Sign Language BAN imposed on 12 years old deaf girl
I love how the school threatened to suspend the girl while refusing to address the audist bullies who bullied her and other girls for using American Sign Language.
Go fuck yourself, Stonybrook School.
Via ABC News:
School officials have threatened a hearing-impaired girl with suspension if she uses sign language to talk to her friends on the school bus, the girl’s parents say.
Danica Lesko and her parents say sign language is the only way to for the 12-year-old to communicate, especially while riding to school on a noisy bus.
But officials at Stonybrook School — which is not a school for the hearing-impaired — and district officials in Branchburg, N.J., apparently believe signing is a safety hazard. They have sent a letter to the Lesko family ordering Danica to stop using sign language on the school bus or risk a three-day suspension.
The March 30 letter from her principal that said Danica was “doing sign language after being told it wasn’t allowed on the bus.”
The Leskos may file a lawsuit over the sign language ban, claiming officials are violating Danica’s civil rights and violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“She has a hearing problem, and now she’s being punished for using sign language,” Mary Ann Lesko, Danica’s mother, told The Star-Ledger of Newark. “It’s absurd.”
Danica’s parents told the paper that other students who rode to school with their daughter made fun of her, and refused to stay in their seats as they teased other girls who were using sign language. They said school officials are singling out Danica and not addressing those who should really be reprimanded.
Schools Officials: Safety First
In a statement released through the school district’s attorney, David Rubin, the Branchburg Board of Education refused to discuss the details of Danica’s case, saying only that its version of events differs from the parents’ version.
However, the board insisted it has not violated anyone’s rights and is only trying to protect other students who must ride on the school bus.
“The Board is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to all students with disabilities, and is satisfied that there has been no violation of that policy in this case,” officials said in the statement. “The Board is also committed to assuring the safety of all students who travel on District buses, and will continue to take appropriate steps to accomplish that goal.”
One deaf-rights advocate said Danica’s parents have a strong basis for a lawsuit because sign language could be a considered a foreign language, and school officials could be violating the girl’s First Amendment right to communicate.
“Why should there be a ban?” asked Charlotte Karras, outreach coordinator for the Edison, N.J.-based Alliance for Disabled in Action. “It’s a violation of her communication rights. She’s said it’s the only way she can communicate with her friends … It’s [the ban] against the ADA and violates the First Amendment and her family can file a discrimination suit citing the Americans With Disabilities Act.”
Karras said her organization would be willing to help the Leskos with any legal action.
Danica’s parents say she began losing her hearing last November, when a classmate allegedly shot a bottle rocket near her ear. They have already sued the Branchburg School District over that incident.
wtf… a safety hazard? why, because folks are fuckin with her? and this AFTER a kid at the school fucked up her hearing in the first place?
Maybe if the bus monitors and and teachers told them lil muhfuckas to cut the shit it wouldn’t have happened in first place. and now they need to
tellmake those little assholestostfu and leave her alone.fuck is wrong with people.
fuck that shit.
(via brashblacknonbeliever)
Source: abcnews.go.com
diaryofahumanbeing answered: It can be difficult to keep from only voicing when you’re being voiced to. Just remind yourself to continue signing? Maybe sim-com? Cheers :)
I realize that this is probably the solution though. My problem, I think, is that I don’t know how to think in two languages simultaneously. That’s why I can’t focus on both ways he’s trying to communicate. But if I can work on it on my own time, signing while I speak… maybe I’ll be able to read sign while hearing speech too. I hope.
isecretlycaresomuch answered: When he starts voicing just ask him to not as long as everyone present knows ASL and focus on the signs.
That’s the problem though, not everybody does know ASL. We’re a hearing theatre company housed at a Deaf school, and most company members have somelevel of ASL but it’s really hit-or-miss, and none of us are close to fluent. So he, because he canvoice pretty clearly, does so, rather than digging up an interpreter every time he wants to ask us one little question. So if I asked him not to voice… One other woman and myself would be able to communicate with him pretty well, but everyone else would be in the dark.
Hmm… this is pretty complicated. Signing while you speak is not the ideal thing for learning ASL (you should have your voice off) but because of the specific circumstances you’re in (being around ASL Impaired individuals at the time), sim-com is probably what is best. I know it’s hard, but technically, you’re only thinking in English. You just have to sign the English words. So…. you’re thinking in English & sign…. singing English is not ASL… therefore, you’re technically only thinking in one language… ? I’m just trying to reason this for you in a way so doesn’t sound too defeating. You can do it! Besides, I think it’s common knowledge that sim-com isn’t the most graceful of things (Lol), so the people around you tend to be sympathetic whenever you struggle or mess up.
