Sunday Morning – I am feeling mentally exhausted at the thought of going to church today. It seems that I should be feeling happy to go since Sister Marshall will be there to interpret for Steve. It would be another rare opportunity to sit in church and feel relaxed. But after the final letdown in finding a qualified interpreter, I feel I am headed for a breakdown.
There have been several times when Steve has gone to church by himself because I was too tired to go. He always understood that. But then I would end up feeling guilty, a feeling that became exasperated when my visiting teacher asked me why sometimes Steve was in church and I was not, and sometimes I was in church and he was not. We were both too ignorant to know the answer.
I had a nice chat with our organist sister about our Sign class a few nights ago. So I am thinking that I now have someone who might understand how I am feeling. I give her a call. She tells me that one of her friends compliments her because she is now able to “talk” to Steve. She said to her friend, “We’re not talking!” She enlightens her friend with what she has been learning in the class, and how her eyes have been opened to what I do in church when I sign to Steve. Her friend is saying, “Really?”, “Really?”, “Really?”. I am laughing because here is someone who is getting the same treatment that I have been getting and she has only been in the class for a few weeks! I tell her that if Sister Marshall is not there to interpret for Steve, she can sign to him and everyone will think, “Look at Nancy! She’s interpreting for Steve!” We both have a good laugh.
She is feeling some frustration because learning Sign Language is hard for her. She has difficulty remembering the signs. I tell her about the article I read on the internet concerning the influence of aptitude in second language learning in adults. We are almost the same age and in our middle 50’s. We both decide we are too old for this, and have another good laugh.
I tell her that since so few people are attending the class, I would like to have it in our home today, but how do I let everyone know? She says she will have the bishop announce the change over the podium and that should do it. (I definitely have the right person in this class.)
Talking to her lifts my spirits, but I still don’t want to go to church. But this time I am not feeling guilty. Hell, I deserve a break! Nancy understands and tells me to go and rest. She will see me later in the class.
Steve heads off to church and I wander around the house with my mind still focused on our conversation. I find myself laughing at the refrigerator, the dishes, the toilet, and the cats! I am becoming a lunatic.
Steve comes home from church looking happy. He tells me that Rachel nudged his leg three times because he was falling asleep. I read in our Sign class guide that interpreters are not suppose to do that, but I know that Rachel is not a trained interpreter. He said he told her to rest. I am looking forward to this Sunday’s Stake Conference. I feel that I will be able to enjoy it because I know that Steve is completely capable of taking care of himself in church. My lunacy is subsiding.
Sunday afternoon – I look forward to having the class here at home where we can all relax. Nancy is the first to arrive and I am not surprised. A bit later, Cynthia arrives and then Rachel arrives. We find out that Cynthia is allergic to cats. Oops! I forgot about the darn cats. Fortunately Steve carefully vacuumed the entire house this morning and he put all of the cats (that weren’t already hiding) in the bedroom with the door closed. Cynthia seems to be doing ok, so we all relax again.
Nancy is immediately signing to Steve and it soon becomes a slow but lively conversation about this and that. Occasionally Cynthia is able to get a few signs in. Rachel and I sit back and watch for a while. There is a break in the learning, so I give them a handout I created which reads as follows:
The handouts for the Objectives of Units 2, 3, and 4 are for your information. We probably won’t meet all of these objectives and that’s ok. This guide was written to learn how to set up a Deaf church (a Protestant church) and accommodate deaf people. We won’t be starting a new Deaf church (might be kind of fun), but much of the information we should learn and can use in our ward.
Even though I have exhausted every avenue I can think of to find an interpreter, there is still a possibility that we will receive a qualified LDS interpreter who can help in this class. Until then, we will use this guide and Steve’s knowledge. There are many ways to learn Sign Language and Deaf Culture. Some people in the Deaf Community are upset that we are using this style, but they don’t know that we will develop a healthy respect for their language and culture.
I have been thinking that the title of this curriculum “Sign Language Made Simple” is a bit deceiving. Part of this class is learning Sign Language. Part is learning how to communicate with the deaf in other ways. Part is learning about the Deaf Community. Part is learning about the role of an interpreter. All of this is important to learn, and it will take time.
There hasn’t been enough time during each class session to learn how to sign and have the discussions in the guide. I have been thinking that we could have two classes per week. The first class Steve continues to teach Sign Language and how to communicate with him in other ways. We can demonstrate the TTY and other tools he uses. We could continue to have this class on Sundays and continue to call it “Sign Language”.
The second class is where we learn about the Deaf Community. It’s important to learn about the Community in order to understand why some deaf people do not identify with their culture. We will also learn about the role of an interpreter. Even if none of us become interpreters, it’s important to know what they do and how to work with them. This class would be mostly discussion so you don’t have to worry about how much Sign Language you don’t know. Even people who have no desire to learn Sign Language would learn much from these discussions. We can call this class “Deaf Awareness”.
Nancy thinks this is a good idea and I tell her that I wish I could teach the Deaf Awareness to our ward leaders. She agrees. So how do I do that? She suggests that we have an eight week course during Sunday School. She has seen other classes like this when there is a special need in the ward. She will mention it to the Sunday School President.
We are quickly back to signing and learning. (Nancy wants to learn!) Cynthia and I are being left out so we turn our attention to Rachel and her mission. She talks (and signs at the same time of course) about her experience of learning ASL in the MTC (Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT). She says, “It was wonderful!” They are taught ASL, not Pidgin like we have been trying to do. She asks me if we have the Book of Mormon in ASL and I explain that we use to have it, but Steve did not understand it. The tapes sat on the shelf for years so we gave them to D.I.
She said the prophet made a promise that if you read the entire Book of Mormon in another language, you will have that language mastered. So she decided to put it to the test. She would watch the ASL version, pause the tape, and then read the words in the book. She did not understand at first, but eventually it clicked. She loves the ASL version of the Book of Mormon. I have read many times that once a person understands ASL, the person prefers it over reading English. Hmm…maybe I better buy those tapes back.
Order the ASL Book of Mormon on DVD
Filed under: Sign Language
