I have no clue if there are any interpreters on this site 😭
But I cannot wait to begin my career. I can't wait to get my license and my BA degree I can't wait for college. I have no idea how I'm gonna complete college/uni while being autistic but I'm doing this whether my brain and body and future agencies like it or not.
Interpreting and ASL and the Deaf community are so much more than just things in this world, being an interpreter is so much more than just "helping 'them!!'" Which is what people say all the time to me upon learning i want to interpret. Kind of an ick.
Im not doing charity work. I'm not volunteering. I'm not working in a shelter. Im not going to be just 'translating.' I'm interpreting. But I'm also immersing myself in this community. I'm helping others find a light into a new experience. I love educating hearies about interpreting and all things asl and Deaf history because they always say "oh wow. I didn't know it was that complicated, or cool, or amazing. I had no idea. But this is fascinating." I Love it I LOVE it. I loved finding my new neighbors youngest daughter who was hard of hearing, and giving them hope and resources and a place to Go and finding stability (for parents this is so important.) , and then finding the little girl practicing signs with her brother and parents and then finding they successfully communicate with each other smoothly. They didnt do that before.
The kids scream and giggle when they learn a new silly sign and they do it over and over and over again and show me how perfect they can do it. They play with dirt and rocks and their toys and ask "..what's the sign for barbie doll?" "What's the sign for dinosaur?" "What's the sign for mango ice cream?" The more they learn- the more they WANT to learn. ASL literally heals people. Sign language heals people.
My family friend became profoundly deaf around 15 years ago and has adamantly been against learning asl from what I know. She's also extremely agoraphobic, depressed, chronically ill. And yesterday we were texting about asl and setting up video practice sessions so she can communicate with her husband at home. Her husband, my dad's best friend, called him yesterday saying she was smiling and laughing and happy about learning asl. She doesn't really talk with anyone anymore besides him. I can't believe just setting up hope, which to her is video call practice with ASL, truly made such a huge effect on her day and life recently- she is agoraphobic because people don't know how to talk to a deaf person. People clam up and get awkward for NO REASON!! They shame. They bite. They yell and get impatient.
Deaf and hh people deserve our patience and our willingness to communicate. You SHOULD be willing to find a way to communicate with ANYONE. No matter the barrier. We're humans! We literally created hundreds of thousands of languages and writing systems and communications over thousands of years of cognitive evolution. Hearing people: you can do better than this.
I wish more people had more access to Deaf teachers and Deaf mentors, especially the kids im with. I may be a huge help with practice and encouraging kids to keep signing and rely on their skills to help the family but it will never be the same as a Deaf family mentor teaching this kid ASL purely. I wish we had more support and more visibility. I wish I knew more and I could help more and provide more. But I'm just not an expert. I wish I knew Protactile ASL. I wish I knew the Deafblind community where I live. I wish everyone knew protactile asl and ASL exists. I wish people cared.
Please learn some asl not just for a Deaf kid or friend or family member but because it's so much different than spoken language in such a good way. I can express myself in ASL in ways you can't even begin to conceptualize in English or spanish. Asl is grammatically complex. Asl is historically complex. Asl is apart of American history and American people.
ASL - American Sign Language: free, self-study sign language lessons including an ASL dictionary, signing videos, a printable sign language
Christy Marshall - youtube, tik tok
Bill vicars asl dictionary - YouTube
Learn How to Sign - YouTube
Liz Harris - YouTube, tik tok, Instagram
