While visiting my relatives in Atlanta, Georgia, for Christmas, I decided to take them along for a beautiful tour of Savannah.   It was a spectacular time filled with historical information, good food, and lots of laughter, all contributing to a very memorable Holiday.

As we toured the Historical District of Savannah, I recalled something I had learned as a student of American Sign Language, regarding a woman who was deaf, who not only lived in Savannah, but she was also the Founder of the Girl Scouts of America.   Her name was Juliette Gordon Low.  Not only was she born in Savannah, but her house is still there.  This is also the very spot where the Girl Scouts held their very first meeting.

There’s one very familiar quote of Juliette’s call to her sister:  “Come right over!  I’ve got something for the girls of Savannah, and all America and all the world, and we’re going to start it tonight.”  This quote appeared in a brochure I picked up at the house during our tour of the city.

I am sure many of you who are former (or current) members of the Girl Scouts can recall seeing the American Sign Language alphabet in your Girl Scouts manual.

To my knowledge, Juliette was born with a severe ear infection which left her deaf in one ear.  Then, when she married, a piece of rice punctured the eardrum of the opposite ear, leaving her completely deaf.  Juliette’s birth place, and her life-long home, continues to be beautifully preserved in Savannah, Georgia, by the Girl Scouts of America.

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Myth#1:  American Sign Language is universal.

This myth is false.  American Sign Language (ASL) is not a universal language.  It is primarily used in North America.  However, there are other places around the world that use ASL because of missionaries visiting those countries, and there are places using ASL simply because those knowing the language have shared it with these other cultures .

Myth #2:  Every deaf person knows how to sign.

This myth is also false.  Some deaf people are taught how to read lips, while others learn how to sign, while others rely on paper-pencil to communicate.  Remember, ninety percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, of which, seventy-five percent of those parents do not sign.  Some of these parents who do not sign simply raise their deaf child to read lips, or they provide them with no training whatsoever.  However, for those parents that do sign, they may use a combination of home signs (signs that are made up, and are not commonly known by the Deaf community ), and ASL.

Myth #3:  Deaf people can do anything except “hear”

This myth is true.  Deaf people can do anything that a “hearing” person can do, except hear.  Today, there are deaf people in every profession, including engineering, medicine, and law.  Deaf people do not consider their hearing loss a “handicap”.  Instead, they are connected by a common denominator to others who are like them.  REMEMBER, deafness is NOT a disability, but simply an inability.

If there are myths that you would like to share that you have heard, please do so.  We will be posting various myths from time to time.

On occasion, deaf individuals may ask for clarifications because facial expressions are not present.  Now, if this were to happen, do not feel insulted, nor should you consider it rude.  Instead, change how you are signing the message, and merely add more facial expressions. Your facial expressions show if you are sad, mad, shocked, surprised, disappointed, happy, jovial, etc.  Use them to the best of your ability.

Another feature of American Sign Language (ASL) that is critical to command while communicating with a deaf person is the use of your eyes.  While engaged in a conversation with a deaf person, you should be looking at the deaf person the entire time while conversation is taking place.  However, if for any reason, you break eye contact, it is considered rude.  Now, I can just imagine what you are thinking as a hearing person.  There are numerous times when we hear something, and we automatically look to the source of the noise for an explanation.  However, you have to try your best to break that habit of looking away when you hear a noise, or if someone is calling your name while you are conversing with a deaf person.   So, if someone is calling your name, or trying to get your attention while you’re signing with a deaf individual, what can you do in this situation?  (Can you just feel another poll coming up?).

Another way to use your eyes while conversing in ASL is with eye gazes.  You may be talking about a certain person in the room, but the deaf person doesn’t quite follow who you are referring to.  So, with a quick and swift eye gaze over to the person you are (so secretly) talking about, you can let the deaf person know who it is, and make it easier for them to follow the conversation.  You can also use your nose and head in the same sense.  For example, a mere twitch of your nose can be used to indicate a person “over there”, which is similar to a tilt of the head to point out the presence of someone.  Who knew that learning American Sign Language could be this much fun?

American Sign Language is not universal.  This myth is often shared by the majority of the hearing community.  American Sign Language is learned by the majority of the Deaf community in North America.  In addition, there are other countries that have adopted American Sign Language as their form of a visual language.  Furthermore, American Sign Language is a derivative of French Sign Language (FSL).  People, who know American Sign Language, or French Sign Language, would be able to communicate pretty well with each other.  However, just because one country speaks English, does not mean their sign language system would be used in another country that also speaks English.  The more you know about American Sign Language, the more you will realize that it is not a universal language.

Myth #2:   American Sign Language is Shorthand.

Numerous people believe that American Sign Language is a form of shorthand.  And, these people would be incorrect.  American Sign Language is not a form of shorthand, but a complex language system with linguistic components.  Many people have this belief because American Sign Language does not have a written component to it.  Instead, American Sign Language is a manual way of communicating with those who can, and cannot hear.  The next time you hear someone say that American Sign Language is a form of shorthand, you can politely correct them.

Myth #3:  All Deaf People use American Sign Language.

This myth is definitely false.  There are many deaf people that do not know, or learn American Sign Language, for one reason or another.  Some deaf people grow up learning how to read lips and talk in order to communicate with those around them.  Other deaf people are raised in an environment where he or she learns American Sign Language as their primary language.  Regardless of which method one learns, now you know that all deaf people are raised differently, with different communication methods.

