Signing Savvy, Your Sign Language Resource

Our recent blog article on Education Options for Children that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing covered the various educational options available. We did not specify any one option as being "the best" option because every child, family, and situation is different and education is a very personal decision. However, one of our suggestions was to connect with deaf adults who can provide advice based on their own education experience. We found a TEDx video by Dr. Joseph Valente that talks about ...

We have received questions from parents, family and friends of newly identified children with hearing loss asking about what we know about educational options. Let me begin by saying that making educational decisions for you child is a very personal decision and takes a lot of thought and discussion with professionals that have specific knowledge of the services available in your area. There are many different education options to explore. You need to determine what is the best fit for your family.

Chuck Baird, an amazing Deaf artist died February 10, 2012 after a four-year battle with cancer. Chuck Baird was often referred to as a playful mind and a generous heart. I was able to meet Chuck as he visited with a group of young Deaf and Hard of Hearing children. I have to admit his playful mind and generous heart is what stuck out to me the most while I watched him totally pull the children into his wonderful world of ...

The Hammer, a movie based on the life of the first deaf NCAA Wrestling Champion and UFC Fighter Matt "The Hammer" Hamill, was released on DVD a few weeks ago. The DVD cover says, "the inspirational true story," and it was just that… whether or not you are interested in wrestling, sign language, or deaf culture, the movie is an inspirational story about overcoming challenges and working hard to make your dreams a reality. And if you are interested ...

Learning signing language as a foreign language is a very good option for hearing students. It greatly enhances their understanding of languages. It increases their ability to communicate in a variety of situations when a spoken language is not an option. And American Sign Language is the fourth most used language in the United States. We love the idea of a world where more and more people are able to more effectively communicate with our vibrant Deaf and Hard ...

"Oh, so you work with deaf people...so does that mean you know Braille?" I am sure many of you who have told people you are interested in sign language have heard a question similar to the one above. Although Braille is used by the blind, people often confuse it as a tool for the deaf. As a former teacher of deaf and hard of hearing children, I have witnessed confusion between deafness and blindess several times in my career. ...

Sign language was an integral part of Christina Aguilera's dance performance last night in the season 11 series finale of Dancing With the Stars. Check out the performance below. Don't you think the signing really enhances the emotional impact of the song and the ...

Apple announced the iPhone 4 today which will ship later this month. One of the really neat new features is FaceTime, which is mobile video calling. The demo video of the feature on their site shows a couple signing with each other. While we have been able to videoconference for some time on a computer via tools such as Skype and iChat, with the new iPhone, we can easily sign to each other over vast distances and not be ...

Just for fun - In a recent episode of the Simpsons, titled "The Good, The Bad, and the Drugly", the bully Nelson Muntz, used American Sign Language to fingerspell his trademark "Haw Haw!" laugh rather than vocalize it. Like all Simpsons characters, Nelson has just four digits, which makes his fingerspelling a bit unique. Nelson signs about 3 minutes and 30 seconds into the episode. Watch the episode on ...

A few of us at Signing Savvy are big fans of the Amazing Race. As we watched the first episode two weeks ago, we were excited to see the first-ever deaf contestant to be on the show! As the Amazing Race participants travel the world, they often encounter language barriers. However, Luke, who has been deaf since birth, and his mother, Margie, felt they might have an advantage over other contestants since they have such ...