By Kelli Atangan, Speech Language Pathologist
What is ASL?
American Sign Language (ASL) is the primary manual language used by Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in the US and Canada. ASL is a complete and complex language, meaning it has it’s own set of rules for phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. ASL is a fascinating language to study and it is recognized as a foreign language in Virginia high schools.
Who should learn ASL?
I highly encourage parents with deaf and hard of hearing children to learn ASL to provide their children with a solid language base. Whether you are deaf, hard of hearing, or hearing, learning ASL does not interfere with spoken language development. Children have an innate capability to learn multiple languages that they are exposed to!
What is the difference between ASL and Baby Sign Language?
ASL is a complete language whereas baby sign language uses ASL signs (or Signed Exact English or sign approximations) along side the spoken word. Learning signs for common words is wonderful to help babies communicate their wants and needs when they are pre-verbal and can help them acquire spoken language more quickly. If you are interested in learning some basic signs to help your baby or toddler communicate, read more about our Baby Sign Language classes here.
Ready to Learn ASL? Start with these resources:
Dictionaries/Apps: Dictionaries are great for when you need to look up vocabulary, but just as a Spanish dictionary wouldn’t teach you grammar, an ASL dictionary likely won’t either. Use dictionaries as a reference, but rely on the videos and courses below to learn the language.
- Michigan State University Communication Technology Laboratory
- ASL Dictionary- Sign Language by Software Studios: itunes | android
- The ASL App, by Ink and Salt LLC: itunes | android
- Lingvano
Videos: Videos by native Deaf ASL-users are a wonderful way to build your receptive ASL skills. While there are many videos online, many are made by ASL students as projects and are not always accurate. Check out these reputable videos below!
Online Courses: These free and paid courses are a great way to get started learning ASL.
- Gallaudet University Free Course
- ASL University (Bill Vicars) Free Lessons
- Gallaudet University Paid Courses
In Person Courses in NOVA/DC: The best way to learn ASL is from a native user of the language, such as a Deaf ASL instructor. Here are the classes that we know of in the DC and NOVA area.
Loudoun
- ASL 1: LCPS Adult Ed
- ASL 2: Contact Us for information on our current private class, taught by a local Deaf instructor.
- Loudoun’s Bilingual ASL Families: this group is for families of children who are Deaf/HH and interested in learning ASL. We meet for weekly park playdates at Rust in Leesburg, Monthly Saturday Playgroup in Ashburn, and monthly silent dinners.
- Dulles South ASL Study Group: This free ASL study group currently meets Tuesday evenings at Gum Springs library, 8-9pm.
Fairfax
- Fairfax County Public Schools Adult & Community Education (ACE)
- Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons
- Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus
DC
Resources for Parents of Children Diagnosed with Hearing Loss:
Deaf Community – The best way to gain fluency in a language and understanding of the culture is to go straight to the source. Finding Deaf community to interact with will help take your ASL skills to the next level. Locally, check out McLean Bible Church, take a tour of Gallaudet’s campus, and look for Deaf happy hours, socials and silent dinners.
We hope you find these resources helpful! If you are local to Northern VA and have a child age 0-5 with a hearing loss, please contact Kelli to learn more about our free monthly ASL family playdates in Eastern Loudoun.
We hope you find these resources helpful! Want to add a resource to this list? Contact us!