Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Question Two: Cochlear Implants
Pat wants to know: Do cochlear implants work for everyone who gets them?
Kerry's Answer: I'm glad this question was asked! It is a common misconception, often exacerbated by medical professionals, that cochlear implants are a "cure" or "miracle fix" for deafness -- that once a deaf person receives the surgery, he or she will automatically be able to hear. However, that in fact is not the case. It does not restore normal sound, but instead more often gives a deaf person more of a representation of his or her environmental and surrounding sounds to aid in understanding speech.
For those who don't know, a cochlear implant is a small electronic device surgically implanted into a profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing person's ear. It contains three external parts: a microphone, which picks up environmental sounds; a speech processor, which filters sounds to prioritize audible speech, sending them to the transmitter; and the transmitter and receiver/stimulator, a magnetic coil receiving the sound signals sent by the speech processor and converts them to electric impulses; and one internal part: an electrode array, surgically implanted beneath the skin of the ear and through the cochlea, which collects the electric impulses sent by the transmitter and sends them to the auditory nerve.
Unlike a hearing aid, which helps damaged ears detect sound better, the implant bypasses these damaged areas and directly stimulates the auditory nerve. It is not the "cure" that it is popularly believed to be, although it can help many deaf individuals who choose (or whose parents choose for them) to have the surgery to hear certain sounds better and aid in speech recognition. After receiving the implant, it takes much work and training to learn (or relearn) to use the implant to hear and train to recognize the new sounds. The earlier the surgery is performed, the better the chances the deaf person has to become accustomed to the implant. Many Deaf individuals who choose to have the surgery still continue to use ASL and be a part of the Deaf culture and community, while some do not sign and rely on reading lips and speech to communicate. How well the implant works also depends on the level of deafness, when the person became deaf, and the amount of training and effort put into becoming acclimated to the device.
Before making this kind of decision for him or herself, or parents for their deaf child, all resources should be allocated to obtain all the necessary information about the device and surgery from all angles.
Thank you for you question! I hope that is clear!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Question From A Follower
E-mailed to us by DJ Falco JZ.
Question: Is learning to speak Signed Language harder than learning to speak other languages?
Amanda's Answer (ASKASL ladies, please feel free to add to this!):
Let me start off by saying American Sign Language is indeed a very visual language. It is actually the THIRD most used language in the US! Many people have the misconception that ASL is just english on the hands, others believe it is nothing more than gestures. Not true at all!! ASL has its own grammatical structure, vocabulary, rules and even dialect! It is neither harder or easier than other languages. It depends on how much effort you put into learning it. Like any language, ASL requires proper usage and practice. People who claim to be more visual learners tend to pick it up more quickly, however anyone can learn it!
I Hope this answers your question! Keep looking back to see if the other ladies added to your question! And feel free to comment on this post to inquire more about ASL!
Question: Is learning to speak Signed Language harder than learning to speak other languages?
Amanda's Answer (ASKASL ladies, please feel free to add to this!):
Let me start off by saying American Sign Language is indeed a very visual language. It is actually the THIRD most used language in the US! Many people have the misconception that ASL is just english on the hands, others believe it is nothing more than gestures. Not true at all!! ASL has its own grammatical structure, vocabulary, rules and even dialect! It is neither harder or easier than other languages. It depends on how much effort you put into learning it. Like any language, ASL requires proper usage and practice. People who claim to be more visual learners tend to pick it up more quickly, however anyone can learn it!
I Hope this answers your question! Keep looking back to see if the other ladies added to your question! And feel free to comment on this post to inquire more about ASL!
"See What I'm Saying" = A Very Cool Documentary!!
Hey All. If you are reading this post before Wednesday, April 21st, then you still have time to go see the documentary "See What I'm Saying", a film following the lives of a group of very interesting and talented Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. Kerry and I (Amanda) just went Sunday, April 18th. I have to say it was quite inspiring and definitely worth seeing many times. We bought shirts and an autographed poster! Check out these pics! Also, here is a link to the movie's website so you can check it out for yourself! ENJOY!
http://www.seewhatimsayingmovie.com/
Welcome!
Hello! Welcome to our blog “A.S.K. ASL” by Amanda Boyle, Sarah Drake and Kerry Daley from the Teaching American Sign Language as a Foreign Language program at Teachers College, Columbia University.
As future teachers of American Sign Language (ASL), we feel that Deaf awareness will be a major component in our classroom. In addition to establishing Deaf culture as a daily element to our curriculum, we also want to provide our class with an added pathway to allow for student inquiries and access to Deaf events outside of the classroom. This blog will serve as a forum to be available to our students at all times, where us as teachers can post valuable recourses, Deaf events and other information. This will also be an area that questions can be posted, at any hour, and answered as quickly as possible. Our hope is that this can be a forum where misconceptions can be addressed and clarified.
How do you use our blog?
First of all, if you have a general question about ASL or Deaf culture, you can email us at ASKASLBlog@gmail.com. We will read your question and then post it onto this blog with the answer. Please include, along with your question, whether you would like the post to have your name attached or to be anonymous.
Also, if you see something interesting already on the blog’s wall, please feel free to make a comment.
Lastly, be sure to check out our links and videos!
As future teachers of American Sign Language (ASL), we feel that Deaf awareness will be a major component in our classroom. In addition to establishing Deaf culture as a daily element to our curriculum, we also want to provide our class with an added pathway to allow for student inquiries and access to Deaf events outside of the classroom. This blog will serve as a forum to be available to our students at all times, where us as teachers can post valuable recourses, Deaf events and other information. This will also be an area that questions can be posted, at any hour, and answered as quickly as possible. Our hope is that this can be a forum where misconceptions can be addressed and clarified.
How do you use our blog?
First of all, if you have a general question about ASL or Deaf culture, you can email us at ASKASLBlog@gmail.com. We will read your question and then post it onto this blog with the answer. Please include, along with your question, whether you would like the post to have your name attached or to be anonymous.
Also, if you see something interesting already on the blog’s wall, please feel free to make a comment.
Lastly, be sure to check out our links and videos!
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