There are many things in life that I am very thankful for. Above all -- my kids. However, I am also quite thankful for American Sign Language. Learning this language never would have happened if my youngest child had not been born with hearing loss. I have learned how to listen with my eyes and open myself up to a whole new world. My family embraced ASL. Believe me there are days that I wish I could just push a button and turn my ears off to the world around me. I think of the "If this hadn't happened" type things and I know that if I hadn't been meant to be at an ice arena holding a child wearing a very obvious pink and white hearing aid, I never would have met a deaf woman who would tell me about something that would change my family's life. That something was a DVD series by the name of Signing Time!
Signing Time came into our lives when I just didn't have answers. At that point there were only 2 Baby Signing Time videos and volumes 1-6 of series 1. There are now 32 (oh I hope that is right) videos in all. There are flash cards, books and music, as well as letter and number wall posters. This is such an incredible series. I have watched my children blossom from this series. Sophia's language skills just exploded. She was signing so much. She had so much to say. Sabrina couldn't soak up the information fast enough. My oldest two loved sitting down and watching this series. We would practice what we were learning by turning off our voices. I then looked into becoming a retailer of this series. I was accepted into the retailer program. I love this series. I can't say enough about it. I have never taken any class beyond the family class which is offered 1 day a week, however I have tried to involve myself in the deaf community. I am constantly trying to improve my signing. In fact, I have been asked by two separate deaf women if indeed I was deaf. Both said they were really impressed by my ability to sign. Those were the greatest compliments that I could have ever received. The same has happened with my now 5 year old who gave the "appearance," with her ability to sign, of being deaf.
Oh, the places you'll go. And me, I owe quite a bit of it to Rachel Coleman, her sister, Emilie Brown, and a series called Signing Time! Thank you, Two Little Hands Productions! You have really inspired my family to go farther than we imagined possible.
I too can't say enough about the series. I wish I was able to do more with ASL, but soak up as much as I can. And WHAT a compliment! Wow. Seriously, can't think of anything much better than that. You have an amazing ability for languages!
ReplyDeleteBridget...you said that wonderfully!!! I ditto everything you said!
ReplyDeleteI started using ST! because I wanted to learn ASL. I came across the 1st video & was hooked & knew these were the only videos to use!!! My hearing son took off with his signing. It has been wonderful.
Now being 4 1/2 he doesn't use it as much as I'd like, but I still encourage it. I'd really like to be more fluent & have more people to communicate with.
Not a day goes by that I don't wish someone else knew sign so I could communicate from across the room or while on the phone or something similar.
I hope he will continue to embrace ASL and let it be his 2nd language.
I also wouldn't have so many great friends had it not be for ST!
Love ya hon!!!!
I so agree that ASL is so much help. My kids are not deaf, but ASL has made communicating with them so much easier. When my daughter was 3yrs old we started watching ST!. She learned over 300 signs in 4 months. Now that she is 5yrs old, I can communicate to her across the room, even when we can't talk to each other. My son is 2 1/2yrs old and has been exposred to ASL since birth. I am amazed everyday to the amount of signs he knows. The other day he was working with a speech teacher and they were going through a picture book of animals. Well, he said each one as she pointed to them, except Zebra - he signed since he didn't know how to say it. It floored me! I am convinced that he knows so many words and names for letters, colors, numbers and animals because of me ;) and Signing Time!
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