Re: finally!! the school is doing something ! (learning to sign)

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Glad to hear that your son is being taken care of finally! Yipee!!!!

I wanted to chime in in support of 's statement here. It is

absolutely true that there is only so much time in a day. Our

family learned sign language when our son was first diagnosed with a

severe-profound loss. We used Signed English for 3 years until he

got his cochlear implant, when we switched to oral. There are a few

things to consider if you want to learn to sign. It is a HUGE time

investment to learn a new language, and to do it right, you really

have to immerse your family in it. Here's a little of how we went

about it and what our experiences were:

* My husband and I went to many, many classes offered by our school

district, local community college, and more informal settings in

people's homes. We sacrificed evenings and weekends with our

children for this. Our then-4-year-old, who is hearing, was not

enthusiastic to learn to sign and also missed us when we were away

(we both worked during the day, so it was precious time.)

* We bought and borrowed and read and watched lots and lots of

dictionaries, books, and videos.

* My husband and I worked at the same place, so we would go to lunch

together and just try to hold our conversations signing. It was fun

but hard to do! We found fingerspelling to be the hardest.

* To do it right, you need to sign all the time, even when you are

conversing with another member of the family. Otherwise, it is not

fair to your son to miss the conversations going on around him.

This is by far the hardest thing to do. It is SO much easier to

just talk.

* 's grandparents never learned to sign. My parents lived too

far away and did not see often enough to learn to sign and

become fluent. My inlaws, who lived much closer had good

intentions, spent tons of money on books and videos but also never

learned to sign either. (And it drove me bonkers that my incredibly

kind father-in-law wouldn't use his voice with either!) They

didn't come with us to classes, because they were usually watching

our kids. Consequence: couldn't communicate with his

grandparents and visa versa, unless my husband or I interpreted.

* I spent countless hours teaching our daycare staff how to sign.

(I know your son is older so this won't be an issue, but there may

be others you would have to teach.) There was a fair bit of

turnover at our daycare center largely because of the age of the

caregivers, so I really felt like I was not getting anywhere. As

soon as someone learned, they left, and I'd have to start from

scratch with the next person!

* I was 's personal interpreter. He could not interact with

the rest of the world without me. It made us incredibly close, but

I am glad he can speak for himself now.

Overall, I think my husband and I worked very hard at learning to

sign and teaching those around us, and that we did quite an

admirable job. However, while at one time I knew many, many signs,

even at my peak, I can't really say I could have had a deep

conversation with a deaf adult. There was still so much more for me

to learn. I also found that I could not express everything I wanted

to , especially if it was something abstract. In another

couple of years, I probably would have been able to, but that would

have been FIVE YEARS of LEARNING! I suppose if I had no other

responsibilities (like a job and children to raise), I could have

done it faster, but there was only so much time....

But whatever you do, your son will do best if you spend time

communicating (by speaking or signing) with him! In my opinion,

there is nothing sadder than when a child can't communicate with his

or her own family. I have seen that situation and it is absolutely

heartbreaking.

Lydia

Mom of , almost 8, deaf with implant

and Colin, almost 11, hearing

> Yes, you all could learn to sign now but realistically there is

only so much

> time in a day.