Raising a Deaf Child - My Sisters Share What It Was Like Growing Up With a Deaf Sister
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Published 2018-11-01
The statistics show that about 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents and that only about 10 of those parents learn to sign to communicate with their deaf child and because those parents don’t learn to communicate, neither do their hearing children learn to communicate with their deaf sibling(s).
I’m blessed and thankful that both my parents and my sisters did learn to sign and I want that for all deaf children- to have a good relationship with their parents and their siblings. It’s my hope that through sharing our story that we will reach hearing parents and encourage them to learn sign language to communicate with their deaf child and to teach their hearing siblings sign language too- so that their deaf child feels like they are included and a part of the family.
Also- please note that this is not a sign language lesson- I rarely correct my family growing up so do not attempt to learn signs from this video. :)
For basic American Sign Language (ASL) lessons, watch the 25 Basic ASL Signs video series:
Part 1-
• 25 Basic ASL Signs For Beginners | Le...
Part 2-
• 25 Basic ASL Signs For Beginners Part...
Part 3-
• 25 Basic ASL Signs For Beginners Part...
Also, I have a mini fingerspelling course, Fingerspelling 101- it is a self paced course focusing only on the alphabet letters practicing both fingerspelling and fingerspelling receptivity at a variety speeds. This course is perfect not only for those who have not learned the alphabet but also for those who have recently learned the alphabet or for those who struggle with reading fingerspelling at a slow speed. The course is only $15 and there’s a 30 day moneyback guarantee. Fingerspelling is an important part of learning to sign. Here is the link for more information and to sign up: signedwithheart.lpages.co/fingerspelling-101-cours…
I hope you enjoyed the interview with my sisters!! If you have any questions, feel free to comment below in the comment section. :)
If you haven’t seen the interview with my parents where they share how they found out I was deaf and how they raised me- here is the link: • Raising a Deaf Child - My Parents Sha...
Be sure to subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss a video!! :)
P.S. If you’re on Instagram too, come join us on @SignedWithHeart and learn a sign or two everyday. :)
All Comments (21)
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In the description it says 90% of deaf children have hearing parents but only 10% of the parents learn to sign. That's so heartbreaking.... if I had a deaf child, I would without a doubt learn to sign
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Closing your eyes when you don’t want to know what they’re saying is soo funny hahaha cute!
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As a child in the 1970's I had this cute deaf girl 2 doors down. Of coarse we hung out all the time and she was learning sign and teaching me at the same time. She was my first crush. This went on for a year then I went to knock on the door one day and they were gone, moved. I cried for days, how could she not say goodbye, years later I realized she may have went though the same thing and put on a brave face to save me the pain or herself of saying goodbye. Miss ya Gwen where ever you are. No internet back then so I've never heard from her again.
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Your mom and dad has a heart of Gold for teaching you and your sisters sign. So u guys can communicate ❤️
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imagine getting to just close your eyes to ignore your sister. that’s be awesome 🤣 “sorry, can’t see you”
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I want to learn sign language soooooo bad
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This was so cool to watch! The flow of conversation was really neat. I love how your sisters finger spelled and you showed them the sign. I’m starting ASL classes again in the spring semester and I can’t wait! I’m previously only self taught, but now I’ll have a deaf professor. I follow you on instagram and love seeing a couple signs at a time and learning in small pieces. Thanks for the video!
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19:57 look how fast she flip'in is spelling that word omg
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This brings back memories. I'm almost 70. My younger sister became deaf around the age of 3 or 4 as a result of contracting spinal meningitis. Many of your families experiences were very similar to ours. You brought back memories that made me laugh and even tear up. My sister and I created our own sign language until she started school. They, at that time, would not allow the deaf students to sign. They tried to teach them to use their voice. We would speak to my sister while she placed her hand on our throat to feel the different vibrations for words. LATER, they realized that deaf people should communicate with their language, so they used ASL. My parents fit the 90 percentile that did not learn ASL. I was my sister's interpreter for them. It was difficult for me when we were watching TV and my sister would interrupt my listening, because she wanted to know what was going on. I would sign to her, "Wait, wait". But she would insist that I tell her NOW. While I was signing to her what I currently understood to be happening, I would miss the rest. So then we were both lost. Thank you for the video.
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I love this video. I literally cried throughout the whole video. My son was born deaf and we as a family have been learning sign for him. He has 3 older sisters and 1 baby brother who all love him so much. They love learning how to sign. It is so sad that more parents can’t or don’t want to learn something that is so beneficial for them. It makes no damn sense to me. You two are such amazing big sister. I hope this for my kids. I am taking asl classes now. I want to be a interpreter for my son and the deaf community. Lately what I have been hearing is that people in the deaf community are not accepting hearing people who are signing when they really don’t realize how much effort we are actually putting to learn their language. I want to be the best mom for my son!
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You guys are all so pretty😭♥️
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When she said " I Wasn't listening for myself, I was listening and giving it to Ashley..." I am so tearing up
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6:00 Kim is the typical big sister! First and foremost worried about the wellbeing of the youngest- even at such a young age themselves. Love 💗
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Tyler's mom is going to classes to learn sign? Wow, what a great family!
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It's actually so beautiful of a decision of their dad to make it compulsory for everyone to talk in sign language so Ash is not left out ♥️ And that he scolds/reminds anyone who talks without using signs.
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I feel like Ashley listens to people better than hearing people listen to people. Just a quality heart. Thanks for sharing, Ashley❤
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I love this and the blonde hair sister signs so fast. I absolutely love this.
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How can they finger spell that fast? WOW! Lot of love sitting there.
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"when you are interpreting things...you aren't absorbing." Yes! I had this same issue when I had to read aloud in class. (4th grade) and I absorbed nothing while reading my assigned paragraph during read aloud because I was trying to read which is interpretation of symbols on a page.
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I feel like an idiot, I was reading the subtitles for when you signed and I didn't realize that I could understand your sister's cause they were speaking... 😂 I got to 3:49 until I realized I could understand stand them...
