ASL Resources

[Earthmerlin]

My daughter and I are taking a free 4 week ASL class. I'd like us to continue self-study once it's over (since we both love it) and am looking for decent resources. I have a set of basic cards and while we do use them, they fall flat at times. Anyone know of a video e-course, DVDs, or YouTube channels? There aren't too many live courses offered locally so we're pretty restricted in that sense. I'll confirm that with the teacher just to be certain I'm not overlooking something in our area. Does anyone have suggestions on how to reach out to the deaf community in order to continue linguistically (& perhaps make new friendships)? 

[Crimson Wife]

LifePrint is supposed to be good.

[2Peanuts]

I second LifePrint, also known as ASL University. It's free and seems to have the most robust lessons. Bill Vicars (the teacher) teaches the most common vocabulary used in conversations. His lessons also include some aspects of Deaf culture and ASL linguistics.

I've also seen a few lessons from ASL That (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7fVfWv6FL7HeTFeSLz-muQ). His lessons seem pretty solid but they aren't laid out nicely like ASL University's and I also get the feeling that these videos go with a class that he teaches.

Homeschool Buyer's Coop has an ASL program called Signing Online. I don't know much about the lessons but I know the person behind the program (Dave Stewart) sat on the Board of Trustees at Gallaudet University for several years. (I worked there and provided administrative support to the Board whenever they were in town.) He was Deaf so I trust the curriculum he put together.

If you want to find classes, you can contact the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and ask if there are any interpreter training programs (ITP) near you. (Or you can search for yourself at https://www.rid.org/about-rid/about-interpreting/become-an-interpreter/about-interpreting-education-programs-2/). ITPs are typically at community colleges and will offer advanced levels of ASL.

I see that you're in Maryland. Which part? If you are near the Frederick area, you could always try the Maryland School for the Deaf. They may be able to provide some resources. If you're in the Baltimore area, Catonsville Community College has an ITP. Silver Spring is home to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and several other Deaf advocacy organizations. They may be able to point you in the direction of Deaf clubs that meet up. When I took ASL, we always had to attend a Deaf event as part of our course requirements. It can be intimidating but I found many folks were very friendly and happy to share their language and culture with interested learners.

And of course, there's always Gallaudet University in DC. That's a great resource for learning about Deaf history. Unfortunately, they don't offer much in terms of classes for the general public but they often have guest lectures and performing arts events on campus that are open to the public so you can see ASL in action.

Also in DC --- the National Gallery of Art offers gallery tours led by Deaf docents (https://www.nga.gov/calendar/guided-tours/accessible-programs/american-sign-language.html). You can email them ahead of time to ask if an interpreter will be available for the tour. When I took my daughter, we had an interpreter with our tour...and also some ASL students who were clearly there to satisfy a class requirement to participate in a Deaf event. ? 

Hope you find something that works for you! Good luck with the search!

[Earthmerlin]

21 hours ago, 2Peanuts said:

I second LifePrint, also known as ASL University. It's free and seems to have the most robust lessons. Bill Vicars (the teacher) teaches the most common vocabulary used in conversations. His lessons also include some aspects of Deaf culture and ASL linguistics.

I've also seen a few lessons from ASL That (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7fVfWv6FL7HeTFeSLz-muQ). His lessons seem pretty solid but they aren't laid out nicely like ASL University's and I also get the feeling that these videos go with a class that he teaches.

Homeschool Buyer's Coop has an ASL program called Signing Online. I don't know much about the lessons but I know the person behind the program (Dave Stewart) sat on the Board of Trustees at Gallaudet University for several years. (I worked there and provided administrative support to the Board whenever they were in town.) He was Deaf so I trust the curriculum he put together.

If you want to find classes, you can contact the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and ask if there are any interpreter training programs (ITP) near you. (Or you can search for yourself at https://www.rid.org/about-rid/about-interpreting/become-an-interpreter/about-interpreting-education-programs-2/). ITPs are typically at community colleges and will offer advanced levels of ASL.

I see that you're in Maryland. Which part? If you are near the Frederick area, you could always try the Maryland School for the Deaf. They may be able to provide some resources. If you're in the Baltimore area, Catonsville Community College has an ITP. Silver Spring is home to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and several other Deaf advocacy organizations. They may be able to point you in the direction of Deaf clubs that meet up. When I took ASL, we always had to attend a Deaf event as part of our course requirements. It can be intimidating but I found many folks were very friendly and happy to share their language and culture with interested learners.

And of course, there's always Gallaudet University in DC. That's a great resource for learning about Deaf history. Unfortunately, they don't offer much in terms of classes for the general public but they often have guest lectures and performing arts events on campus that are open to the public so you can see ASL in action.

Also in DC --- the National Gallery of Art offers gallery tours led by Deaf docents (https://www.nga.gov/calendar/guided-tours/accessible-programs/american-sign-language.html). You can email them ahead of time to ask if an interpreter will be available for the tour. When I took my daughter, we had an interpreter with our tour...and also some ASL students who were clearly there to satisfy a class requirement to participate in a Deaf event. ? 

Hope you find something that works for you! Good luck with the search!

Thanks SO much for your detailed response. I indeed am in the Frederick area and the free classes we attended were sponsored by the MD School for the Deaf. Unfortunately they don't offer much to the general public (just students & family). I will look into Gallaudet--further out but a great idea nonetheless. Thanks for the other tips!

[2Peanuts]

I bet there's an active Deaf club in the Frederick/Germantown area. I wonder if your teacher can point you in that direction.

I worked in the Deaf community for about 10 years - for a nonprofit in Silver Spring and then at Gallaudet. Both of my bosses lived in Germantown as did many of their friends. So, you definitely live in the best spot to find Deaf resources in the community!

Have fun with your search! It can be intimidating (I remember being soooo nervous the first time I set foot on Gallaudet's campus) but it was delightful to realize that I *could* communicate with people using ASL. Hope you & your daughter get to experience something similar! ?