The opening letter made me slightly sad. I don't like thinking about people losing anything they have come to depend on. I wonder if it would be worse to lose your hearing or to be born deaf; I suppose there is no real way to compare the two. Even if Theordora Scrivner manages to learn ASL or "Pidgin Sign English" in isolation, what good will it do when it gets to the point where sign is her only means of communication? Yes she will have the means to communicate, but who with? If she cannot find a person fluent in ASL to practice with, who will she sign with once she has learned it? It must be quite challenging for deaf people to find a community with those they can communicate with. It is probably worth it for Theordora to move to a more urbanized area with more deaf people if she is not overly set in her home. If she stays where she is, she will probably become very lonely unless she lives with people who will be dedicated to learn ASL alongside her.
I agree with what the authors said about learning from books and illustrations.
"We've watched hearing children and adults teaching themselves signs from illustrations. They usually get it wrong."--pg. 116, p. 3
I find it very frustrating to attempt to learn signs from pictures. I am very pro-video.
I'm pro-video, too. Sometimes when I look at a sign in a book I have absolutely no idea how to make the sign. But if I go online to a video dictionary, I get a clear answer right away! Oh and I feel bad for Theodora's situation, too. She isn't left with too many options.
ReplyDelete