Let me start by saying that I'm not deaf nor hard of hearing, and I only know very limited sign from when I was a child in school. (though I would like to learn) So I'm sorry if I shouldn't be on this site, but I am looking for help and I don't really know where I should look.
I have am dating a girl in college who can't speak. She has her hearing, but because of abuse as a baby she lost all ability to use her vocal cords. For her whole life she has kept a white board that she writes on to communicate with people. I have been concerned about her not wanting to learn to speak with sign, and she regularly gets mocked for having her writing board. I have asked her about why she has not learned, but she always comes up with a different excuse: "It is expensive to take the classes." "I don't want to give up the summer." "I'm used to my routine." etc. When I asked her if she is worried that people will think she is deaf when they see her signing she started to cry.
I don't want to push her into learning to sign when she doesn't want to, and I don't want to try to "fix" her by making her learn. I'm just worried about her because I care about her and I think it would greatly help her to be able to have conversations where she is engaged with people instead of stuck behind her white board.
I'm sorry for such a long post, and I'm sorry if I'm not posting in the right place. I have never been on an online forum before. If anyone knows any advice that could help or anything to say I would greatly appreciate it.
I have am dating a girl in college who can't speak. She has her hearing, but because of abuse as a baby she lost all ability to use her vocal cords. For her whole life she has kept a white board that she writes on to communicate with people. I have been concerned about her not wanting to learn to speak with sign, and she regularly gets mocked for having her writing board. I have asked her about why she has not learned, but she always comes up with a different excuse: "It is expensive to take the classes." "I don't want to give up the summer." "I'm used to my routine." etc. When I asked her if she is worried that people will think she is deaf when they see her signing she started to cry.
I don't want to push her into learning to sign when she doesn't want to, and I don't want to try to "fix" her by making her learn. I'm just worried about her because I care about her and I think it would greatly help her to be able to have conversations where she is engaged with people instead of stuck behind her white board.
I'm sorry for such a long post, and I'm sorry if I'm not posting in the right place. I have never been on an online forum before. If anyone knows any advice that could help or anything to say I would greatly appreciate it.