Writers Come to American Sign Language In Different Ways, But Find it Boosts their Communication Skills Visually
Charlie Barshaw coordinates our quarterly Writer Spotlight feature and interviews writers of SCBWI-MI. In this piece, meet three SCBWI-MI members who know and use (in varying degrees) American Sign Language (ASL).
Melissa Bailey
How were you introduced to sign language? Why did you take it up? Where did you learn it? Do you use ASL on a regular basis?
I learned sign language about 15 years ago – a deaf friend taught me. While I did take an ASL class, I was mostly taught by the deaf. Since moving to be closer to family, now I mostly use ASL when I get together with deaf friends, so not much in the past two years!
Do you ever dream in ASL?
Yes! All the time, even though it’s been a while since I’ve been immersed in the community. ASL wormed its way into my heart and synapses and didn’t let go.
My daughter learned some sign language. She told me it’s a combination of painting a picture and directing a stage play. How might you describe ASL in action?
It’s very much like charades, but with grammar and vocabulary and structure—just as with any other language. Communication in ASL isn’t just with the hands; it’s been said that 80% is facial expressions. When chatting with a deaf person, you look in their eyes. You catch what they’re signing in the periphery of your vision; your focus is on their face and expressions. It’s a rich language based on concepts, not words, and is incomparable in conveying emotions and ideas.
The comparison to painting a picture is apt. ASL is structured very much like the process of drawing a picture. For example, in English, we would say, “The cat sat in the tree.” If you were to draw that, you draw the tree first, then place the cat in it. ASL grammar is exactly the same; you would sign ‘tree cat sit’. Actually, if I were signing it, I’d sign ‘tree’, then ‘cat’, then use a classifier to show the cat running up the tree and sitting in it (acting out the action like charades). I could also use expressions and body language to communicate the cat’s emotions or whether this scene is humorous, safe, mysterious, dangerous…
(A classifier is a hand shape that is used to represent something else. For example, the ‘number one’ handshape is often used to represent a person, and how you move the ‘person’ describes or communicates what they’re doing. They could be walking, running away, meeting another ‘person’, etc. – all depending on how you move that classifier.)
As a children’s book creator, does ASL ever work its way into your stories?
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| One of Melissa's covers |
All the time! Not often directly with a deaf character or describing/illustrating the language, but indirectly it has influenced and affected every book I've worked on. Especially illustrating – I really focus on expression, emotion, and storytelling, and sign language is to thank for that.
Was there a moment when sign language was especially helpful to you?
So many moments! One moment was when our family went to Europe – being in Poland and Hungary, not knowing the language and needing to order food or get directions. Knowing ASL helped me communicate with acting and gestures, and we had a great time!
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| Another of Melissa's Covers |
This isn’t a ‘moment’, per se, but the biggest help that learning sign language has given me is in personal growth. Learning a new language, and a new culture, has allowed me to see the world from others’ point of view and lived experiences. And I’ve also gained lifelong friends I never would have made if I hadn’t learned sign language.Who inspired you to love books and writing?
I have always loved books and stories. My mom is a reader and made sure that plenty of books were available, but she didn’t push my sister and me to read. She said I’d spend hours looking at books (I remember laying on the floor, poring over illustrations by Beatrix Potter and Eloise Wilkins). According to Mom, I asked her to read to me so much that when I showed an interest in learning how to read, she taught me so that I could read on my own (and maybe give her some free time?). So though the love of books and writing has always been there, all thanks goes to my mom for encouraging us to be creative and promoting literacy (both my sister and I learned to read well before kindergarten).
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| And yet a third book cover |
What is your Work In Progress? What are you working on now?
