Sign Language

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Sometimes, I wish everyone used sign language instead of speaking. At least I would have less trouble expressing what I want to say and in a noisy room, I could talk to the person far from me since I can't read lips at all. It's funny you brought up this topic because I've thought about taking ASL so if I get stuck when I'm trying to talk or am too anxious, I can speak in sign since I wouldn't have to use my voice.

I am a highly skilled signer of 12 years. I know ASL and can read it either visually or tactually (by feeling it with my hands like a Deaf-Blind person would). I prefer tactile signing cuz 1) there's no facial expressions & 2) the nuances are all felt just as the signs are. I am physically hearing, sighted, and somewhat able to speak. I HATE using my voice! Someday I will completely stop speaking for the rest of my life and pursue accommodations and info in tactile ASL. I already have auditory and visual processing deficits that will last a lifetime therefore I NEED tactile signing to communicate. Now in Seattle, WA, it won't be such a problem to get accommodations and info in tactile ASL cuz many people out there are used to it. Currently I'm stuck in Cincinnati, OH and I HATE this town! There are only 3 tactile signers who are physically Deaf-Blind and they all started rejecting me in 2004. Later on that year, the Ohio Association of the Deaf-Blind banished me without telling me where I went wrong. I just contacted OLRS to see if I have a case in court to sue them for all the emotional pain and suffering I'm experiencing for 5 years.

If y'all haven't tried tactile signing yet, find a Deaf-Blind person who uses it and have a direct conversation with him/her. You'll love it. I LOVE tactile signing ! Eventually I will make it to Seattle, WA and get back with the tactile signers. The tactile signers are my best friends. I need their touch so bad. I know that many Aspies dislike human touch, but you'll never know how you react to the "listening touch" involved in tactile signing until you get with a tactile signer and feel his/her touch.

I am a proud tactile signer. I will NEVER give up my pursuit of using tactile sign with many people all the time! Hopefully by May 2010 I'll be in Seattle, WA with some new tactile signer friends who touch me constantly for hours, and NOT only to communicate. Tactile signers like to give many hugs as well, which also feels good. You'd never wanna pass up somebody who wants to give you plenty of hugs now, would you? Many Aspies DO like hugs. As long as you don't cringe in response to the "listening touch" involved in tactile signing, pursue friendships with tactile signers. They are the best people in the Signing Community. Most of 'em are as smart as we are.

I wish the whole wide world would convert to tactile signing. It sure would rule! nirrti_rachelle wishes everyone would sign, but I not only wish that...I wish everyone was a TACTILE signer .

Like nirrti_rachelle, I am unable to use my voice when upset. But I'm ALWAYS able to FREELY express myself in sign whether the other signer will read me visually or tactually does not matter. But regardless if he/she is sighted, blind, or visually impaired, as long as he/she has the ability to understand the tactile signs, I want him/her to do so with me. Feeling ASL signs and understanding them doesn't take half as much tactile sensation/sensitivity as, for example, reading Braille does.

I am a Certified American Sign Language Interpreter (with Aspergers) and I also use ASL as a secondary form of communication. I can better express abstract concepts and describe things, in ASL. It helps me greatly. If you need help with this, let me know. I very much encourage you to explore it further.

I sign basic BSL (British sign language) and I find that quite helpful at times. The only thing that is a problem is how few other people sign and therefore understand what I am trying to say. I can do the finger spelling alphabet (which uses two hands as opposed to one in ASL) and I can sign some basic words like various animals, feelings and most importantly 'noise' because I cannot verbalise when I hear an uncomfortable noise.

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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

I was an ASL interpreter for several years, but the social aspects were too much of a strain. It helped me a lot with facial expressions and other things. I had a very flat affect and didn't understand facial expressions well before that, but when they were taught to me as a logical form of visual grammar, it made sense. And Deaf people's facial expressions are often exaggerated or stylized, so they don't think yours look weird if they're not quite natural. Even just learning ASL without using it regularly can be helpful if you need help with seeing the logic behind other people's behaviors or if you just want to know a language that is for the most part very pragmatic and rational.