Hi I'm a newbie asl student

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keinnc

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Hi, I am hearing and I took a few semesters of asl a few years back. I had considered becoming an interpreter, but that didn't work out (at least so far!) I am currently attending college and am required to take a speech class. We have to give a persuasive speech and I wanted to do mine on asl. I feel that all emergency workers (police, emt, etc.) should know basic sign. In fact, I feel that all "hearies" should know basic sign. I would love to know your opinion on this subject, if you wouldn't mind. Thank you!
 
I agree, I think it would be a good idea for the majority of the population to know some sign. I find it very disrespectful that some cops don't even know that deaf people can drive, when they pull someone over they automatically put a flashlight in the eyes, and so on. The hearing world expects deaf people to be able to talk and read lips, why can't the deaf world expect them to at least be able to sign a few things?
Granted, I am not completely deaf, but even with my hearing aids i rely heavily on reading lips, which is not an exact science.

I think it would be great if you continued your ASL studies, even if it didn't lead to being an interpreter.
 
Thanks, your input is very helpful. I do hope to continue my asl studies.
Thanks, again!
 
I completely agree. I'm very lucky because I can lip read really well. BUT, that doesn't make me hearing. I have absolutely NO hearing left whatsoever so I rely entirely on lip reading (writing, sign, etc.) but I know some other Deafies aren't able to lip read as well, or sometimes at all, and I can't imagine how irritating that must be.

I don't know if I would mandate an entire semester of ASL because then they would have to take a semester of all other languages in that area. However, I do think they should create a class directed to emergency workers and certain other business workers. I think they should have to learn the basic signs such as 'help, hurt, lost, etc.' And OF COURSE the alphabet (even if nothing else). Along with that I think they should have to learn the very basics of Deaf Culture and Deaf Communication Skills basically just the little things like facing someone while talking, making sure there is light if it's dark out, how to get their attention without thinking we are ignoring them, just things like that. The sad thing is, learning just the very basics like this could be taught in a one day to a one week class.

A couple years ago I was pulled over for having tinted windows (I had a prescription for it). Apparently he had been behind me for a little while and I never noticed. I usually use my mirrors a LOT but I wasn't feeling well that day and I think I was just in my own little world. He never put his sirens on (which I usually use by feeling the vibrations) because he had seen my licence plate frame that says, "Smile! Deaf Driver." So, the cop knows I'm deaf, he sees the plate frame and yet when he gets to the window he starts talking fast, talking while looking down and writing, looking around and not facing me, and then he would get upset when I asked him to repeat, slow down, or sometimes not even reply because I had no idea he had said something. It was almost like he couldn't understand the word 'Deaf' no matter how many times I said it even though he had understood it from my plate.

I've had many situations where if they had just know the basic alphabet or the basic understanding of how to communicate with someone who is D/HH, things could have been done so much easier and faster. Hopefully somethings will be done about this eventually. We're not asking them to become fluent in a whole other languages. We're just asking that they learn the basics of our languages that we've done with theirs.

[By the way, I'm late-deafened and I don't mean any disrespect by that last sentence since I wasn't born or raised deaf. However, I was raised and around cultureally Deaf people and had become Deaf in the Deaf Community even while I was hearing. They never saw me as hearing. Now that I've lost my hearing I and everyone else in the Deaf Community around here considers me Deaf. I just wanted to clarify, I'm not trying to upset anyone else since I am late-deafened.]
 
Thank you all for helping me out. I really want to get this message out to people, I wish I had a bigger audience. I do have students in my class who are in the police force and in nursing, so at least I can help a few people understand how important this is. If anyone else has any thoughts on this, please feel free to post. Thank you, again!
 
:lol: I don't think all hearies need to know sign. They can go a lifetime without meeting a deaf person.

I would rather medical personnel be good at their jobs and have an interpreter who was good at their job too. Many less mistakes that way.

In the service industries, I would just as soon hand you a note on what I want. Although in actual practice, I have almost everything delivered to my home and use the internet, so I really don't communicate that much outside my own small circle.
 
Thanks, and sorry

Thank you for your honest responses. I am glad to see that there are varied opinions. I am also sorry that my bumping my question seemed rude. I didn't think about it that way.
 
Yes, i think all hearing people should know some common ASL vocabulary.
 
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum. Have fun reading and posting all the threads here. See you around here. :wave:
 
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