If your family is hearing do they sign?

I'm deaf in my family.

Mostly of my family(My parents, my sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents) know how to sign, FEW OF THEM don't know how to sign. They are VERY support Deaf Culture... I can't talk and read the lips that VERY GOOD. So I don't care if I don't talk or read the lips as long as there have a paper and a pen to communicate with another hearing people.
 
My Father doesn't sign or my mother. But two of my hearing sisters and brother does know sign language because we taught them. :)
 
my father, 2 brothers and a sister never bothered to learn sign langauge eventho my mother and I are Deaf. My siblings use home-made signs. Sad, ain't it?:dunno:
 
Except for a cousin who is deaf, my entire family is hearing. My parents and sister knew sign language when I was growing up, and I still talk with my sister and dad in sign language as well as with my voice. I am not an excellent speaker, but they are used to my speech.
 
My parents werent bad parents. My mother worked so hard to have me practice my speech and lipread when I was 3. I was born hearing. English was my first language. I learned ASL when I was 3. My grandmother wanted the whole family to learn ASL. My mother told them NO!! I have to say I agreed with my mother. Why? because she wanted me go into hearing world and meet new hearing friends. I had to say Thanks to my mother for it. I really do! If she didnt. Then I wouldnt have alot of hearing friends or unable to speak clearly.

Long time ago, my aunt asked me if I could let her to learn ASL. I told her "NO" she said "why?" I said "well you speak to ur friends on the phone and in person. I couldnt understand you and it was conversation and it wasnt my business. So it isnt fair if you learn and I have no private conversation." My aunt was laughing and said "alright" with huge smile.
 
I have to agree with you. I think its really bad for parents who refuse learn how to sign so they can commuincate with their own kids. I was lucky enough to have my WHOLE family EVEN relatives do sign. They are hearing. I'm the only one deaf. My mom had a deaf friend before I was born. Ironicy,huh? Anyway. I think any of parent should make an effort to learn to sign so they can commuincate with their deaf kid.
I gotta tell u this... One of my hearing friend asked me if I'll learn how to speak because my kid is hearing now. I laughed and said.. I do understand her point but no I will not learn how to speak BECAUSE I cant hear myself what I'll say or whatever I'm afraid If i will sound like a retard if I attempt to speak! So I rather to sign! Hearing people is lucky because she/he can have access to both.. speaking and signing at no problem while I cant because I obviously cant hear myself speak or whatever...
Anyway back to your point. Yes i think the parent should learn how to sign so they can commuincate with their deaf kid.
 
LisaMarie said:
I have to agree with you. I think its really bad for parents who refuse learn how to sign so they can commuincate with their own kids. I was lucky enough to have my WHOLE family EVEN relatives do sign. They are hearing. I'm the only one deaf. My mom had a deaf friend before I was born. Ironicy,huh? Anyway. I think any of parent should make an effort to learn to sign so they can commuincate with their deaf kid.
I gotta tell u this... One of my hearing friend asked me if I'll learn how to speak because my kid is hearing now. I laughed and said.. I do understand her point but no I will not learn how to speak BECAUSE I cant hear myself what I'll say or whatever I'm afraid If i will sound like a retard if I attempt to speak! So I rather to sign! Hearing people is lucky because she/he can have access to both.. speaking and signing at no problem while I cant because I obviously cant hear myself speak or whatever...
Anyway back to your point. Yes i think the parent should learn how to sign so they can commuincate with their deaf kid.
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U are SO lucky!!! My mom was recently here for the Thanksgiving holiday and she was signing a lot more! Mind u..I hadnt seen her for a year. I asked her what was up? She said that my brother's (yes deaf) fiancee (yes hearing) has been taking an informal sign class on Wednesdays for my mom, her parents, my aunts and her brother. I am like WTF????? Why am I 3,000 miles away (they are in AZ and I am in MD) when finally my family starts signing? ARRRGGGHHH but I am happy for my brother.

I am a teacher at a deaf school..I see so many children whose parents who do not make any effort to learn sign and as a result, their language is adversly affected making them have a hard time figuring out how both English and ASL work. I teach first grade and boy...my students struggle with ASL and I have to teach them how to write in English...it is a CHALLENGE but one that I love. The only frustrating thing with my job is the lack of involvment from their parents. :(
 
This to me is just awful. It shouldn't even be a question. I cannot understand why hearing parents would not learn ASL!!!!! I am hearing and am learning ASL and LOVE IT!!!! I have told parents that i work with what i have read on this site and others regarding this and they all say that it is horrible. They cannot understand that. They all say if their children were deaf they would learn ASL. How can you expect to have any meaningful communication, or deep parent/child relationship if all you do is write back and forth OR force your child to read your lips. That is so selfish!!!!!!!!!! i cannot express enough the distain i have for this subject! In my opinion these are awful people. I met a deaf person and imediately began learning ASL. If i can do this for a friend why can't these people do this for their children? Isn't that supposed to be the greatest love, the love of a parent for their child?????
 
