Deaf parents? Deaf children? piog

[ASLmommy89]

I know I can' be the only ASL user on this entire site. I'm not Deaf and my daughter isn't Deaf but I'm an aspiring ASL interpreter and my daughter is quickly picking up on the language. I'm involved in my local Deaf Community and I was hoping to meet some new friends/ ASL users on here. But I'm kind of taken a back that there are NO Deaf Mom groups or CODA or Mom of Deaf children groups on here. Not one. There is one group I am a part of Signing Mommies but it's inactive. So.... Where is everyone? lol

[jdouglas111]

Lol Nathan has apraxia so we sign a lot, but I'm not super fluent.

[ASLmommy89]

Im glad to hear that you are being proactive and learning the language with him. Many parents of children who have various reasons for needing to sign, refuse to learn anything at all and it breaks my heart. 

Quoting jdouglas111:

Lol Nathan has apraxia so we sign a lot, but I'm not super fluent.

[jdouglas111]

I know!  I'm the only one in our family who is trying to learn sign language.  Everyone else (gma, gpa, aunts uncles, his dad and sister) just keep saying he'll learn to talk eventually.  Pisses me off so bad!  It's like they're all saying they love him but not enough to learn to speak to him his way.  :/  Bit of an area of contention around our household right now.  He and I have a sign language vocab of around 65 words :) his dad knows 7 of them, grandma knows 3, sister knows about half of them.  I wish they'd try more. 

He also has a podd communication device and we're getting him an IPad with proloquo2 so he can communicate with everyone and not just me, his speech pathologist, music teacher, and teachers at school. It's hilarious to watch him when he is around people who know sign language because he chats up a storm! 

What made you decide to be an ASL interpreter?  That sounds like an awesome profession. 

Quoting ASLmommy89:

Im glad to hear that you are being proactive and learning the language with him. Many parents of children who have various reasons for needing to sign, refuse to learn anything at all and it breaks my heart. 

Quoting jdouglas111:

Lol Nathan has apraxia so we sign a lot, but I'm not super fluent.

[ASLmommy89]

I took ASL as my language requirement in College because I failed Spanish. After the first couple days I fell in love with the language and the Deaf Culture. I realized I picked up the language fairly quickly and easily and decided then and there that's what I wanted to do. I'm starting off with becoming an interpreter, then I want to continue on to a Masters in Deaf Education and Counseling.

Quoting jdouglas111:

I know!  I'm the only one in our family who is trying to learn sign language.  Everyone else (gma, gpa, aunts uncles, his dad and sister) just keep saying he'll learn to talk eventually.  Pisses me off so bad!  It's like they're all saying they love him but not enough to learn to speak to him his way.  :/  Bit of an area of contention around our household right now.  He and I have a sign language vocab of around 65 words :) his dad knows 7 of them, grandma knows 3, sister knows about half of them.  I wish they'd try more. 

He also has a podd communication device and we're getting him an IPad with proloquo2 so he can communicate with everyone and not just me, his speech pathologist, music teacher, and teachers at school. It's hilarious to watch him when he is around people who know sign language because he chats up a storm! 

What made you decide to be an ASL interpreter?  That sounds like an awesome profession. 

Quoting ASLmommy89:

Im glad to hear that you are being proactive and learning the language with him. Many parents of children who have various reasons for needing to sign, refuse to learn anything at all and it breaks my heart. 

Quoting jdouglas111:

Lol Nathan has apraxia so we sign a lot, but I'm not super fluent.

[LadybugsMonkeys]

When I was 8 years old my best friend knew ASL because her aunt & uncle was both deaf. I fell in love with the language & lifestyle, so much to the point I used to wish I was deaf. I began teaching myself sign with the help of my friend. My JR & SR yrs of high school I took early childhood education and as part of that we ran a preschool & worked at a daycare just down the road from the vocational high school. At the daycare there was a little boy that didn't talk, I began teaching him sign. His parents shortly after that hired me to teach them sign. I have used ASL in about every job I have had. Working at gas stations, stores, restaurants or with children. When my third child didn't talk until he was nearly 4 we began using ASL (well my four children and I did.) We still use ASL nearly everyday. My husband still refuses to learn. It makes it easy to talk/correct my children from across the room without having to yell.

I am so surprised that there isn't a group on CafeMom for ASL. But if you know of anyone that is looking let them know about LIMITED EDITION KIDS. I started this group for all the parents of children that don't fit into the traditional cookie cutter mold that society believes that children should fit into. Our kids are as unique as snowflakes, no two are exactly alike.

[DDDaysh]

 I've always wanted to learn, but I'm not sure how to go about it.  I tried the little at-home videos when DS was a baby, but they didn't help much and he wasn't even remotely interested in signing as a toddler. 

I've heard that for some deaf people, reading is difficult, so that might be part of the reason there aren't any "Deaf Mom" groups, but I would have thought there would be more "Mom's of Deaf Children" groups.  Perhaps there is simply a strong enough IRL community that online groups aren't needed? 

[DDDaysh]

 Also, as an aside, and old high school friend of mine is an ASL interpreter.  It's too bad she doesn't live anywhere near me or maybe I'd have finally learned! 

[LadybugsMonkeys]

On PBS they have a show called Signing Time. We do not have cable right now but from the video I have seen online it is great. Also on youtube there are tons of videos that teach sign. I also like watching Switched At Birth on ABC Family (netflix) I cover the bottom of the screen with paper and focus on their signing and face expressions.

For me the best way to learn ASL is to "sing/sign" a song. The people that I know that are deaf or hard of hearing all can read and write very well.

[DDDaysh]

:-)  I work most of the time, so my TV is pretty limitted too.  We did discover Switched at Birth on netflix though, and DS has gotten really into it.  

About the reading/writing thing - I always thought that most were too.  It wasn't until a few years ago when there was a huge mess about parental accomodations by schools in the news that I heard about the reading/writing thing.  Apparently, because ASL is "not english" there is a fairly large group of people that have difficulty making the transition to written english.  This is particularly true if they are not taught to read by age 8 or 9 because the language structure gets stuck.  The problem was with the school only providing information in the form of english written notes, and...  I don't remember everything anymore.  

Quoting LadybugsMonkeys:

On PBS they have a show called Signing Time. We do not have cable right now but from the video I have seen online it is great. Also on youtube there are tons of videos that teach sign. I also like watching Switched At Birth on ABC Family (netflix) I cover the bottom of the screen with paper and focus on their signing and face expressions.

For me the best way to learn ASL is to "sing/sign" a song. The people that I know that are deaf or hard of hearing all can read and write very well.