Myth #4:  American Sign Language is Easy to Learn.

American Sign Language is not easy to learn.  In fact, it takes many years to “Master” this language.  In order to learn American Sign Language, it is imperative to interact with the Deaf community.   People often think that by completing a couple of classes in American Sign Language, one would be able to interpret or sign at a proficient level.  However, this belief is definitely completely wrong.  To learn American Sign Language, it takes the same amount of time, or longer as a spoken language, to learn or master.  The more you practice your American Sign Language skills, the better you will become.

 Myth #5:  Parents of Deaf Children Learn American Sign Language.

Ninety percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, of which, seventy-five percent do not know American Sign Language.  Many times, parents with deaf children do not learn how to sign.  Instead, they force their children to learn how to lip read and talk in order to communicate with them and other family members.  On average, lip reading is the least effective way to communicate with those who are deaf.

Here are some tips when reading fingerspelling:

• Try and catch the first letter and last letter of the word
• Use context clues to help narrow the word possibilities
• DO NOT PANIC when you see the person you are talking with fingerspell
• Ask the person you are conversing with to slow down his or her fingerspelled word
• Ask the person to repeat the fingerspelled word

The more you interact with the Deaf community, the better you will be able to sign and understand fingerspelling.

Visualize the reaction a deaf person would have if he/she walked into your establishing to make a purchase, or to request help. You, or one of your employees, greet this customer in sign language by saying, “Hello. How are you?” Or, “Hello, can I help you?” How do you think this deaf customer will react? How good does it feel to this employee that he or she can sign enough to help this customer by communicating in their language? You do not need to be proficient at sign language to help a customer who is deaf. You can simply learn some basic signs and sentences in order to help out this person, especially if the signs are related to your area of employment/interest.

If you wanted to become an interpreter for the deaf, you would need to enroll in an interpreting program at a local college, or university. However, in today’s world, you have the opportunity to learn some basic phrases and words in sign language online, that would allow you to complete a sale, or to assist a deaf person. The World Wide Web has a vast amount of knowledge for people to learn American Sign Language. Some of the websites have themed lessons for people like you to learn what is needed. Some websites have a large video dictionary to customize to your liking. You now have the ability to select certain words that pertain to your workplace and to the deaf people you help/encounter on a daily basis.

The Deaf community is relatively small and cohesive. The moment you sign with your deaf patrons, the word of your interaction with them will spread like wildfire among the community. Deaf people seek out businesses and retailers that attempt to make a concerted effort to interact with them. Again, you don’t have to be proficient at sign language to ask a deaf person if he or she needs assistance. Having a basic understanding of sign language and deaf culture will go a long way. And if they ask, “Oh, do you know sign language,” you can simply reply, “A little bit.”

When looking online for a good sign language website, the following things should be considered:

Are the lessons themed, instead of a list of words?
1. Does the site offer ASL grammar and practice?
2. Are there retention exercises to help with memorization?
3. Can you review lessons if needed?
4. Is the site available 24/7?
5. Are the videos clear and large enough to see?

These are important criteria to have for your sign language learning. You want to seek out websites that has all of the above features. If it doesn’t, you may want to check out additional websites that will.

Regardless of your job status, the learning of sign language will be beneficial, rewarding, and worthwhile. After all, you may not even have a job, but you have a friend (or friends) who are deaf. Now you can communicate with them better and more effectively. How powerful is that? Have fun with signing and meet people from a diverse cultural background, especially the Deaf community. There, you will meet some tremendous people just waiting to communicate with you.

Every 4 years, the Deaflympics takes place.  This year, the Games will be held in Taipei, China on September 5 – 15th, 2009.  There are over 80 countries participating, with nearly 4,000 Deaf competitors.  The first Deaflympics was held in 1924 in Paris, France.  There were only 145 athletes, and 9 European countries, represented.  At one time, The Deaflympics was called “World Games for the Deaf”.

In order for a country to host The Deaflympics, it must apply 6 years in advance.  The next Deaflympics will be held in Athens, Greece, in 2012.

For more information on The Deaflympics, go to http://www.2009deaflympics.org/

Do you know what this says?

Tips on how to improve your receptive and expressive fingerspelling:

Receptive:

1.  Try and see the shape of the word.  Not individual letters

2.  Use context clues to help you determine the word.  (Remember what you are conversing about)

3.  Try and catch the first letter, some middle letters, and the last letter.  From there, you can fill in the missing letters that you did not understand.

4.  Don’t freeze up!  If you miss the fingerspelled word, you can always ask the person to repeat it.

Expressive:

1.  Practice…Practice…Practice.  You can practice fingerspelling while driving for example.  When you see a license plate or a sign, fingerspell it.  However, be careful while driving.  You don’t want to get into an accident.  (how would you explain that to a cop? )

2.  Make sure you have a steady hand while fingerspelling.  Avoid bouncing your letters and hand.

3.  Fingerspell smoothly and avoid jerking the letters.

4.  Make sure you form all of the letters correctly and completely.  If you are a sloppy fingerspeller, your message will be lost.  The most important thing is to communicate effectively.

The fingerspelled message says, “I hope you have a great day”  Did you get it right?  I hope so.  If not, practice…practice…practice.