ASL or SEE?

[confustication]

We're being asked to choose which language to use with our son. To be quite honest, I didn't know there was anything more than ASL until this was asked, so now I'm researching like a madwoman.

It seems like SEE would be really complex for a young child, but it's what the school districts seem to prefer.

At this point, we're still introducing very early signs for very basic things, but for those of you who are further along the path than we are, what do you find works best?

[2boyzmama]

We use "pidgeon signed English" which means we use ASL signs, but in the word-order of spoken English.

We chose that because Connor CAN hear (his loss is mild-moderate fluctuating) and we DO expect him to be verbal. It also makes the transition from signing to to reading/writing easier because he will learn the English sentence structure.

He (and we, everyone in the family) "sign-speaks" which means that he is required to verbalize (attempt anyway) every sign he makes (and vice versa, he must sign every verbalization). Just last night I was really happy because he, spontaneously with no guidance from me, SAID and SIGNED "Mommy I want more milk please." I was SO happy!! He normally would have just said and signed "more milk please" or maybe even "want more please" but we've been working really hard lately on getting him to say and sign the full sentence. And he did it, spontaneously

[PatchChild]

We chose ASL because it's a full language, not just a collection of signs. My DS has a moderate hearing loss and was picking up English right along side ASL without any problems confusing the languages. Also, we had no promise that he wouldn't lose more hearing. Were he to need sign language as his primary language, I wanted it to be a rich language, and one with the culture to support it.

That said, a lot of the time we fall back to English word order because that's what we know, and we're not fluent enough in ASL for some of the complex ideas we want to talk about. We just also make sure he has fluent ASL models.

[~cassie~]

We mostly do English word order as well b/c we do know signs but I suck at putting them in the correct order!

[LynnS6]

ASL!!!!!

ASL is a real language, SEE is a weird hybrid that's not sign language and it's not English, despite it using English structures.

If he gets a thorough grounding in ASL, then it will be easier for him to learn English -- whether it's through SEE or verbally (if he has any hearing).

ASL also gives him access to an entire community of people and more people know ASL than SEE.

[mamarhu]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

ASL!!!!!



ASL also gives him access to an entire community of people and more people know ASL than SEE.

Yes, yes, yes!