—About Visitor
"As a little girl I was very fortunate to have two friendships with Deaf children. When I was two years old I was in a progressive nursery school for high IQ kids with special learning challenges. I have severe dyslexia. There was a Deaf girl there and others with various circumstances. Since I was still in primary language acquisition, my mom says I signed as well as I spoke. Later in kindergarten I went to a school that had a Deaf student and we signed together. I don't remember any of this, but I guess the interest in sign was planted.
When I was in college I worked at a discount store. When Deaf signers would come through my checkout line and I was unable to communicate with them, I always felt like I was the one with the "handicap". They had a perfectly good language and I didn't know how to use it. But I was studying something completely different so I didn't do anything about learning sign.
Years later a series of events got me moving again. I found a way to start learning ASL. I even enrolled in an interpreter program at a junior college for a while.
I love my career as an artist, and I decided that I did not want to give it up. However, I continue to look for opportunities to use my ASL skills whenever I can.
One day my husband and I were driving next to the ocean and we saw a young sea bird (an osprey) injured in the middle of the road. We stopped the car; I lifted the bird to a grassy area and started calling places to find where I could get the bird some help. Two young men walked up and they were signing to each other. I signed, "Hi. I sign a little." One of the guys told me in ASL that he was driving along and the bird had swooped down to grab some food. He swerved his car but was unable to miss the bird. He was very very sorry. I told him that I was calling for help. Later I was able to tell the worried young men that I had found a special hospital for injured sea birds and I was taking the it there for help. They were very relieved.
Yesterday I was in the same discount store I mentioned above. In a crowded isle, I asked a women "excuse me" three times and she didn't move. Eventually she saw me and said she was sorry, she didn't know I was there. I could tell by her speech that she was Deaf. I was SO happy to be able to sign, "Oh, are you Deaf? I sign a little! Nice to meet you!" When she apologized again, (now in ASL) I was able to grin and sign, "Fine! Don't worry. Fine!! Excuse me. Have a nice day!"
These little interactions and others like it are why I learned to sign. Not a big deal I guess, but I'm really happy about it."
—About Visitor
"I am learning to sign because my hearing is on the decline. I am taking classes in speech-reading and ASL, simultaneously. The speech- reading helps me dealing with the hearing world. As my hearing gets worse, I am drawn closer to the Deaf culture, the world of signing. I see a day coming where I will depend on sign to make myself understood and to understand others. It won’t help for the hearing world, but in the Washington DC area, there is a large population of Deaf. "
—About Visitor
"I have also always had a fascination for sign language as many people have mentioned. I learned the alphabet when I was in third grade, but that is all I knew but always wanted to learn more. My husband, of 8 months, also has an interest in it, due mostly to the fact that his younger brother uses sign to communicate even though he can hear, but he cannot speak hardly at all. So, my husband and I decided to take ASL 101 together this past semester at school. We both loved it and are taking ASL 102 currently. I am a senior this year so it is a little late to have a minor in ASL which I would have loved. But I am hoping to somehow continue learning how to sign, and more about the deaf culture. It is really an amazing way to communicate, because it more of a feeling. And, I love being able to communicate with my husband in such a beautiful way. It is also very convenient that we can talk even when we are not within hearing distance of each other."
—About Visitor
"I took two sign English classes at a church in my city. The classes were so interesting to me that I decided to enroll at the college in the next city. I am now in my third year of ASL, and I love it, I am attending school part time because I work during the day, so it will take me longer to get my degree, but that's ok. I am working toward my goal of becoming a certified interpreter. I love associating with the Deaf. I feel very comfortable around them. They are very patient with me because they know that I am a student and they can see the love that I have of learning their language. I have found out what my true passion is, and I pray that I will never, ever lose my love for signing."
—About Visitor"
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