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Intro to American Sign Language
By Jessica Miller & Taylor Pooley
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What is American Sign Language?
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American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete, complex
language that employs signs made by moving the hands
combined with facial expressions and postures of the body. It
is the primary language of many North Americans who are
deaf and is one of several communication options used by
people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
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LET’S TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE!!!
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Myth or Fact?
“All
Deaf people can read lips,
and as long as I
speak distinctly and look at
them, they will always
understand every word I have
to say”.
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Deaf people are just like anyone else.
They may not know how to lip-read.
Have you ever tried lip-reading?
Try saying “Island View.”
What does it look like???
Does it look like “I love you?”
BIG Difference!
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Myth or Fact?
“Deafness
is
genetic. All people who
are Deaf will pass
Deafness onto their
children.”
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+ Deafness is NOT always Genetic.
Although there are some cases in which
families have deafness run in their family,
there is actually a large portion of individuals
who are CODAs. CODA stands for Child of
Deaf Adult(s).
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Myth or Fact?
“Sign
Language is
universal. People from over
seas and people from
America get together and
can instantly understand
each other.”
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No one form of sign
language is universal.
Different sign languages
are used in different
countries or regions. For
example, British Sign
Language (BSL) is a
different language from
ASL, and Americans who
know ASL may not
understand BSL.
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Myth or Fact?
“Some
Deaf people see
deafness as a culture rather
than a disability.”
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 Some
Deaf people do not consider it a
disability to be Deaf. They actually view it
as a culture thing. There are many groups
and organizations for Deaf people who are
proud of their culture.
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Myth or Fact?
“The
football huddle and
baseball signs were
invented by Deaf people.”
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The
football
huddle was
created by
Gallaudet
University
football players
in order to hide
their plays from
the other team
since ASL is a
visual language.
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Myth or Fact?
“Every
Deaf person knows
sign language.”
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Not all Deaf Individuals use
American Sign Language.
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There are other forms of communication that are used by
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals.
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Signed Exact English
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American Sign Language
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English Word Order (singing every word)
Object-Subject-Verb (Store I walk--- I walked to the store.)
Cued Speech
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a visual mode of communication in which mouth movements
of speech combine with “cues” to make the sounds (phonemes)
of traditional spoken languages look different.
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Some Other Myths
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Deaf people can read Braille.
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Deaf people can’t drive, have a job, and be successful.
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Deaf people have an interpreter living with them.
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The louder you speak the better a Deaf person can hear.
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Cochlear implants/Hearing Aids allow Deaf people to hear
like a hearing person.
 http://shelaza.com/links/what-do-hearing-loss-hearingaids-and-cochlear-implants-sound-like/
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Any Deaf person can have a cochlear implant.
+ Some Other Facts
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It is ok to disregard person first language for deafness. There are two
types of Deaf people. Deaf and deaf. The capital “D” means that the Deaf
person has accepted being culturally Deaf. The little “d” means the
physical aspect of being deaf. They may not embrace the culture.
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How to get a Deaf person’s attention?
 Waving
 Tapping on the Shoulder
 Stomping
 Banging on the table
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From experience, Deaf people are LOUD
 Hand clapping
 Shouting
 Laughing
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Make sure you…
 Use eye contact
 Address the individual directly (especially when using the interpreter)
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HOW MUCH DID YOU KNOW/LEARN?
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LET’S SIGN OUR NAME!
• FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
• “YOUR/MY NAME WHAT?”
• “YOUR/MY PHONE NUMBER WHAT?”
• FIND A PARTNER
• PRACTICE SPELLING YOUR NAME
• PRACTICE GIVING YOUR NUMBER
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Resources
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http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/asl.aspx
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http://www.cuedspeech.org
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http://www.onestops.info/article.php?article_id=10