PLATEAU

So, we've been learning ASL for over 3 years now, really studying it for 2 of those. Can I just say again how big of a signing advocate I am? Sign with your deaf kids!!!! Hearing parents, I am talking to you. It's a challenge to learn a new language as an adult, especially one that isn't spoken and comes with the added pressure of your kids learning it faster than you are. The benefits for your child are so worth it, though... first, the obvious, more language means better communication. We're bilingual! You can read for yourself all the benefits of being bilingual.

But beyond those obvious benefits, think of all the emotional and relational problems fixed with communication. Again, you can read all about the issues isolated children face. I couldn't bear to think one of my children felt isolated in his/her own home. Limited langauge only further isolates a child who already knows he/she can't hear while everyone else around him/her can. It's turned out to be a blessing that we have 2 deaf children - they have each other. It's not so bad to wear your hearing aids when you're not the only one putting them on every day. Signing isn't weird when everyone in the family does it all the time.

All that said, we're quickly hitting a plateau. Signing classes at J's school have ended, and our signing education is largely left to us now. D and I have decided to study together once a week in addition to our every day practice, and quick consulting for this or that sign. D also recently got the iphone. We're definitely not a "techy" family, but every once in awhile, one of these new devices grabs our attention. D added some ASL apps to his phone, and it is so convenient to learn a few new sings while you have a few minutes to play on the phone.

We have to keep pushing now to become truly fluent. I know enough signing to get by, especially with my kids. It's too easy to become complacent at this level. A big wake-up call, though is when I try to keep up with a conversation between fluent signers. It becomes pretty obvious how patient these signers are with me!! This is the limited communication I mentioned above, except the tables are turned. Me, the English speaking hearing person is limited, and the fluent signers have to dull down their message, use simpler signing, sign slower, repeat, fingerspell more, etc. If I don't keep working on my signing skills, it will soon be my kids who have to dull down to communicate with Mom.

Yes, they know English. Yes, we can communicate effectively with English. We as parents do so many things to make life warm and comfortable for our children. D and I feel that using the languages they are most comfortable with is one of those things. If you don't think it's true that people with hearing loss prefer visual input, you should spend a day in my house! You can see the differences in the way they observe and handle new situations, even as babies.

We have a chance to be a part of another culture, we need to do it with the same enthusiam a person would learn Italian before moving to Italy! We have a chance to use 2 languages to describe our life experiences. Why wouldn't we take full advantage of this chance?