I would say that when he’s “sim-com”ing to you & you’re getting confused, PICK one: either listen or focus on only the signs. For the sake of effective communication, it may be easier for you to focus on the voicing & then reply in sim-com. As far as you being concerned about developing your ASL skill, I would say you’d need to find another environment to do that in (like a Deaf/ASL event).
I know it’s hard work, but for the sake of communicating & maintaining equal access of communication for all, I would say it is worth the effort.
Note: This opinion is given by me: a hearing, ASL student, ally, & FODA (Friend of Deaf Adults).
(via conversationwiththesky)
Source: these-shackleson
diaryofahumanbeing answered: It can be difficult to keep from only voicing when you’re being voiced to. Just remind yourself to continue signing? Maybe sim-com? Cheers :)
I realize that this is probably the solution though. My problem, I think, is that I don’t know how to think in two languages simultaneously. That’s why I can’t focus on both ways he’s trying to communicate. But if I can work on it on my own time, signing while I speak… maybe I’ll be able to read sign while hearing speech too. I hope.
isecretlycaresomuch answered: When he starts voicing just ask him to not as long as everyone present knows ASL and focus on the signs.
That’s the problem though, not everybody does know ASL. We’re a hearing theatre company housed at a Deaf school, and most company members have somelevel of ASL but it’s really hit-or-miss, and none of us are close to fluent. So he, because he canvoice pretty clearly, does so, rather than digging up an interpreter every time he wants to ask us one little question. So if I asked him not to voice… One other woman and myself would be able to communicate with him pretty well, but everyone else would be in the dark.
I have a bad habit: Ethan voices when he talks to us hearing folks, and he signs too, but I find it hard to pay attention to both? So I generally miss out on his signs, because my natural instinct, being a hearing person, is primarily to listen to his voice. I lose what he’s actually saying because I am trained to hone in on his voice. And he’s very good at speaking, but it’s obviously non-native and sometimes hard to understand. So sometimes I’m not actually able to figure out what he’s said until after he’s already gone.
BUT it gets worse. Because I am not paying attention to the ASL, and I am very slow at parsing his vocalizations, I sometimes… speak back, instead of sign? And then I feel like a dick. Because he knows I sign.
If he’s going out of his way to usemylanguage - voicing in addition to signing - it’s pretty rude of me to not respond in turn. Because I can understand both languages - but he can’t understand mine.
How do I stop being a dick?
Deaf Student 'Speechless' After Obama Responds to Him in Sign Language
Lots of people get giddy following even the briefest encounters with a president. But one Washington-area college student was especially elated that President Obama understood what he was saying. Or signing.
As first reported on Distriction, Stephon, a student at Prince George Community College, was standing in line after an event on energy policy with President Obama and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, waiting for a chance to shake hands with the president. As the president was shaking hands and making his way through the crowd, he met up with Stephon, who was born deaf.
“I am proud of you,” Stephon signed to the president.
Not missing a beat, President Obama signed back: “Thank you.”
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See article for videos, because I don’t know of a way to make a text post on tumblr with inline videos.
Source: The Huffington Post
the local public school system has adult education classes, for degree completion, or certification programs, or just one-shot classes like cooking and stuff.
there’s a commercial on tv… unfortunately i can’t find it on youtube at all. but it’s advertising for the american sign language class.
and it has video from the class. the teacher demonstrates how to sign “hamburger”
then it shows a student introducing herself in front of the class
then it shows a student asking a question. she signs “more one time, hamburger?”
what the hell does that mean
if you’re trying to ask the teacher to repeat the sign, you would say “again please?”
or if you’re not sure you have it correct, you would say “hamburger… is that right?”
or something like that
but every time i see this woman ask “more one time, hamburger?” i get ragey
IT IS A LANGUAGE
IT HAS GRAMMAR
you are trying to use english grammar with signs. for one thing, you don’t even have the english grammar correct. but seriously. american sign language is a language. it’s not just a visual representation of english.
also, you wouldn’t say “more one time” in english. you would say “one more time.” come on.
why would you showcase somebody being so stupid while trying to advertise for your class
Reblog if you can speak, read, or at least kinda communicate in more than one language.
(via theyallgoout)
(also known as leastlikely)
