's not corny at all, Shermy. If Linda Bove made you think sign language was cool, mission accomplished!
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:giggle: :giggle: Well............I'm am from Illinois..........we got lots of corn!!!! :giggle: :giggle:
 
Schermy said:
:giggle: :giggle: Well............I'm am from Illinois..........we got lots of corn!!!! :giggle: :giggle:
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LOL! I posted in another thread yesterday about my memory of the first time my son saw Linda Bove on Sesame Street. He was jumping up and down signing "Lady deaf, lady deaf! Same me!" Realizing what a monumental experience that had to be for him brought tears to my eyes. And getting so excited over seeing someone like himself, an experience that hearing children take for granted, left me with the constant awareness of how being denied that has such a profound impact on a deaf child's development.
 
JackRabbit86 said:
"There are a thousands good excuses but never any good reasons" <- some crazy self help book.

I stated in my intro my reasons, but hey why not here as well,
I'm a hearie, and I am learning to sign for religious reasons, to comply with Matthew chapter 29:19,20.

ASL interested me because I like to play video games and ASL is a very hand oriented language. It helps keeps my focus when people are talking to me, because if I miss a little bit of what a person is saying, I lose the entire concept of what's going on.

I consider myself a child learning a new language, so it's difficult to recognize new words but eventually I'll get it.

Nice to meet all everyone
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If you don't mind me asking...I was just curious on what you meant when you said you were learning for religious reasons. I looked up Matthew 29:19,20 and couldn't see an obvious connection.
 
Tousi said:
Cheri, you were born hearing?
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Nobody knows, if we did or not, but the truth is they found out at the age of 5 we were losing our hearing, but we didn't lose it all until couple years later, We haven't got straight answers from anyone in the family. I remember we wore hearing aids when we were I think 5 or 6 years old, I believe, or maybe I'm wrong. :dunno:
 
Hey AquaBlue...what about deaf people who grew up oral and learning ASL later on. Do we count?
 
Byrdie714 said:
Now I'm curious.....

How did you come to the conclusion to teach your son ASL instead of going the way of oral method like 90% of hearing parents do?
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Because I recognized that the frustration he was experiencing was the result of being forced to do something that relied on his weakest sense. It just did not compute for me. I saw too many holes and unanswered questions in the oral philosophy. ASL just made sense. It made sense to me that I did not know what a deaf child experienced, and therefore, what they needed, and the onlly person that could tell me what it was to be a deaf child was a deaf adult that had experienced it. It's pretty much the way I address everything in my life. Emotional reactions don't offer solutions. Logical assessment does.
 
For the past several years, I've gone to the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. It's like a little city that is created for one week every August for the past 30+ years.

This, like most women's festivals, accomodates Deaf individuals by making sure all concerts, presentations and workshops are interpreted. I found this fascinating... loved watching the 'terps more than the performers at the concerts... and that's because the 'terps ARE performing.

Last year, I was standing away from the crowds at a concert, and a Deaf acquaintance came up to me to compliment me on what I was wearing. I felt TERRIBLE that I didn't know her language enough to stumble through a :ty:

So I started taking a beginner's ASL class last fall. At the same time, I learned that the daughter my son and his girlfriend were expecting would be born with Down syndrome. Since DS kids/adults are prone to being HOH or deaf, I was even more happy I was learning.

My granddaughter was born on Dec. 27, and she's beautiful. And even though she is not deaf, she will be learning to sign!
 

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shel90 said:
Hey AquaBlue...what about deaf people who grew up oral and learning ASL later on. Do we count?
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yeah ... I'd like to know that too ... I'm not sure separating us all out really helps - gosh knows most of us have faced enough separation without adding to it on the AD board
 
Actually, AquaBlue, to title a thread "hearies only" on a deaf message board could very well be perceived as offensive. Historically, the deaf community has been oppressed by what the "hearies" think is best for them, rather than having been treated as autonomous, capable people that are able to determine their own needs. Not a criticism, just a suggestion for perhaps a change in language.
 
Thanks jillio. The title of this thread is not meant to be disrespectful toward any/all Deaf individuals. I am sorry if it has caused anyone hurt.
 
AquaBlue said:
Thanks jillio. The title of this thread is not meant to be disrespectful toward any/all Deaf individuals. I am sorry if it has caused anyone hurt.
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You're welcome. It was just a suggestion!:)
 
well, much like someone else said (can't remember who, sorry:dunno2:) I remember watching sesame street and seeing linda signing, i guess it always stuck with me because as a child and even now as an adult I have always been interested in signing, asl in particular. I guess because I tend to be a very visual person, always interested in theatre, dance, very visual things so sign language has always appealed to me. I want to be an interpreter someday, I have signed some songs before, but they were learned beforehand.
 
I became interested in sign language at a young age I had a deaf neighbor who would sign to be when I was walking to the park. He would tell me about the weather for the day, mostly always sunny and clear ( I was going to the park). I decided to learn ASL in school as a lanuage requirement 1) Because I don't do well at Spanish and 2) I want to be able to work with deaf and hard of hearing clients when when I become a counselor, pending a Bachelors and Master :(. But yea, thats why.

P.S-is it weird that I am awake @ 5am signing to myself in the mirror after my third class ?
 
AjSaylor said:
............
P.S-is it weird that I am awake @ 5am signing to myself in the mirror after my third class ?
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AjSaylor, welcome...

Weird... no. I remember learning sign and being intrigued about how I look signing.. Not being used to signing I was very self conscious about it... Needed to see how it looked - me signing...
 
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