Sign Language Quotes

Last summer I took a sign language class. There was a project where I was in a group. I was treated just like the other students (in the group).

~ Wanda Peterson

Keep a journal, and learn how to see how you as an individuals sees information so you can learn your own sign language. Meditate and practice psychic self defense and surrounding yourself with prayer.

~ John Edward

I was trying to teach him a little sign language. I don’t know nothing but the basics: ‘good boy,’ ‘good girl,’ ‘thank you,’ ‘you’re welcome.’ . . .

~ Patricia Pratt

We have sign language practices and sign language groups before each of our meetings.

~ Maribeth Lartz

The dancer’s hand movements are in ancient sign language.

~ Sarun Chan

I try to talk to everybody. If you can’t speak English, I’m going to do sign language,

~ Helen Wilson

My cat speaks sign language with her tail.

~ Robert A. M. Stern

Sign language is useful to the deaf but vital to the Italians.

~ Paul Carvel

The visual is sorely undervalued in modern scholarship. Art history has attained only a fraction of the conceptual sophistication of literary criticism. Drunk with self-love, criticism has hugely overestimated the centrality of language to western culture. It has failed to see the electrifying sign language of images.

~ Camille Paglia

This is our second annual ‘Family Night Out’ fundraiser. The goal is to raise money for special programs like Hebrew-enrichment classes, baby sign language or maybe even yoga.

~ Michelle Bernstein

We are both trying to find our own inspiration and movement. My inspiration is sign language.

~ Alice Howes

Sixty percent of all interpreters are not proficient in sign language, in the state of Idaho. I would believe that. I’ve met some interpreters that are pretty worse off.

~ Emily Pennie

The symbolic view of things is a consequence of long absorption in images. Is sign language the real language of Paradise?

~ Hugo Ball

We’ve just scratched the surface in being able to communicate with him so that he can play our defense. Right now, we’re relying mostly on the written word I’d personally like to take basic sign language lessons and continue to develop better ways to communicate with him.

~ David Elson

When I saw them adding in the sign language, I was so proud of them. They are so, so smart.

~ Sherry Copeland

You have all kinds of learners. The sign language is to get to visual learners, the songs get to auditory learners, and hands-on activities, where they’re touching things, are for the tactile learners.

~ Denise Mechan

Sign language is for everyone.

~ Kathy Clark

He can’t read lips and doesn’t know sign language. The only way he can communicate is by reading notes. He has a hard time reading, and a trial could take months.

~ Bryan Williams

If you are to reach masses of people in this world, you must do it by a sign language. Whether your vehicle be commerce, literature, or politics, you can do nothing but raise signals, and make motions to the people.

~ John Jay Chapman

It was a really noisy crowd and hard to concentrate. You couldn’t hear yourself think. We couldn’t yell so we had to adjust. We were using hand signals, making up our own sign language. We had to really focus and try and block it all out.

~ Christine Keshen

It was a very long process. For instance, we have to take text or poetry, translate it into sign language and then make choreography from that.

~ Alice Howes

http://www.quotesea.com/Quotes.aspx?with=sign-language

Cats act as ears for deaf woman

Betty Macaluso holds her cat, Tom 2, at her Lawrenceville home. Macaluso is deaf, and the cat wakes her up in the morning and functions as her ears.

Betty Macaluso doesn’t need an alarm clock; she has cats.

The Lawrenceville woman is awakened each morning by Tom 2, a wide-eyed orange and white cat, who gently paws at her arm about 6 a.m. wanting his breakfast. If Tom 2 happens to sleep through his job or gets distracted, Tiger, a heavier gray and black tabby, steps in.

Since Macaluso can’t hear the ringing of an alarm clock – she has been deaf all her life – her cats serve as her ears. She adopted Tom 2 and Tiger, both now about a year old, from PetSmart in Lawrenceville when they were 3 months.

“They know I can’t hear,” Macaluso, 68, said through a sign language interpreter. “They do hear for me.”

Macaluso recalled one morning when Tom 2, whose predecessor, Tom 1, she said was also very smart, stood on her stomach gazing up at the ceiling above her bed. A week went by and she noticed Tom 2 often staring up at the same spot. When Macaluso shined a flashlight over the area that held the cat’s attention, she saw a thin, round line of clay on her ceiling and immediately called pest control. Tom 2 had detected termites.

“(Pest control) came to check up and … found out termite(s) (were) inside (the) wall and asked me how I (heard them),” Macaluso wrote via e-mail. “He was puzzled (how I knew if) I am deaf and can’t hear. I smiled and pointed to my Tom 2.”

The exterminator told Macaluso she was lucky to have a cat like Tom 2; she could have lost her home if he hadn’t detected the termites.

