My impressions with learning sign language

GraysonPeddie

GraysonPeddie

Eye/Hear/Speech Impaired
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My impressions of learning sign language is great but I'm still learning. However I do know that I'm better off learning in classes but I don't seem to have that much of a problem when learning over the Internet. I feel like I wanted to go out on deaf events but before I do that, I'd have to practice making ASL sentences like:
  • Brother sister, you?
  • Tell him, finished?
  • Nice meet you.
  • Have dog cat, I.
...and so on and so forth.

This is when I'm going to be doing some practicing on the mirror and use face expressions like raising my eyebrows when asking a question--well, not the whole time but after a comma like I show above (but of course I don't mention "comma").

In Lesson Tutor, I've learned the most from Series 1 and 3, including Series 2 Lessons 11 and 12. Then, I started to learn most of animal signs and take an animal quiz for matching the sign for fingerspelled words. I've got kitten, snake, owl, elephant, duck, rabbit, deer, and fish, but I got turkey and pig mixed up. Seems I've tried to grasp the sign for turkey but I think maybe some turkeys have feathers below turkeys' beeks? Plus, I don't know how a sign for pig are similar to that of a "real" pig... Perhaps someone can eloberate it for me? I've got the hang of how the sign for snakes, deer, owl, kitten, cat, etc. and how it is similar to real animals/pets, so no explaination needed except for the sign for pig.

So I'll continue to learn new signs while refreshing my memory, making sentences with those signs, etc. and hopefully, participate in deaf events.
 
Is it really necessary to learn only ASL? Not all deaf people use ASL.
 
Brian said:
Is it really necessary to learn only ASL? Not all deaf people use ASL.
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What do u mean only ASL? I am assuming he is fluent in English from reading his postings so it seems like he wants to learn ASL. I am so happy that I learned ASL even though I was close to 30 years old when I learned. Now, I use it daily.

Unless u meant he can learn other sign languages? Just curious?
 
Something I'd like to mention (can't edit my post above):

During 2001 or 2002, when I was at Florida School for the Deaf and Blind (graduated with a special diploma but passed my GED this year), I learned a bit of sign language, but I quit because I am trying to keep up on pace and trying to remember the signs. In contrast, when I learn it over the Internet, it's much easier, despite static pictures which don't convey the flow, except showing arrows drawn which I'm used to. I think learning from the Internet (or the book but preferred the Internet) during the morning and learn ASL during the deaf events/classrooms might help me out better than learning from the Internet or learning in a classroom alone, but like I mentioned, no problems learning from the Internet.
 
Do you have a Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Deaf congregation or other place in your area where they hold Deaf events? That's one of the best ways to learn (and improve!) your signing. When I learned tactile sign (ASL, PSE and SEE) in 1995, I attended events for the Deaf and deafblind. I also had an ITP student come to my home and give me private signing lessons for free in addition to the instruction I was already receiving at my local deafblind center.

I'm glad to see that you're learning sign! Good luck! :)
 
I'm not that very sure but good question. I'm just getting the basics out of the way in Lesson Tutor -- I mean--basic every-day conversations. :)
 
Since you use the internet as well you may try aslpro.com. That is unless you are blind as well. I don't know how moving clips work on the brail system. I don't know what it is called but it displays pictures that are on the screen in a tactile way. aslpro.com has video clips for it's dictionary and quizes as well. This may be of help to you. Oh it also has conversational phrases. These are senteces that that cover a broad range of topics as well as ASL and English idioms.
 
I'm not totally blind. I have vision on my right eye, but blind on my left eye, so I do have vision.

I do use ASLPro along with Lesson Tutor and I know about conversational phrases. I forgot to mention that in my first post.
 
GraysonPeddie said:
Seems I've tried to grasp the sign for turkey but I think maybe some turkeys have feathers below turkeys' beeks? Plus, I don't know how a sign for pig are similar to that of a "real" pig
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Turkeys have wattles under their chin that sway back and forth.

The sign for PIG is very similar to the sign for DIRTY.

Hopefully those will help you remember the signs. :)
 
There goes a pair of wattles waddling into the sunset and disappearing into a plume of smoke.
 
Grayson, I'm surprised they didn't classify you in school as esentially deaf-blind, since you're speech impaired. The East Coast tends to be more openminded about using ASL for *other* disabilities. Like what's your speech impairment? Is it more articualtion or more language production like apraxia?
 
Southern said:
Since you use the internet as well you may try aslpro.com. That is unless you are blind as well. I don't know how moving clips work on the brail system. I don't know what it is called but it displays pictures that are on the screen in a tactile way. aslpro.com has video clips for it's dictionary and quizes as well. This may be of help to you. Oh it also has conversational phrases. These are senteces that that cover a broad range of topics as well as ASL and English idioms.
Click to expand...

Southern,

You're referring to a Braille display. Just thought I'd mention that for anyone who may be interested. Unfortunately, video clips and images are inaccessible to people like myself who access the computer via a Braille display.
 
deafdyke said:
Grayson, I'm surprised they didn't classify you in school as esentially deaf-blind, since you're speech impaired. The East Coast tends to be more openminded about using ASL for *other* disabilities. Like what's your speech impairment? Is it more articualtion or more language production like apraxia?
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As for hearing impairement: High frequency hearing loss for both of my ears.
For visual impairement: Blind on my left eye, vision on my right eye (my vision on my right eye is pretty good with no artifacts).
For speech impairement, I have trouble with "r" sound and sometimes when they ask me what's my name, I seem to have trouble pronouncing "Grayson" with a hard "a" and my speech didn't seem right when I listen to myself. When I took the speech therapy at Florida School for the Deaf and Blind and at a hospital near Daytona Beach Rahabilitation Center, the improvement for "r" sound made little to no effort on improving my speech.
 
Hear Again said:
Southern,

You're referring to a Braille display. Just thought I'd mention that for anyone who may be interested. Unfortunately, video clips and images are inaccessible to people like myself who access the computer via a Braille display.
Click to expand...

Yeah. A "Braille" consists of six dots, two across and three down. The dots are numbered 1, 2, 3 for the left and 4, 5, 6 for the right. For example, 2, 4, 5, 6 stands for "W." (without the period sign) Another example would be dots 1 and 3 for "K" in Grade 1 Braille but in Grade 2 Braille, if you just leave the sign for "K" alone (another words, spaces before and after "K"), then it would be "knowledge!"

"Charles Barbier" invented the system of dots but Louis Braille simplified the system of dots to 6 while Charles Barbier's system of dots have up to 12. Please note that this is beyond the scope of my post so please do a web search about the Braille.

I just went off-topic in my own thread about Braille.
 
oh so u just had very mild articulation issues? I wouldn't nessaraly call that a significent impairment. ...Speech impaired makes it sound like you're nonverbal. Maybe you lived in the New England area in a past life. We don't say our r's either. lol.
That is amazing that you went to a blind school, and yet you only have significent loss in one eye. Still.....at least you got to learn Braille and get interventions you might not have, if you'd gone to a regular school! Also amazing that they pushed you with a special diploma ....would have thought you would have automaticly been placed in the academic track!
 
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