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MamaFaithful

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Hi,
I'm a 23 year old mother of two and I'm differently-abled.
My hearing is getting worse and my son is hard of hearing (he's two and can only hear whats in front of him. So unless he sees it he cannot hear it. Sorry if this seems patronizing at all I've just got to repeat it to the nursery constantly)

My social worker has suggested we learn sign language so we can communicate within the family, I ask what one and she replied with a very helpful 'I don't know what ever its not like you'll use it with anyone else.'

Typing sign language into google brings up in order asl, sse then bsl. If i were miraculously going to meet people who sign between my home and hospital I guess I should use bsl but it seems like the least favored of the "English" sign languages. Is there a reason for this?

I've tried learning basic signs, numbers and alphabet in both asl and bsl but bsl seems very heavy and cumbersome compared to asl. And with a name like Rebecca and other family members all with long names asl seems to be a lot easier. My son seems to prefer asl (cousin has been skyping from Boston america). Should I give in to asl as its only going to be used in the family or should i preserver with bsl just in case my son needs to use it in the future.

There is no deaf schools or clubs where we live, no communities with differently abled people in (the children center was very unhappy they had to accommodate my wheelchair and i was isolated to the coat rack as otherwise i was taking up too much space trying to interact with my son and his friends).

He would only be signing to me, his dad, his little sister and family in america until he is College age.

I hope all my ramblings made sense.

Hi to all,
Thanks in Advance
From one Very confused mummy.
 
Learn BSL. It will open opportunities to interact with others in your own country. If your son is hard of hearing, it will enable him to find peers .
 
:welcome:

Since you live in England, it seems BSL would be the way to go, at least for now.

There's no reason your son couldn't pick up ASL also later on if he decides to visit America.

Learning a second sign language is easier after becoming fluent in the first one.

It doesn't have to be an either-or choice.
 
Hi,
I'm a 23 year old mother of two and I'm differently-abled.
My hearing is getting worse and my son is hard of hearing (he's two and can only hear whats in front of him. So unless he sees it he cannot hear it. Sorry if this seems patronizing at all I've just got to repeat it to the nursery constantly)

My social worker has suggested we learn sign language so we can communicate within the family, I ask what one and she replied with a very helpful 'I don't know what ever its not like you'll use it with anyone else.'

Typing sign language into google brings up in order asl, sse then bsl. If i were miraculously going to meet people who sign between my home and hospital I guess I should use bsl but it seems like the least favored of the "English" sign languages. Is there a reason for this?

I've tried learning basic signs, numbers and alphabet in both asl and bsl but bsl seems very heavy and cumbersome compared to asl. And with a name like Rebecca and other family members all with long names asl seems to be a lot easier. My son seems to prefer asl (cousin has been skyping from Boston america). Should I give in to asl as its only going to be used in the family or should i preserver with bsl just in case my son needs to use it in the future.

There is no deaf schools or clubs where we live, no communities with differently abled people in (the children center was very unhappy they had to accommodate my wheelchair and i was isolated to the coat rack as otherwise i was taking up too much space trying to interact with my son and his friends).

He would only be signing to me, his dad, his little sister and family in america until he is College age.

I hope all my ramblings made sense.

Hi to all,
Thanks in Advance
From one Very confused mummy.

Are there any resources within an hour of you? It's definitly a good idea for HOH kids to learn Sign. Any chance of moving to where there are better resources? It's not that unusual for parents to decide to relocate to a deaf school.
 
We are trying to move but due to medical conditions im in social housing which means i need to swap homes (which is hard as we are in a flat and swappers only want houses) and money for private isnt there, it goes on food and bills...just .

I am currently house bound (they are discussing me going back to hospital) my husband tries to take us out but we cant go far. The nearest program is at best hour and half away which would cause me to sleep through the whole thing. We have an adult learning near us but they rarely have classes and when they do its basic math and english.

I'll get looking at bsl online and see if i can get hold of my illusive social services lady to see if she can help.
Thank you
 
I agree that you should learn the local sign language BSL to give both of you the greatest opportunities to communicate with those around you.

What some people have done when they live far from heavily populated areas is to create their own community. Is there a local bulletin board, newspaper or online site where you can post an ad to start a support group. Even a handful of people may help to reduce the sense of isolation. If you can gather a few people together, you may be able to find someone fluent in BSL willing to offer local classes to your group.
 
Hi,
I'm a 23 year old mother of two and I'm differently-abled.
My hearing is getting worse and my son is hard of hearing (he's two and can only hear whats in front of him. So unless he sees it he cannot hear it. Sorry if this seems patronizing at all I've just got to repeat it to the nursery constantly)

My social worker has suggested we learn sign language so we can communicate within the family, I ask what one and she replied with a very helpful 'I don't know what ever its not like you'll use it with anyone else.'

Typing sign language into google brings up in order asl, sse then bsl. If i were miraculously going to meet people who sign between my home and hospital I guess I should use bsl but it seems like the least favored of the "English" sign languages. Is there a reason for this?

I've tried learning basic signs, numbers and alphabet in both asl and bsl but bsl seems very heavy and cumbersome compared to asl. And with a name like Rebecca and other family members all with long names asl seems to be a lot easier. My son seems to prefer asl (cousin has been skyping from Boston america). Should I give in to asl as its only going to be used in the family or should i preserver with bsl just in case my son needs to use it in the future.

There is no deaf schools or clubs where we live, no communities with differently abled people in (the children center was very unhappy they had to accommodate my wheelchair and i was isolated to the coat rack as otherwise i was taking up too much space trying to interact with my son and his friends).

He would only be signing to me, his dad, his little sister and family in america until he is College age.

I hope all my ramblings made sense.

Hi to all,
Thanks in Advance
From one Very confused mummy.

USA mostly use ASL. yeah they are easier signing like shorthand. In UK they mostly use BSL. If i am you, it better for my son communicate with his sister and his dad than family in america or i do both bsl and asl for my son communicate with whole family from here and from america or Better for son communicate with friends like I going raise him like education student.
 
I am hearing, but if it was my daughter (and there maybe a day where it is her) I would definitely recommend learning your local sign language BSL. I am learning ASL as I am from the states, and I am teaching my daughter ASL as well. We live in an area where although there are not a lot of deaf there are still enough where knowing ASL will help us to communicate with those around us. It also teaches my daughter to be respectful of people's needs. She's 3 so I'm trying to give her as many social skills as I can. From what I know the few hard of hearing kids by us all sign and speak to the children at school these kids do go to hearing schools. So I think it would be good for your son to get in the habit of signing all the time so that it naturally comes when he speaks he signs it may make kids around him in school and everything more accepting and he may create his own little community for himself by doing so. Please do not feel like I am doing anything than giving suggestions based on my community. I know that every deaf community has to start somewhere, and I hate to see people alone especially children.
 
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