Category: ASL Discussions
Friday, August 10th, 2012
As you work through American Sign Language lessons and read up on Deaf Culture, it is important to remember that deaf people have a sense of humor, too! Whatever aspect of deaf life you may be exploring, you should never forget to treat deaf individuals the same way you would your own friends and family. Although deaf humor and hearing humor does not always translate between cultures (for example, “It’s raining cats and dogs”), that doesn’t mean you should resist sharing a laugh like you would with anyone else.
Hearing people are often afraid to offend a deaf person by signing the wrong thing, but just as with any other language, deaf people appreciate it when others try to communicate with them. Just think how much easier it would be to learn a new sign than make sense of some of those French pronunciations! Everyone has the tools to be an ASL learner… just (literally) dust off your hands and get to work. The more you explore American Sign Language, the more we at ASLdeafined believe you will come to understand the unique beauty of this special means of communication.
Please join us in our goal to share this important language with others. Summer is a great time to catch up on that TO DO list of life and tackle some of the tasks you put off during the rest of the year. Why not make it fun by picking a favorite joke and learning how to sign it? What a great way to start a conversation with the next deaf person you meet.
Tags: American Sign Language, ASL, Deaf Culture
Posted in ASL, ASL Discussions, asl program, deaf jokes, learn asl online, videos in ASL | Comments Off
Friday, July 20th, 2012
In our blogs we have often used the term Deaf Culture, but that takes on a little different meaning if you just add the word “Pop” in between. There are certain very recognizable celebrities in Deaf Pop Culture, such as the famous actress Marlee Matlin, who has starred in a successful film version of Children of a Lesser God (1986), originally published as a play in 1980 by Mark Medoff. Marlee has also been featured in several TV shows, including recent reality hits like The Apprentice and Dancing with the Stars. Speaking of Children of the Lesser God, actress Phyllis Frelich won a Tony Award for her role in the stage production. Do you want to know what else is incredible? Lou Ferrigno, American actor and body builder, well known for his role as the Incredible Hulk in the 1970’s and 80’s is also a Deaf individual.
Those in the Deaf community are more likely to know the name of I. King Jordan, but hearing people should learn more about this first Deaf president of Gallaudet University and the interesting history surrounding it (our next set of blogs will focus on history, so you may see more on that here too). Additionally, Heather Whitestone is worth noting for being the first Deaf woman to win the title of Miss America! So what is stopping you from digesting that next American Sign Language (ASL) lesson? You never know when you might run into the next stage or screen star in the Deaf community.
Tags: Deaf, Deaf Culture, Deaf Pop Culture, Mark Medoff, Phyllis Frelich, Tony Award
Posted in ASL culture, ASL dictionary, ASL Discussions, asl video lessons, learn american sign language, Sign Language lessons online | Comments Off
Friday, July 13th, 2012
Perhaps in a future blog entry we will extend the topic of deafness to the animal kingdom. For this entry, we wanted to highlight what the animal kingdom does for the Deaf. As you may have guessed, there are indeed service dogs for the Deaf. Paws with a Cause is one of the organizations that trains these special canines. There is also a British Organization, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. A big part of what these dogs do is to act as an alert system for the Deaf person. These animals can learn to give alerts when someone is at the door, the phone is ringing or other important noises enter the environment. In addition to assisting with daily life, these dogs can particularly help with travel. Both the deaf individual and the dog must have special certification verifying their training as an assistance dog to allow them to enter establishments that normally would not permit animals. So just think! Now not only can you communicate with a Deaf person if you learn American Sign Language (ASL), but you may also run into some very unique and wonderful dogs too!
Tags: British Organization, Deaf
Posted in american sign language, ASL, ASL Discussions, ASL Resources, Dogs for the deaf | Comments Off
Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
In our blogs we have often used the term Deaf Culture, but that takes on a little different meaning if you just add the word “Pop” in between. There are certain very recognizable celebrities in Deaf Pop Culture, such as the famous actress Marlee Matlin, who has stared in a successful film version of Children of a Lesser God (1986), originally published as a play in 1980 by Mark Medoff. Marlee has also been featured in several TV shows, including recent reality hits like The Apprentice and Dancing with the Stars. Speaking of Children of the Lesser God, actress Phyllis Frelich won a Tony Award for her role in the stage production.
