getting started signing

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cheshirekateo

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Hello All--
My name is Kate. Six months ago my boyfriend suffered a massive stroke, damaging the left-half of his brain. And although he has recovered a lot of function, he now has aphasia, which means he can not speak. He knows what he wants to say, but can not communicate it verbally very well. Even with speech therapy, sign language looks like his best alternative to verbal communication. I have a book on signing, but I do not know what would be the best way to approach learning it and in turn teaching it to him. Does anyone have any suggestions on technique or of reference materials that would help us? Thank you for your time!

Kate
 
Hi Kate, welcome, I'm really sorry about your boyfriend! =/

I think you can teach him by reading your book and writing down what the sign means, so he will understand it. Start with the fingerspelling and help him to be fluent.

Hope that helps you a little bit!

Stay around and you will find other ways to help your bf.
 
Look at ASLPro.com Home first, and get a good ASL dictionary, preferably Martin Sternberg American Sign Language Dictionary.

If it works you could look for classes. But this is Broca's aphasia. I am under the impression that he will not sign what he means because Broca's area of the brain is responsible for expressive language.

ASL is in that category. Maybe you can talk to his Dr. about that unless Deaf Doc shows up and can give a good explanation to you.
s
 
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum. I don't know if the book (I think Joy of Signing is the best one to learn basic signs) or other like ASLPro.com will help you to sign with your boyfriend. It would be much better to have someone who is a ASL signer to teach you both how to communicate in signs in the right way. That is why we all learned how to sign in the sign language classes so we can cope with our hand signs with alphabets and word signs. I hope I make sense of trying to explain about this.

Have fun reading and posting all the threads here. See you around here. :wave:
 
lifeprint.com is also an excellent source. It has free instruction including self tests. All the best to you!! SigningSavvy is good but they try to pigeon hole you into subscribing for a fee.
 
Hello, i am hearing, but i have taken a few ASL classes and i would say that i think ur best bet is to learn and know the Alphabet (Fingerspelling). Once there you can at least fingerspell everything and then move on from there!
 
cyle said:
Hello, i am hearing, but i have taken a few ASL classes and i would say that i think ur best bet is to learn and know the Alphabet (Fingerspelling). Once there you can at least fingerspell everything and then move on from there!
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That would be very difficult to hold a conversation if you had to fingerspell everything. At least in my opinion.
 
cyle said:
Your right, but it would be better than NO Communication at all!
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Do a little research on Broca's area of the brain and then say if you think your suggestion will work.
 
Yeah i dont know anything about the medical part of things! Sorry!
 
cyle said:
Yeah i dont know anything about the medical part of things! Sorry!
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No Problem. But realistically this wont work with a person who has had Broca''s area of the brain destroyed by stroke.

Aphasics can blow out candles and suck on straws, even sing and whistle, but they cannot produce normal, creative speech in either written, spoken,.or gestural form Sign language users also store their linguistic ability in the left hemisphere. If this hemisphere is damaged, they cannot sign properly, even though they may continue to be able to use their hands for such things as playing the drums, giving someone a massage, or other non-linguistic hand movements. Injury to the right hemisphere of deaf persons produces the opposite effect.
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Refer to bolded. It means sign probably wont work either.

Linguistics 201: Language and the Brain
 
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