ASL vs Hand Gestures

How do you teach yourself a new language? I have been struggling with that recently. ASL is helping Kate to communicate with us. Her delay in speech is making it difficult to determine what she is trying to say. By saying words and doing an ASL sign we are able to give her a positive response.

The biggest issue? Real "American Sign Language" signs vs. our own made up hand gestures. It is EASY to make up a hand sign for something and have it be understood. However, since we are attempting to learn/instruct Katelyn in a new language the correct signs are important. One sign I know I have taught her incorrectly is "bath". I do a sign where a cross my arms as if hugging myself and then rub my hands up and down on the top portion of my arms. The true sign for bath is two fists held parallel on your chest. You motion them up and down to indicate scrubbing yourself for "Bath" as seen below:

Photo courtesy of   http://www.babysignlanguage.com/dictionary/b/bath/ 

At this point, we do not know any other children or families using ASL. However, I want Katelyn to have the opportunity to connect with others if she chooses. Using the correct ASL hand signs will be crucial to her communication with those who hearing aids do not help. In addition, if she goes somewhere with a large crowd (such as the Monticello Naturalization Ceremony) and has a hard time hearing the ceremony due to background noise, she will be able to follow along with the sign language interpreter standing to the side of the stage.

Adults do not learn languages as rapidly as children do. I thought Kate did not know many signs until this week. She has understood many gestures and signs that she would not perform until recently. This made me aware of the importance of teaching her the correct ASL sign from now on. Have you learned a new language as an adult? How did you make the time for it in addition to your every day activities? Do you have any helpful hints? I would love to hear from you!

Sign A Day - Boat

On our way to the boat, I realized we did not talk about a boat using a hand sign. We had just used the sign for fish, to indicate the lake. Luckily I had my handy iPhone sign language app and found the proper sign. Katelyn now knows the sign for boat.

The American Sign Language sign for "Boat" is made by cupping both of your hands just in front of your chest. You move the hands forward and then down twice as if doing the motion that a boat would when moving through the water as seen below:

Photo courtesy: http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/b/boat.htm

Katelyn the Dare Devil

If you know Katelyn, you know she is a kid with no fear. Celebrating a belated Father's Day, with Tim, proved just that. After a day of swimming at the beach, and staring at a dark cloud overhead, we concluded that the storm had passed us. It was time to get on the boat.

Kate, Sydney, Brandi, James, My Mom, and Tim all went on the second wave of boaters since we couldn't all fit on at the same time. We drove around and then went out on the tube. I decided it was time for Kate to have her first tubing adventure.

As we got farther from the boat I was unsure if she was enjoying the experience. I instructed her to hold on tight to the handles, but otherwise she just had a straight concerned face. Her lack of facial expression when she is being stimulated is hard to read. She often looks unhappy when she is just concentrated and attempting to figure out the world around her.

At one point, she gave me the sign for "all done". Tim stopped the boat and just as we were about to come in, she says "Ready? Set? Goooo!" which means she wants to do it some more. Silly girl.

Overall, she loved it. Glad we figured this out early so she can enjoy it multiple times this summer!