Signing Savvy, Your Sign Language Resource

Not sure what you can do to participate in Deaf Awareness Week?  Try to find events in your local area, but if you’re having trouble finding a local Deaf Awareness Week event, a great thing to do is to learn something new about Deaf culture - read some articles, learn a few new signs, or watch a movie about a deaf story. There are a number of movies that feature deaf stories. Some of the most well known movies that feature deaf ...

Here are some helpful Signing Savvy articles to check out for Deaf Awareness week: The mysterious confusion between deafness and blindness Incidental Information You Don't Get when You're Deaf Education Options for Children that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing The Use of an Assistance Dog for people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing Clearing up the confusion between Translators, Interpreters, and ...

Deaf Awareness Week this year is September 22-26, 2014. Deaf Awareness Week, also called International Week of the Deaf (IWD), is celebrated annually and ends with International Day of the Deaf. Deaf Awareness Week is celebrated by national and regional associations of the deaf, local communities, and individuals worldwide. The purpose of Deaf Awareness Week is to increase public awareness of deaf issues, people, and culture.  Activities and events throughout Deaf Awareness Week encourage individuals to come together as a community ...

K.T. Maviglia was a Miss Michigan and Miss America 2015 Contestant. Read the article to learn more about the life and accomplishments of this amazing hard of hearing woman.

Heather Whitestone was the First Deaf Miss America. Read the article to learn more about the life and accomplishments of this amazing deaf woman.

Hearing people have access to “incidental information” all the time. They overhear conversations, they hear comments and remarks on the radio and television. Even background noises count as incidental information. This is called “hearing privilege.”  You don’t even think about it happening because it just does. How often can you actually pinpoint the exact moment you learned a new piece of information? Most of us forget where or how we came by the knowledge we have. We just know what we know. Here are some examples of when hearing people get information that deaf people do not...

We are constantly posting tips, facts, and learning resources related to sign language and Deaf culture on our Twitter @SigningSavvy.  Occasionally we get questions about our tweets and explain them further with a followup article, like this one: At the airport I was approached by a deaf person selling manual alphabet cards. Should I buy one? Answer: No! No! No! #Deaf #ASL

Signs for common names? My name is John, which, as you may guess, is a pretty common name. The benefit of having a common name growing up is that whenever I went into a gift shop that had items with names on them, such as cups, buttons, belts, or what-have-you, I could always find one with my name on it. In sign langage, unlike the items in the gift shop, there is no sign for John. That is, there is no ...