How can hearies included the Deaf?

Nanelle- Honestly, I'm kind of shocked/disappointed that companies like Rosetta Stone don't offer it (as far as I know. I have looked for it, but did not see it as an option.)

Jen M.
 
When I am around deaf people, I sign to the best of my ability (even when talking to other hearing people around) and I also look at the deaf person to help them understand anything I cannot sign. Also, I ALWAYS repeat if asked until they understand. If they can't understand and I don't know the sign, I fingerspell.
 
Nanelle,
I am an ASL student at Troy University online and have purchased the Signing Naturally textbook w/ DVD series for ASL classes 1 - 3 so far. You do not have to have internet access to use these materials. The books can be a bit expensive, but they are also older (in my opinion) versions so you can buy them all used through Amazon.com. Nothing beats f2f interaction to learn a new language of course, but when that's not available, college textbook series are great at teaching the basics.
 
Nanelle said:
as a hearing person, I'm finding that resources are kind of hard to find for learning ASL on your own. I don't have unlimited access to the internet (I work on a cruise ship and we have to buy internet cards, which gets expensive) so I'm trying to find an offline computer program.!
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See if you can borrow materials from DCMP.org :: Home. You have to be approved, and I don't know if your circumstances meet their criteria or not.
These are our circumstances:
One M.R. child who uses some sign
Homeschoolers doing ASL as a foreign language (I don't know who said colleges don't allow ASL as a foreign language, mine did, 30 years ago, and I know the University near us does).
One deaf friend from church who appreciates some help with the sermons and songs, but doesn't want an interpreter.
She and I are working together on a sign language club.


I do not know which of those circumstances was good enough for DCMP, but I am thrilled they approved me. They have great stuff.

There's a link somewhere at DCMP to be approved to level 2. Fill that out and cross your fingers.

If you are approved, they have some great media that they will loan for free (I don't know if there are shipping charges, but I do not think so). My personal favorite is the Bravo family introductory ASL course. The clothing and hair styles are very dated, but the lessons are so easy to follow and helpful.
They also have computer based resources, as well as resources for online.

There are a lot of useful resources for hearing beginners of ASL and it looks like some stuff of interest for fully fluent deaf/Deaf signers too (but I am not competent to judge that, it just appears that way to me)

Good luck!!
 
shel90 said:
Never never ever tell the deaf person, "Never mind" or "I will tell you later" when he/she askes what everyone is talking about. That is like a rejection for many of us.
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This was so helpful to me. My son-in-law is HOH because he lost all his hearing in one ear when serving in Iraq. Sometimes I have told him 'never mind' because on second thought, I think what I said was just too stupid to repeat, or too unimportant for anybody to bother with. It's not that I don't think he matters, it's that I don't think what I said matters. He gets irritated, and now I understand why.
 
Grayma, I have those feelings about things I say sometimes, too, but like you, I have learned it is important to go through with it and say it anyway.

I'm sorry about your SIL's injury. :(

Jen M.
 
thanks a lot for all the suggestions! I'll definitely look into everything that was mentioned.

and Jen_Cats, I know exactly what you mean- I couldn't believe that Rosetta Stone didn't offer an ASL package. I have a ton of other languages that they offer, but ASL is the one I'm always looking for. I guess we can hope for the future!
 
Grayma said:
See if you can borrow materials from DCMP.org :: Home. You have to be approved, and I don't know if your circumstances meet their criteria or not.
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Thanks for posting that link - I applied today. I don't know if I will meet their criteria or not... but we will see. The fact that I am doing an internship in a preschool might help, or the fact that I plan to work with children and families for most of my career.

Who knows!
 
LovingLife said:
I’m very happy people are taking the time to give me and my other coworkers great tips. Change can happen one person at a time. Thank you for your time and I hope you keep posting.

Interesting little story… My company has hired an ASL translator to come in once a week for our team meeting making it very clear we will need the person every week for 1.5 hours and at what times. Our meeting only last an hour but want to make sure we have enough time with the translator. The first week went great, I met with the translator and my coworker. I gave them both an outline of the topics for the meeting. The second week the translator was 15min. late. Not a big deal since we requested the translator 15min. early. The 3rd week the translator no showed. I called each week the day before our meeting confirming a translator would be here. This week we try out a new translator! Wish us luck.

Thanks again for all your help!
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You do know there are some people here that have trouble reading small print
you're not thinking of them when you type in smaller print, So you are basely doing the same as hearing people do deaf.
 
Jens_Cats said:
Nanelle- Honestly, I'm kind of shocked/disappointed that companies like Rosetta Stone don't offer it (as far as I know. I have looked for it, but did not see it as an option.)

Jen M.
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This is a REALLY fantastic website that teaches ASL for free! I'm hearing, so I can't guarantee its absolute perfection, but it's a wonderful resource at the very least! :)
ASL lessons - American Sign Language lessons
 
JFaison said:
Nanelle,
I am an ASL student at Troy University online and have purchased the Signing Naturally textbook w/ DVD series for ASL classes 1 - 3 so far. You do not have to have internet access to use these materials. The books can be a bit expensive, but they are also older (in my opinion) versions so you can buy them all used through Amazon.com. Nothing beats f2f interaction to learn a new language of course, but when that's not available, college textbook series are great at teaching the basics.
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We use the Signing Naturally series also, and it's good. I like that they have multiple signers in it. Face to face is really a must, though. Really helps to have the feedback as well as become comfortable interacting in another language.
 
I find I have to advise people on a person to person basis. Some people are good and don't need any guidance in how to talk to me. Some I have to say "face me when you're talking, eat or speak - don't do both, if I don't understand what you've said, say it in another way so I'm not trying to guess on the third or fourth time what you've said, IM me if you can, don't assume because there were announcements that I've heard/understood them." I find I have to remind my boss over and over that I can't hear over the phone.....now that's annoying....

Laura
 
I've found that giving long explanations of how to accommodate me is exhausting and constantly repetitive and usually results in frustration and short fuses on both sides. That's why I came up with the acronym: Keep in S.T.E.P with me please. Voice-off also makes it obvious you are best with visual communication and other people respond accordingly. Once speech is used, the long explanations start and most visual accommodations are considered to be pointless.
 
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