Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Sign language




American Sign Language to be specific is a wonderful thing to know. 
Thanks to the below site:

The American manual alphabet. Letters with asterisks are shown from the side (*L left or *R right), rather than as the viewer would see them.

The above link has a video with a beginning of 150 phrases/words signed.
There are so many ways to learn signing online and classes too locally!


The reason I mentioned this is because lately I have been signing with Gus, and yes he can hear, probably better than you or me.
But it has made him realize when he makes me “happy” by his proper behavior with my thumbs up sign and hands spread open, shaking like jazz hands meaning happy and overly endorsed more with a great big smile!
His reaction is one of prancing around and tail wagging, and so he does know the significance what the signs mean.

Of course we both reinforce his proper behavior with his individual pieces of kibble and a pat on the head with a scratch around his face. He still looks bewildered at times and so I make sure that he knows that touching him is a positive thing and does not hurt and he should therefore not feel cornered or whatever seemed to be his reasoning for growling and snapping, and no he has not done that in more than a week now.

We also had learned the American Sign Language alphabet when Number One Son was in scouts over thirty years ago.
Fast forward to when Hubby had been a deputy doing community policing in the beginning of his career he was on many local boards of directors for non-profits and one of those was H.I.P., which is the acronym for Hearing Impaired Persons.
At that time, in the late nineties early two thousands, we were all set to take their course for the whole shebang of learning phrasing words etc. in American Sign Language when I ended up needing my hand surgery, oops!
So it was put on hold and sadly we never did go back and since by then Hubby had gone over to the marine patrol division, his dream job. Although, he had loved the community policing too and received many atta boy accolades, plaques etc. for his handling of many groups and people way back then!

When we had had our wicker store in Toms River NJ, way back in the early 1980’s before moving to Florida we had had a couple come in who were deaf and oddly enough with the little I knew of signing I was able to communicate with them, plus they were very kind and understanding and patient with my spelling everything! LOL!

So, in the end it is something that could be beneficial in so many ways, even just to teach to children to learn to understand others or to not yell when expressing themselves… oh I don’t know for the fun of learning something new and different!

On that note of whatever floats your boat allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly to count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know who and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!



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