CostaRicaASL
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- May 25, 2014
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By circumstance, or divine intervention, my husband and I visited a home for mentally disabled adults. It was one of those Costa Rican adventures where we left the house in the morning to get the radiator in the car fixed, and we end up having lunch at a home for some disabled adults. We stumbled across the home while we were looking for an orphanage. We wanted to deliver some sweets to the orphans while the car was being worked on. We ended up delivering sweets to the adult home instead. They invited us in and were thrilled to have visitors and wanted to dance with us and show us their coloring books. I'd probably have went home and never thought about it again, except for this one guy with a brilliant smile. He was deaf. 
He was one the only deaf person in the group. There was another lady who doesn't speak, but I think she is not deaf. They had no form of communicating with each other or others in the group. The den mother doesn't sign, and I didn't see him signing. He had a brilliant smile and two intelligent eyes above it. I signed to him "you sign you?" from his reaction he does not sign. He is also, perhaps developmentally challenged, as is the entire group. However, to me, he stands out from the group as being more intelligent because he is one of two who can play dominos. This is beyond the others. Yet, he has no way to communicate with others or with those in charge. I imagine having some signs to communicate with would be a huge change in his quality of life.
I am seeking help here at this forum, because I have a limited ASL vocabulary, and I could teach this guy, and the others at his facility some sign, but I need help. I would be teaching an illiterate deaf person sign, and I don't know how to do that. First let me introduce myself to you, and explain how I come to know any sign at all, before I ask for your advice.
I am hearing, and took first year ASL in college many years ago. I loved it, and was amazed by how beautiful and colorful a language it is. I found that in some ways it was much richer than the spoken word, as stories came to life, and sometimes the stories conveyed more in ASL than in the spoken word. That is what I loved about ASL. However, all those years ago I had no one to practice with, I couldn't find any other students who were serious enough to want to spend the practice needed to become fluent with it. I didn't know any deaf people and I had no way to immerse myself in it. So I gave it up. That is my history with ASL. I switched to learning Spanish, in part because it was a language I could immerse myself in, and because there were a lot of latinos around my area. So I was able to practice. That ended up coming in really handy, as I now live in Costa Rica, and I am pretty much fluent in Spanish.
Those ASL lessons were over 15 years ago… and I have forgotten much. But I do remember some basics. I've started to think of a list of signs that I thought might be the most important to teach the people at the home However, I realized that I have absolutely no idea how to teach a deaf person sign, specifically one who does not read. Yet, presumably deaf children don't read and someone teaches them, so I am hoping the deaf community might have some advice for me? 
Please keep in mind in your response, that this is a facility that is run by some lady out of her home. There is no funding for anything, no money for classes. If this man is to get any help, I am likely it. The director is thrilled at the idea of learning some sign. My idea is to start with the deaf man, and the director, and then teach the others (his housemates) whatever I've taught him. I appreciate any help or advice anyone has to share with me. Or even links to websites.
He was one the only deaf person in the group. There was another lady who doesn't speak, but I think she is not deaf. They had no form of communicating with each other or others in the group. The den mother doesn't sign, and I didn't see him signing. He had a brilliant smile and two intelligent eyes above it. I signed to him "you sign you?" from his reaction he does not sign. He is also, perhaps developmentally challenged, as is the entire group. However, to me, he stands out from the group as being more intelligent because he is one of two who can play dominos. This is beyond the others. Yet, he has no way to communicate with others or with those in charge. I imagine having some signs to communicate with would be a huge change in his quality of life.
I am seeking help here at this forum, because I have a limited ASL vocabulary, and I could teach this guy, and the others at his facility some sign, but I need help. I would be teaching an illiterate deaf person sign, and I don't know how to do that. First let me introduce myself to you, and explain how I come to know any sign at all, before I ask for your advice.
I am hearing, and took first year ASL in college many years ago. I loved it, and was amazed by how beautiful and colorful a language it is. I found that in some ways it was much richer than the spoken word, as stories came to life, and sometimes the stories conveyed more in ASL than in the spoken word. That is what I loved about ASL. However, all those years ago I had no one to practice with, I couldn't find any other students who were serious enough to want to spend the practice needed to become fluent with it. I didn't know any deaf people and I had no way to immerse myself in it. So I gave it up. That is my history with ASL. I switched to learning Spanish, in part because it was a language I could immerse myself in, and because there were a lot of latinos around my area. So I was able to practice. That ended up coming in really handy, as I now live in Costa Rica, and I am pretty much fluent in Spanish. Those ASL lessons were over 15 years ago… and I have forgotten much. But I do remember some basics. I've started to think of a list of signs that I thought might be the most important to teach the people at the home However, I realized that I have absolutely no idea how to teach a deaf person sign, specifically one who does not read. Yet, presumably deaf children don't read and someone teaches them, so I am hoping the deaf community might have some advice for me? Please keep in mind in your response, that this is a facility that is run by some lady out of her home. There is no funding for anything, no money for classes. If this man is to get any help, I am likely it. The director is thrilled at the idea of learning some sign. My idea is to start with the deaf man, and the director, and then teach the others (his housemates) whatever I've taught him. I appreciate any help or advice anyone has to share with me. Or even links to websites.
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We try very hard to expose our students to multiple communication options (obvi. based on their abilities) and many of our students (some nonverbal) use a combo of PECS and ASL--both involve different fine motor skills and give our students a voice of their own
