what's sign language for i want to shoot myself?*
my friend carly from class has all kinds of interesting stories about being an interpreter for the deaf at bryan high. one boy who she served came from mexico at the age of 14 with practically no language. he didn't know mexican sign language, much less ASL, and had never been taught to lipread in spanish. he only had a very rudimentary set of signs that were used at home with his family.
14 and he could only express himself with a handful of simple signs. the concept completely blows my mind. with severely limited language acquisition like that, it seems that you would lead a life of constant frustration and isolation. carly said he was very bright and quickly picked up on essential pieces of ASL, but she could still tell his development processes had been extremely stunted.
the thing i can't get my brain around is what went on inside this boys head. i mean, i think in english and deaf people who know ASL think in sign. but if you have no learned vocabulary or grammar, what happens? he most certainly had developed his own personal language that he would never really be able to communicate with others. i will say that i don't think the education system is equipped to handle rare cases like these. as a teacher, it would be a daunting task to try and help this child to become a functioning member of society. can't wait for that world of surprises waiting for me august 16.
*the title of this post has nothing to do with my future career. it's just something i said during ESL class today.
14 and he could only express himself with a handful of simple signs. the concept completely blows my mind. with severely limited language acquisition like that, it seems that you would lead a life of constant frustration and isolation. carly said he was very bright and quickly picked up on essential pieces of ASL, but she could still tell his development processes had been extremely stunted.
the thing i can't get my brain around is what went on inside this boys head. i mean, i think in english and deaf people who know ASL think in sign. but if you have no learned vocabulary or grammar, what happens? he most certainly had developed his own personal language that he would never really be able to communicate with others. i will say that i don't think the education system is equipped to handle rare cases like these. as a teacher, it would be a daunting task to try and help this child to become a functioning member of society. can't wait for that world of surprises waiting for me august 16.
*the title of this post has nothing to do with my future career. it's just something i said during ESL class today.
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