Do you want to know what else is incredible? Lou Ferrigno, American actor and body builder, well known for his role as the Incredible Hulk in the 1970’s and 80’s is also a deaf individual. Those in the deaf community are more likely to know the name of I. King Jordan, but hearing people should learn more about this first deaf president of Gallaudet University and the interesting history surrounding it (our next set of blogs will focus on history, so you may see more on that here too). Additionally, Heather Whitestone is worth note for being the first deaf woman to win the title of Miss America! So what is stopping you from digesting that next American Sign Language (ASL) lesson? You never know when you might run into the next stage or screen star in the deaf community.
Related Blogs
- Related Blogs on Deaf Culture
- Related Blogs on Deaf Pop Culture
Tags: Deaf Culture, Deaf Pop Culture, Incredible Hulk, King Jordan, Lou Ferrigno, Related Blogs
Posted in ASL, ASL Discussions, asl lessons, Deaf Culture, Online ASL | Comments Off
Friday, June 29th, 2012
The title of this blog is actually a little play on words, because it is literally about the myth (or perhaps, reality) surrounding the idea that if one sense is missing, others will be enhanced. There are a lot of differing opinions and studies that attempt to address this issue. Rather than attempt to cover them all in a quick blog blurb, here are a few things to consider as a broad summary. As expected, when one sense is gone the other senses are used more by default. For example, deaf people are more likely to have the habit of being more aware of their surroundings due to the lack of hearing cues. On more than one occasion you may have experienced frustration at traffic slowing down for no reason only to realize that blasting sirens were drowned out by your radio on the road.
On the other hand, since deaf people tend to be more sensitive to light, the visual alarms of emergency vehicles may come to their attention more quickly. If you have an afternoon free and feel like some scientific research, just “Google It” and you will see that several people have chimed in on this idea. As with any such speculation, we may never know the real answer. The important thing to remember is that each individual in this world, whether deaf or hearing, has their own perceptions and experiences. Why not improve yours by tackling that next set of signs on ASLdeafined?
Tags: Google It
Posted in ASL, ASL Discussions, Deaf senses, Sign Language Program Online | Comments Off
Tuesday, June 26th, 2012
So far recent blogs have briefly highlighted the origins of deafness and touched on family dynamics. Yet, what about where most of us spend the bulk of our time? Work. For hearing people reading this, it is important to remember that deaf people can do anything anyone else can do, except hear. Which means, deaf people can be and ARE lawyers, doctors, veterinarians, engineers, teachers, plumbers, mechanics… you name it! Although that may seem obvious to those who care enough to keep up with ASLdeafined, learn American Sign Language and take the time to follow this blog, we cannot stop stressing this enough.
That basic understanding is at the root of overcoming the unfortunately broad misunderstandings of many who see the deaf experience as more limiting than it truly is in reality. The only thing a deaf person cannot do? Answer a “hearing” phone in the traditional sense. Otherwise? The sky is the limit (yes, they can be pilots), as it is with all of us. So why not stretch our own limits and catch up with the Deaf Community sooner rather than later by tackling that next vocabulary lesson!
Tags: American Sign Language, Deaf, Deaf Community
Posted in ASL, ASL Discussions, asl lessons online, asl videos, Deaf careers, Deafness, sign language online | Comments Off
Tuesday, June 26th, 2012
So far recent blogs have briefly highlighted the origins of deafness and touched on family dynamics. Yet, what about where most of us spend the bulk of our time? Work. For hearing people reading this, it is important to remember that deaf people can do anything anyone else can do, except hear. Which means, deaf people can be and ARE lawyers, doctors, veterinarians, engineers, teachers, plumbers, mechanics… you name it! Although that may seem obvious to those who care enough to keep up with ASLdeafined, learn American Sign Language and take the time to follow this blog, we cannot stop stressing this enough.
