[NABS-L] Sign Language in College

[Sami Osborne]

Hi Adriana,



I haven't taken any ASL classes myself, although I am hard of hearing in addition to being totally blind (so I guess you could characterize me as being partially deaf), and am actually studying to become a foreign language interpreter (French and Spanish).



In terms of accommodations for your ASL course, I imagine you could try out a couple of different options. One thing I might do is to have the professor verbally describe the different signs and how you would use your hands to execute them, since ideally your sighted classmates would be able to use their vision to see that right off. Then, you could ask the professor to make sure you're doing the signs correctly since you can't see them visually.



Another possibility is to have your school's disability support services hire someone to work with you in that class, whether that be a fellow student or even a professional ASL interpreter if at all possible. Again, that person would show you the different signs tactually, and then make sure you're doing them correctly.



Again, I've never taken any ASL classes (in fact I don't know any at all despite being hard of hearing), although I do hope this info is helpful in getting your accommodations. As far as learning the tactile signs that actual deaf-blind people use, unfortunately I don't really have any ideas for that.



Good luck with your upcoming class!



Thanks,



SamiOn Sep 9, 2023 11:18 PM, Adriana Banos via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Hello: 
> My name is Adriana Banos and I am reaching out to you this evening to ask if there is anyone who has taken or is currently taking ASL classes in college, or who might work with the deaf community. I will hopefuly be starting school in the Spring 2024 to obtain a certification in deaf support services and am wondering what are my options for accommidations while completing my ASL courses. 
> I am aware that there is tactile sign, but I'm curious to know any ther accommidations I can speak to my instructors during my classes. Have a great night. Thank you. 
>
> Sincerely, 
> Adriana Banos  
> _______________________________________________ 
> NABS-L mailing list 
> NABS-L at nfbnet.org 
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org 
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NABS-L: 
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/sami.j.osborne97%40gmail.com