Tom 2 seems especially sensitive to insects in his home.

“He notices the smallest things,” Macaluso said, “a spider on the ceiling, an ant crawling on the floor.”

Tom 2 and Tiger also notice the flashing lights that signal the doorbell or video phone is ringing and alert their owner.

Since Macaluso can’t hear her cats’ meows, whenever the two want to play, they know to gently paw at her leg to get her attention.

Macaluso, whose parents were also deaf, grew up in a home with cats. She remembers one evening when she was a young girl, sitting down with her mother on the swing on their porch, when their family cat began acting strangely.

“We were puzzled why,” Macaluso wrote.

Until the cat began fighting with a rattlesnake that lay five feet away from Macaluso and her mother.

“He saved me (from being bitten) by a rattlesnake,” she wrote. “I will never … live without two cats because they always helped me by (hearing what I cannot).”

Michael Jackson Signed to His Pet Chimpanzee

Bubbles & Michael Jackson in 1986

By Bug

How many signed words did Michael Jackson know? How did he learn American Sign Language?  Nobody really knows. Fookem and Bug team found a rare footage from Jackson on a tour of Japan in 1987. This video shows that Jackson signed “SIT” to his monkey Bubbles.  He understood Jackson’s sign language. Michael Jackson almost wanted to sign “sit” to Bubbles at 0:27 but a chimp did not see it. Finally, Jackson signed to him at 0:36.  View this video of Jackson signing to Bubble. And they are doing the moonwalk:

For many years the baby chimp Bubbles was always beside Jackson until he grew up and became less cute and more unpredictable.  Jackson claimed that Bubbles had slugged him.  Also, he was afraid that Bubbles may attack Jackson’s newborn son, Prince Michael II. He gave his 11 year old chimp friend to a private zoo.The singer stated he regretted having to remove the chimp, as they can live to 60 years old.

How did Michael Jackson meet Bubbles?  In 1985 Jackson rescused him from a cancer-research lab in Texas.  He adopted three year old baby chimp as his pet and friend.  Bubbles lived at Jackson’s Encino home, but moved to Neverland Ranch in 1988. He slept in a crib in Jackson’s bedroom. He was allowed to use Jackson’s private toliet. His chimp sometimes wore a diaper.

Bubbles was taught how to moonwalk and he famously made a cameo in the video for “Liberian Girl” and accompanied Jackson during the recording sessions for Bad.  “Liberian Girl” was not one of Jackson’s bigger hit but was still the ninth and final single from the bad album. See Bubbles in this video at 2:08 – 2:14 but no closed captions or subtitles:

Bubbles and his little Bubbles

The sad news of Michael’s death made many people thinking of Bubbles. The news of his death still doesn’t seem entierly real, and there are still a lot of questions that remain unanswered. Good news is that Bubbles is still alive and enjoying his life at a ranch in Sylmar, California.

At last does Bubbles know his beloved friend Michael Jackson’s death? It is possible because the animals can sense the death of someone they are loyal too.

Bubbles’ life saved by Michael Jackson. He is probably the luckiest chimp. Over years Jackson out to animals for their unconditional love and non-judgmental companionship, he often gave back to them in return. Bless Michael Jackson.

Signing Santa Brings Joy To Deaf Children

Baby Sign Racer

Can you beat the baby’s sign language game?  Click:

http://babystrology.com/baby-games/baby-sign-racer/baby-sign-game.swf

Painful Poem: Deaf Love for Talkie

There is a poignant poem “Deaf Donald” by Shel Silverstein about a little boy, Deaf Donald, who signs, ” I love you,” to Talkie Sue. But because she can’t read his language, she leaves “forever” and never knows that he is trying to tell her that he loves her. This poem is an example of the “absence of understanding” on the part of the characters. I can’t find the picture of Deaf Donald signing to Talkie Sue anywhere on the internet so you can find the children’s book, “A Light in the Attic”, on the page 143. (see below) at many places such as libraries and bookstores. Enjoy reading the poem.

Deaf Donald

Deaf Donald met Talkie Sue

But I Love You was all he could do.

And Sue Said, “Donald I sure do like you.”

But I Love You was all he could do.

And Sue asked Donald, ” Do you like me too?”

But I Love You was all he could do.

“Good-bye then, Donald, I’m leaving you.”

But I Love You was all he could do.

And she left forever and she never knew

That I Love you means I Love You!

-Shel Silverstein

Updated: Our FB reader Sharon found this for you.  Many thanks to her. 

 

Santa Claus speaks with Deaf Child through VRS!

By Bug

Watch this video and see a Deaf girl asking Santa Claus to call her. Did Mr Claus call her through VRS? Yes!

So is there a Santa Claus?

