learning to use a sign language 103
Teaching sign language to parents of deaf children
People who use sign language as their first language can teach parents
how to communicate with babies and children who are deaf.
Here is a story about a group of Indian mothers with deaf children,
living in England, who learned British sign language from a deaf teacher.
Before they learned sign language, the children and their parents had
trouble communicating because it was so hard to understand each other.
Learning sign language changed this.
Signing across language barriers
Lisa is a British woman who was born deaf. After she finished
teacher training school, she got a job teaching deaf children.
Part of her job was to help the mothers of the deaf children
learn sign language. Among the groups that Lisa taught was
a group of Indian women who did not speak English. At first,
it was difficult for Lisa and the mothers to communicate with
each other. Lisa used British sign language and another teacher
translated for her into spoken English. Then another woman
translated the spoken English into Punjabi,
the language that all the mothers spoke.
The mothers’ group first learned signs
I am so glad Ashis
and I can share
ideas with each
about the home. They also learned signs
other now...
for what the children were studying in
class. This helped parents understand and
communicate with their child at home.
Later, a man joined Lisa’s group of
mothers learning to sign. He then taught
fathers and older brothers in a group for
men. In both groups, parents with older
deaf children shared their experience with
parents of very young deaf children. This
let them use their new sign language skills
to discuss things that were very important to them.
Watching Lisa work and teach, the parents saw that deaf
children could be teachers, make a living, and be respected
by other people. Many families in the community learned
something about deaf people at the same time that they learned
how to communicate with their deaf children.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)