Learning that your kids made a new friend at school is a heartwarming experience, but what if it turns out that the new friends had their own specific needs? This is the situation one mom found herself in.
A mom turned to the internet with a heartwarming story, when her twins befriended a deaf child and needed help communicating their names in ASL. Helpful netizens gave her a boatload of advice, tips, and tricks and were rewarded when OP came back with an update. People shared their thoughts on the downright wholesome story and their own experiences.
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Children often don’t have the best communication skills, so add in ASL and you have yourself a challenge
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A mom needed some help when her twins befriended a deaf child
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Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
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Sign language in one form or another has been around a lot longer than most people might think
While ASL (American Sign Language) as we know it in the 18th and 19th centuries, Spanish conquistadors reported that Native Americans already had a form of nonverbal communication to assist with inter-tribal discussions and trade. These days, in the US, there are between 250,000 and 500,000 “speakers” of ASL. If that number seems a bit imprecise, it’s mostly because there has never been a nationwide survey done, as many non-deaf people learn it to some degree for one reason or another.
In fact, American users of ASL even have regional “accents,” for example, studies have shown that folks from the south have a more relaxed and “flowy” style of signing, while New Yorkers are quicker and use sharper movements. Obviously, people who can hear who learn sign language (like in OP’s story) tend to have slightly different posture and hand/arm movements compared to a deaf person who learns it at a much earlier age.
However, OP has dug herself a small, but surmountable hole by naming her twins after common nouns that, presumably, have their own words in sign language. As many commenters note, this isn’t a major issue but still requires a planned approach. After all, no one wants this young toddler to ask her new friends their names only to be confused by the signs for some object.
There are some solutions to differentiating between a noun and someone’s name
Fortunately, OP is particularly forward-thinking and did the right thing by reaching out to the online community that has no doubt encountered this before and gave her solid advice. She mentions the idea of fingerspelling names as a possible solution. If you are not familiar with this concept, it’s simply “spelling out” individual letters with your hands, in contrast to making gestures that represent things.
While generally, this is a lot slower, this method does allow ASL (and users of other sign languages) to differentiate between “normal” sentences and something the other person is trying to emphasize or set apart. This way, OP’s kids who have common-noun names can be set apart from this noun, although this only works if the deaf child actually understands fingerspelling and its implications.
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OP shared some more details with the readers
Many people gave her advice
Later, she shared an update with the readers
Image credits: Nastya Korenkova (not the actual photo)
Image credits: TraditionalHeart6387
People loved the story and found it heartwarming
The mom shared some more stories from this charming friendship
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People wanted a bit more info
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