Well, we live in a world where the idea of someone rewarding good behavior in this life, rather than the next (or at the door to the Disneyland) sounds darn nice, and particularly for children, is a good reminder of the rewards of thrift, virtue, compassion and honesty. And those are sorely missing attributes in our modern world, if you ask me.

So yes, I think that there is a Santa Claus.

I’ll certainly make sure we leave a plate of cookies and glass of milk out on Christmas Eve. How about you?

Enjoy the video.

If you appreciate their service, give them a sign.

Written by Bug

Our Deaf friend from Holland (thanks to Jodi) sent this link : http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/fullmovie.php  Please feel free to click it and view Deaf people signing “thank you”. I think the sign for ” thank you” is different a little bit from what we use in our everyday ASL. But this one the sign they are using for the gratitude campaign literally translates as “thank you from the bottom of my heart.” It’s nice to see their simple signed words as they thank the soldiers. I won’t be surprised if the soldiers know the signed words like “thank you”. I am sure some of them have Deaf friends at home…maybe they are CODA (Child of Deaf Adult). Not every soldier has experience with Deaf people. I hope they know that we the Deaf people care about them. Let’s thank them if you appreciate their service. Soldiers around the world appreciate your thoughts and feeling supports. They love their country so they fight for us.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying thank you to the troops for a tough job well done (and whether you agree with the war in Afghanistan, Iraq or not doesn’t/shouldn’t even come into it)….give them a sign, ” Thank you.”

I know everyone has mixed feelings and opinions about the war. Be reminder that country sees pain and grief, but love has tied us together. Support the Troops.

Note for Soldiers:

To Men and Women of the Military,

Thank you so much for your service, being away from your home, family and friends. We and our readers just want to let you know that we appreciate it and thank you for it. Please come back safe and soon.

FB

Are they triplet CODA?

 They might be triplet brothers, are they CODA (Child of Deaf Adults)? They are cute and talented. The name of song is “Change A Heart, Change The World”. We tried to find the whole video but no luck. Enjoy watching.

 

MY MOTHER’S LAST WORDS

by: Jack Levesque, 1992

At the age of 80, my mother asked me, “Did we do the right thing by sending you to the Clarke School for the Deaf? Was an oral education right for you?”

At 81, she said, “I should have learned sign language. But we were told it was not the right thing to do by the staff at Clarke School. I can now see the difference in communication, and I see that it was a mistake not to learn sign language.”

On July 10, 1992, at 10:20 a.m., my mother, Ruth Miller Levesque, passed away in the Monson, MA home of my brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Janet Levesque.

I was at her side when she died. Just prior to that I was in Denver, Colorado, for the NAD Convention and the Substance Abuse Conference that followed it.

I got word that my mother was going fast. Though I had planned to be at my brother’s house on July 21, I decided to fly out early on July 10.

I flew into Hartford, Connecticut, and drove up to Monson, arriving at 7:15 a.m. I had about three last hours to spend with this courageous woman before she slipped into a coma and passed away at 10:20 a.m. It was obvious that we had very little time left, so we tried to say all the things we had in our hearts. I talked and lipread her. Toward the end, she wanted to tell me something. I didn’t understand and asked her to repeat it. Twice more I asked her to repeat, then finally I gave her a piece of paper. She was only able to write the letter O, or maybe C, before her eyes closed and the deep sleep of coma overtook her.

In the weeks and months before my mother’s death, we spent many hours going over issues and preparing for her death. It was done verbally, not comfortably, but adequately. My mother made sure I had the finest oral education around. She was proud of my speaking ability, and impressed by my less-than-perfect lipreading. But we never had a real conversation. Oh, I knew she loved me. I knew she was proud of me. But I’ll never know her last words to me.

Her death was, in a way, a blessing. She had been in pain for two years due to cancer. I am comforted to think of her at peace and free of that pain. But the frustration of our final moments together will haunt me. If she had learned sign language, she would have been able to tell me clearly whatever it was that was so important to her. That moment was a painful one. It made me think of all the other things she might have told me over the years, but didn’t.

I can’t change anything. I can’t go back and make her hands fly easily. But I can make a plea to other parents of deaf children:

LEARN SIGN LANGUAGE.

I do not intend to get involved in the communications controversy. This moment is too close to me and too painful to muck it up with politics and arguments.

Communication between parent and child, or between any two people, is just too vital to be embroiled in communication methodology. The simple truth is this: if you want fluent communication and a meaningful exchange of ideas, emotions, thoughts and love with your child, sign it.

Parents, don’t let idealism and rhetoric get in the way of realism.

The point was made painfully clear to me that sad morning a few weeks ago. I shall always wonder what my mother wanted to tell me.

It’s too late for me. Is it too late for you?