That basic understanding is at the root of overcoming the unfortunately broad misunderstandings of many who see the deaf experience as more limiting than it truly is in reality. The only thing a deaf person cannot do? Answer a “hearing” phone in the traditional sense. Otherwise? The sky is the limit (yes, they can be pilots), as it is with all of us. So why not stretch our own limits and catch up with the Deaf Community sooner rather than later by tackling that next vocabulary lesson!
Related Blogs
- Related Blogs on American Sign Language
- Related Blogs on Deaf Community
Tags: American Sign Language, Deaf, Deaf Community, Related Blogs
Posted in ASL, ASL Discussions, asl lessons online, asl videos, Deaf careers, Deafness, sign language online | Comments Off
Tuesday, June 26th, 2012
So far recent blogs have briefly highlighted the origins of deafness and touched on family dynamics. Yet, what about where most of us spend the bulk of our time? Work. For hearing people reading this, it is important to remember that deaf people can do anything anyone else can do, except hear. Which means, deaf people can be and ARE lawyers, doctors, veterinarians, engineers, teachers, plumbers, mechanics… you name it! Although that may seem obvious to those who care enough to keep up with ASLdeafined, learn American Sign Language and take the time to follow this blog, we cannot stop stressing this enough.
That basic understanding is at the root of overcoming the unfortunately broad misunderstandings of many who see the deaf experience as more limiting than it truly is in reality. The only thing a deaf person cannot do? Answer a “hearing” phone in the traditional sense. Otherwise? The sky is the limit (yes, they can be pilots), as it is with all of us. So why not stretch our own limits and catch up with the Deaf Community sooner rather than later by tackling that next vocabulary lesson!
Related Blogs
- Related Blogs on American Sign Language
- Related Blogs on Deaf Community
Tags: American Sign Language, Deaf, Deaf Community, Related Blogs
Posted in ASL, ASL Discussions, asl lessons online, asl videos, Deaf careers, Deafness | Comments Off
Friday, June 22nd, 2012
We at ASLdeafined would not presume to know the ins and outs of the family lives of those in the Deaf Community, as it is as varied as anyone’s family structure and experience. Yet, we felt it important to note some of the potentially unique situations that present themselves for the deaf. For example, it is said that 90% of deaf children are born to hearing families, and within that percentage, 75% of the hearing parents do not sign with their deaf child. Additionally, many siblings and extended family members (aunts, uncles and cousins) do not sign. As you can imagine, this would create an even more isolating situation for a child that is already set apart simply by the fact of their deafness.
Daily events like supper can leave such children feeling left out, as they may not know what is being discussed around the dinner table. Family reunions can be straining if the crowds overlook the challenges of the deaf relative. Although deaf students can alleviate this frustration some in a school with other deaf kids, this environment can also leave them feeling marginalized. One teacher for the deaf has shared that he sometimes had no knowledge of where the parents of his pupils worked or even what they did for a living. These are just a few thoughts, but it still leads us back to the bottom line… the more people to learn American Sign Language, the more likely deaf people can feel a connection in a world that is inherently isolating from the start. Will you do your part?
Tags: American Sign Language, Deaf, Deaf Community
Posted in ASL, ASL Discussions, Deafness, Sign language families | Comments Off
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
We have mentioned the benefits of learning American Sign Language (ASL) for many different populations (general, toddlers, etc.), but some may not consider how positive the experience can be for those with special needs. With the rise of autism, the need for communication with these individuals has also increased, and ASL can be a powerful way to bridge that gap. Autistic children often express their needs and wants through gestures, and the unique form of language learning that ASL provides fits right in with that. Through the use of sign language, autistic children can communicate more effectively with their caregivers, teachers, other staff members and those outside the school community as well. This is a win-win for all parties as the autistic child is less frustrated, and they can learn sign language more easily and comfortably. This is also one more reason that educators, fellow students, family members and others may want to learn American Sign Language!
Tags: ASL, sign language
Posted in american sign language, ASL, ASL Autistic, ASL Discussions, sign language, Special Needs | Comments Off