Southern said:
This to me is just awful. It shouldn't even be a question. I cannot understand why hearing parents would not learn ASL!!!!! I am hearing and am learning ASL and LOVE IT!!!! I have told parents that i work with what i have read on this site and others regarding this and they all say that it is horrible. They cannot understand that. They all say if their children were deaf they would learn ASL. How can you expect to have any meaningful communication, or deep parent/child relationship if all you do is write back and forth OR force your child to read your lips. That is so selfish!!!!!!!!!! i cannot express enough the distain i have for this subject! In my opinion these are awful people. I met a deaf person and imediately began learning ASL. If i can do this for a friend why can't these people do this for their children? Isn't that supposed to be the greatest love, the love of a parent for their child?????
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I guess parents believe the doctors and audiologists who tell them that sign language will interfer with the child's ability to learn to speak and use their residual hearing (that is what I dont understand cuz it is just impossible to use it and hear like a hearing person) so they refuse to learn sign language especially now with more children being implanted. Even with a CI, I think the child should be exposed to both languages. Nothing wrong with that! So many parents out there have a fear of ASL and see it as a stigmazation on themselves and their child. Sad, huh?
 
My family is hearing and none of them sign. My dad knows very little home-made signs. One of my sisters knows a little more than my dad. My brother knows much more, but isn't very fluent.

It's not really a problem for me cuz they know to talk clearly when talking to me. :)
 
My family is hearing and one of my sisters (I have 3) is the only person who knows some sign (fingerspelling). I never knew this until I was in the hospital earlier this year and she began signing into my hand. When I asked her how she learned to fingerspell, she said she learned it back in high school. That was a surprise to me since I've been using tactile sign for about 6 years and she never used it with me. (We've always communicated with each other using a laptop computer, screen reader and Braille display).

I have another sister who says she would love to learn sign, but hasn't taken any steps to do so yet. One of these days she and I will have to get together so she can start learning! :)
 
I started to teach myself some sign after Lilly had a firm understanding of speech. I did not plan it this way, it just happened. Lilly was having tantrums in the late evening after her CI was taken off before bed time. I taled to an administrator at her oral deaf school. She told me to go ahead and teach her sign. She said it would not slow Lillys speech progress down at all.
I enjoy signing, so does Lilly. I am getting involved in sign alot more than my wife is. Occasionally she will ask me what a certain sign menas or how to sign something. I wish she would get more into signing, but I cannot push her to sign. It has to be something she wants to do. Occasionally she will sign something to Lilly and I correct her. If the sign is close to correct, I let it go. But if it is way off, or done in a manner that will confuse Lilly, I say something. For example, last night, while getting Lilly settled down for bed, my wife signed "sleep" to her. when she did this, she kept her fingers behind her hand so all Lilly saw was the back of my wifes hand going down from her face. I told her what she did wrong, showed he rthe correct way and described it like she should drag her fingers down behind her hand as she was closing the fingertips.
I am not learning ASL , I am doing more of a SEE, or contact english thing. I want to be able to communicate with her whether she can hear or nopt. I also want to be able to communicate with her friends as she gets older.
It is important to be ther for her regardless of how she communicates now, and as she gets older.
 
I'm loosing my hearing and am begining to learn how to sign. My little 10 year old brother wants to learn with me, but my parents don't. I don't understand it. :(
 
I don't know why hearing family does that? Says they will learn some more sign or go to a class and then it never happens?! Makes me feel so hurt and not as important as hearing family members.

My family is mostly HOH, and just me and my aunt are Deaf full. So they can speak any time and hear each other for the most part and I am left out. My brother and sister can sign, but I have 4 other sisters who sign like crap. I guess some people just can't do it, same as some people can't play piano, or play chess, etc...

I just try and be patient....

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morbid-mongoose said:
I'm loosing my hearing and am begining to learn how to sign. My little 10 year old brother wants to learn with me, but my parents don't. I don't understand it. :(
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Did your parents tell you why they don't want to learn sign? Maybe they'll change their mind at some point. :)
 
Hear Again said:
Did your parents tell you why they don't want to learn sign? Maybe they'll change their mind at some point. :)
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and curious - how are you learning signs right now? why can't your brother learn in the method you are learning right now?

most parents don't understand, they think the signs will somehow kill your speech or make you look abnormal when you move your hands to communicate. Lots of negative stuff from the media, etc.....


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morbid-mongoose said:
I'm loosing my hearing and am begining to learn how to sign. My little 10 year old brother wants to learn with me, but my parents don't. I don't understand it. :(
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Keep trying to explain to parents how them not learning sign makes you feel. I think about all of the things I would have missed out on with my own son, and it just makes me want to cry for the children whose parents don't sign. I'm working with a student right now (he's a freshman in college) whose parents never learned to sign. He got a CI in high school, and he tells me not because he felt he needed it, but because it would make it easier for his mom to try and communicate with him. Between classes, he jsut follows me around and signs up a storm, and you can tell he is just starved for communication with a parent figure. It breaks my heart.
 
I'm not too upset over it because I've never gotten along with my parents. I just don't understand it.
 
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