Deaf Community Center

This past month I have taken Peter to three ASL-using events. There was a special Pumpkin-themed event at the Deaf Community Center, and two Fridays at the California School for the Deaf, in Fremont. Across the board, the people were very friendly and welcoming. The people at the events did initiate conversations with me, even though my signing leaves so much to be desired, and they all gave Peter loads of good vibes.

I can be a shy person, so driving more than an hour on a Saturday morning with just Peter (possibly screaming the whole way) to attend an event at the Deaf Community Center where I wouldn't know anyone, and could barely understand the language, was daunting. I sweetened the deal for myself by arranging to have lunch with one of my longest-standing friends afterward. Nicole lives closer to where the event was, so it wasn't too hard for her to meet me there.  I got to the event, and after misspelling Peter's name (I used P at the start and end) I decided I REALLY need to master my finger spelling!  I learned the sign for Pumpkin, and watched the parents talk about colors and painting and pumpkins. I could understand something directed to a two-year-old if I knew the context ;). The adult conversation was beyond me- I felt bad when I couldn't even understand LIVE (where do you?). But I watched and tried to absorb some of it. There were interpreters, so I did know what was going on in the larger context. Peter loved it. He didn't want to stop watching to nurse or sleep.

I feel like the one thing I misspoke on was asking a hearing mom when her child had gotten his CI's. the answer was 23 mos. and 36 mos., but it kind of opened a can of worms with the other 2 people near us. I think the mom was using the Total Communication approach, and I can understand why as the little boy maybe had cerebral palsy, as he was in a wheelchair and didn't have very good hand control either, so neither mode (oral or signing) of communication was easy for him, and using both ASL and speech was what worked for them. The deaf woman running the event seemed a bit taken aback that I had brought up the CI's and just cautioned me to research carefully, as there were a lot of people for whom the oral route didn't work. She told an anecdote about a meeting where the speaker asked the deaf/hoh crowd who had felt like a failure in the Oral Education track, and most people had raised their hands, and when asked who had felt like a failure with ASL education no one had raised their hands. I get it. And I also figure that maybe not as many people who felt successful in the Oral world would have been at a meeting conducted in ASL. 

I will attend as many Deaf Community Center events as I can - there are only 8 a year or so, and some are too far away, as they rotate around the SF Bay Area.  The ASL immersion is great for Peter, and he loves it. Lunch with my friend is an added bonus.  I just have to remember to stay away from Deaf politics.