confused mother ..dont know which one..asl? see?

hinojoza0507

New Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Hello guys, i havent gotten on here for awhile. In case u remember me i have 2 children that are deaf but have a cochlear implant. Daughter goes to preschool but the school she is in they only teach SEE sign and we go to a church where is only ASL so we don't quite understand. But anyway i take her to deaf and hoh center , they're teaching us ASL.. So my question is.. What are the advantages of learning SEE sign first or is it better to learn ASL first?? Should I start signin ASL? I already went and bought a book today and honestly I don;t really understand how ASL works but any help will be appreciated.. I wanted to add that i met this girl at the center , she;s about 18,19 and her mom was there and it was sad cus the mother didnt understand her and the interpreter had to translate what the daughter was saying to the mom ! i certainly dont want that to happen to me and my kids i want to have a very good solid communication..Please any advice will be greatly appreaciated.. sorry its too long . thanx for reading.
 
SEE is signing exact english, so EVERY word is signed and in exact English order. ASL doesn't sign every single word and it's more expressive, and the language structure of ASL is more similar to that of the French sentence structure.

I know here at our deaf school, we were taught SEE early so we could learn the English language structure better I guess. But as we got older, we were able to learn ASL if we wanted.
 
In my opinion, SEE should be used in an education setting... while ASL or whatever communication method can be used elsewhere.

It's like Spanish-speaking students. They're expected to learn and use English in American schools. They can speak Spanish when they're at home or anywhere outside of school, but in school... they use English.

So, for those who use sign language... SEE should be in school and ASL can be anywhere else.

I'm surprised that the mother doesn't even understand her. If she's 18 years old, that means the mother had plenty of time to learn sign language or some form of communication with her daughter.
 
ASL for language development as ASL is a language while SEE is not. SEE is for Language Arts class.
 
The ability to communicate is important regardless of the signing system you choose. SEE as I understand it is designed to teach how to read and write English, a spoken language. ASL is a visual language and is quite different than English. From what others have said here, ASL is a more efficient way of communicating and SEE is making English visual for the purpose of teaching to read and write English. SEE can also be used to communicate but it's not as efficient as ASL. There are also other signing systems out there including PSE which I believe is a hybrid of ASL and SEE.

I have the same problems with regard to communication with my son. Which signing system or language should I use. I sign in ASL to him and he looks at me bewildered and shows me the SEE sign. The problem for me is that ASL is more accessible to learn than SEE is. Hopefully that will change. Some signs are the same between the two systems but there are many that aren't and SEE contains more signs than ASL. Anyone please correct me if I have mis-stated anything.

Some good free online resources to learn ASL and ASL signs are;

• ASL • American Sign Language Click here to go to lifeprint. Lifeprint is an outstanding site that will teach you American Sign Language and also shows the signs. Many of the signs are being updated to video which is much eaiser than looking at still photos. Start at the top and work your way through the free lessons.

ASLPro.com Home Click here to go to ASLPRO. ASLpro has a video dictionary amongst other things and includes the ability to quiz yourself. I frequent this site.

I don't know of any such resources for SEE. If anyone does please PM me or post here.
I wish you all the best Hino!
 
RD, nothing you stated recently is incorrect. Well said!
 
Good question!

In my opinion, SEE/SEE2 are ideal for an academic settings, especially when developing the mastery of the English language. Especially when education on prefix, suffix, stems, tense, articles, etc are important for your children to learn and associate, like the -ing endings.

In a social setting, it depends. With other sign language users, ASL tends to be dominant. PSE is ok, but it's rare to see usage of SEE or SEE2 in social settings.

Overall, I would say that adaptability is important to have. It would be most useful in understanding other sign language syntax in a wider setting. Plus, it plays in well into a skillset in adapting to communicating while visiting other countries. But, I do advise on reading up on which hand gestures are offensive in the country you'll visit, and avoid those gestures.

I grew up utilizing total communication (oral+sign language), while voicing for myself, with predominately SEE and SEE2 in the academic world, and using PSE (SEE/SEE2-ASL hybrid) everywhere else that I sign. But, I tend to speak more than I sign, oh well.

Also, when I was a kid, I was bored to tears in church. Mainly because I couldn't understand anything what was going on. I would be attending a hearing church without sign language services available, and all I'd hear is something like:
<mumble mumble> <LOUDER mumble from the congregation> <mumble mumble> AHEM! <followed by the sounds of people moving and sitting down>

For years, I never figured out why people would all clear their throats at the same time, until I realized it was supposed to be "amen". And not understanding anything, all I really got out of church was that people there had phlegm problems and was pleading to the guy in the robe at the front for some bread and wine for a magical throat-clearing remedy.

So, if your children's understanding of church is important to you and your family, I strongly suggest going to a church with sign language services (like you already are), and learn ASL concurrently, if SEE is not available.
 
well thanks everyone for their help.. i will certainly do that ,someone said here about how the kids can learn SEE at school and ASL at home. Im myself am hispanic and had to learn English at school and Spanish at home so its like the same thing. i feel so much better now.. One question ..what is PSE?
 
Good question!

In my opinion, SEE/SEE2 are ideal for an academic settings, especially when developing the mastery of the English language. Especially when education on prefix, suffix, stems, tense, articles, etc are important for your children to learn and associate, like the -ing endings.

In a social setting, it depends. With other sign language users, ASL tends to be dominant. PSE is ok, but it's rare to see usage of SEE or SEE2 in social settings.

Overall, I would say that adaptability is important to have. It would be most useful in understanding other sign language syntax in a wider setting. Plus, it plays in well into a skillset in adapting to communicating while visiting other countries. But, I do advise on reading up on which hand gestures are offensive in the country you'll visit, and avoid those gestures.

I grew up utilizing total communication (oral+sign language), while voicing for myself, with predominately SEE and SEE2 in the academic world, and using PSE (SEE/SEE2-ASL hybrid) everywhere else that I sign. But, I tend to speak more than I sign, oh well.

Also, when I was a kid, I was bored to tears in church. Mainly because I couldn't understand anything what was going on. I would be attending a hearing church without sign language services available, and all I'd hear is something like:
<mumble mumble> <LOUDER mumble from the congregation> <mumble mumble> AHEM! <followed by the sounds of people moving and sitting down>

For years, I never figured out why people would all clear their throats at the same time, until I realized it was supposed to be "amen". And not understanding anything, all I really got out of church was that people there had phlegm problems and was pleading to the guy in the robe at the front for some bread and wine for a magical throat-clearing remedy.

So, if your children's understanding of church is important to you and your family, I strongly suggest going to a church with sign language services (like you already are), and learn ASL concurrently, if SEE is not available.
I agree.

When it comes to learning in class, it's important to get as much as possible when listening to the teacher.
 
I rather sign in mixed of pse or asl over SEE. I remember that I was forced to sign english aka SEE and speak at the same time. It did not work out for me that it messed up with my english big time in my childhood days. I feel that ASL is the first one that will leads to reading book, writing, and go on better in order to understand language first.
 
Back
Top