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Herald & Review | Life: Story time program tells tales in American Sign Language
Her smile flashed as her small hands asked a question.
The question, it turned out, was about Girl Scout cookie sales, and that was on 7-year-old Victoria Brase's mind when she saw Wendy Carrington.
Victoria signed to Carrington before the beginning of an American Sign Language story time sponsored by Soyland Access to Independent Living in the Decatur Public Library.
In turn, Carrington signed for Victoria and others a story based on a Nickelodeon movie about snow giving children a day off from school.
Wendy Carrington has been deaf since she was 18 months old, according to her husband, LaVerle Carrington, who hears. Victoria was born prematurely with multiple medical issues, according to her mother, Ruby Brase of Moweaqua, and has had a cochlear implant.
"(Wendy Carrington) is very expressive with her face," Brase said.
Like many deaf individuals, she is very animated when she tells a story, using large gestures and expressive eyes, Brase said. And, she said, she likes when Carrington tells stories because books are sometimes difficult to put into American Sign Language.
Signing books is not easy, LaVerle Carrington agreed, primarily because English is filled with idioms and idiosyncrasies that can be difficult to translate into signs. He cited the word run - run the water, run for office, run to the store.
The program at the library is about a year old, said LaVerle Carrington, deaf services advocate at Soyland. One of the reasons for starting the class is because deaf children often do not have an opportunity to meet professional deaf adults, he said.
"One of our goals is to help them realize they aren't alone," he said.
Wendy Carrington is an Illinois Vocational Rehabilitation counselor working out of Peoria.
"The reason I like to sign the American Sign Language story telling at the Decatur library," she said, "is because the children can be motivated to have an interest in reading and (to) explain the literature that older children read on their own.
"Deaf and hard-of-hearing children who cannot read themselves can benefit from American Sign Language story telling because it opens the world of books in an accessible and interesting language."
Attendance at the sessions varies, as do sign language presenters, LaVerle Carrington said. Presenters have included a deaf education student, an interpreter and the mother of a deaf child.
In January, the attendees included children and adults, with LaVerle Carrington narrating as Wendy Carrington signed.
Latrina Denson of Decatur, mother of 2-year-old Maya Ward, brought Maya because she said she hopes to teach her daughter who has hearing difficulties how to sign.
Brase said she and Victoria attend nearly every session of the story time after learning of the program through Enterprise School, where Victoria is a student.
Jamieson Banman of Decatur brought Rhett, 7, and Reese, 4. They came because the home school mother is teaching her children sign language along with German and Latin.
"My children knew the sign language alphabet about the same time they knew their written alphabet," Banman said.
Rhett, in particular, tried to sign along as Wendy Carrington told her story that ended with a gift of hot chocolate for each to take home.
Banman said she also taught her children such American Sign Language words as more, please, finished, milk and drink as a means of communicating when they weren't able to verbalize words.
"Sign language is just so beautiful," she added.
About the story times
WHAT: American Sign Language Story Times sponsored by Soyland Access to Independent Living
WHEN: 11 a.m., second Saturday of the month
WHERE: Decatur Public Library, children's department, story time room
NOTABLE: Anyone may attend.
Her smile flashed as her small hands asked a question.
The question, it turned out, was about Girl Scout cookie sales, and that was on 7-year-old Victoria Brase's mind when she saw Wendy Carrington.
Victoria signed to Carrington before the beginning of an American Sign Language story time sponsored by Soyland Access to Independent Living in the Decatur Public Library.
In turn, Carrington signed for Victoria and others a story based on a Nickelodeon movie about snow giving children a day off from school.
Wendy Carrington has been deaf since she was 18 months old, according to her husband, LaVerle Carrington, who hears. Victoria was born prematurely with multiple medical issues, according to her mother, Ruby Brase of Moweaqua, and has had a cochlear implant.
"(Wendy Carrington) is very expressive with her face," Brase said.
Like many deaf individuals, she is very animated when she tells a story, using large gestures and expressive eyes, Brase said. And, she said, she likes when Carrington tells stories because books are sometimes difficult to put into American Sign Language.
Signing books is not easy, LaVerle Carrington agreed, primarily because English is filled with idioms and idiosyncrasies that can be difficult to translate into signs. He cited the word run - run the water, run for office, run to the store.
The program at the library is about a year old, said LaVerle Carrington, deaf services advocate at Soyland. One of the reasons for starting the class is because deaf children often do not have an opportunity to meet professional deaf adults, he said.
"One of our goals is to help them realize they aren't alone," he said.
Wendy Carrington is an Illinois Vocational Rehabilitation counselor working out of Peoria.
"The reason I like to sign the American Sign Language story telling at the Decatur library," she said, "is because the children can be motivated to have an interest in reading and (to) explain the literature that older children read on their own.
"Deaf and hard-of-hearing children who cannot read themselves can benefit from American Sign Language story telling because it opens the world of books in an accessible and interesting language."
Attendance at the sessions varies, as do sign language presenters, LaVerle Carrington said. Presenters have included a deaf education student, an interpreter and the mother of a deaf child.
In January, the attendees included children and adults, with LaVerle Carrington narrating as Wendy Carrington signed.
Latrina Denson of Decatur, mother of 2-year-old Maya Ward, brought Maya because she said she hopes to teach her daughter who has hearing difficulties how to sign.
Brase said she and Victoria attend nearly every session of the story time after learning of the program through Enterprise School, where Victoria is a student.
Jamieson Banman of Decatur brought Rhett, 7, and Reese, 4. They came because the home school mother is teaching her children sign language along with German and Latin.
"My children knew the sign language alphabet about the same time they knew their written alphabet," Banman said.
Rhett, in particular, tried to sign along as Wendy Carrington told her story that ended with a gift of hot chocolate for each to take home.
Banman said she also taught her children such American Sign Language words as more, please, finished, milk and drink as a means of communicating when they weren't able to verbalize words.
"Sign language is just so beautiful," she added.
About the story times
WHAT: American Sign Language Story Times sponsored by Soyland Access to Independent Living
WHEN: 11 a.m., second Saturday of the month
WHERE: Decatur Public Library, children's department, story time room
NOTABLE: Anyone may attend.