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 |
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?
Thanks for asking! Right now, I’m working on illustrating two picture books, with two more waiting in the wings when these are completed. As far as writing, I’m working on a few new story ideas, but my main focus has been working on picture book dummies – the goal is to have one or two ready for submission in 2022.
Contact info
IG - @mbaileyart
Website: www.mbaileyart.com
Kathleen Marcath
How were you introduced to sign language?
I was with friends at a weekend retreat. We were busily chatting; music came up loud, bringing our attention to a small woman who stood strong and mighty, radiant with confidence. She began passionately signing to the music. She awed us with the passion, power, and beauty of her signing along to the music. Before long, she invited everyone to join in. She taught several songs to us in American Sign Language.
I would say sign language found me. It tapped me on the shoulder and kept knocking at my door. Finally, I OPENED THE DOOR because I promised my passing mother to follow my dreams and not let life pass me by.
Why did you take it up? Where did you learn it?
Sometime later, I attended the mid-week service at Word of Faith. There were thousands of people in that room! On a Wednesday night, can you imagine?! The seats were all occupied. I wanted to get closer so I wouldn't miss a thing, and I spotted an empty seat near the front. I quickly slipped into the one vacant seat, which happened to be in the Deaf section. Everyone sat watching a woman interpret the speaker. Then, the time came for worship. All around me, the people copied the signer with a new song, and I followed along. As people were leaving, she stopped me to ask me where I had learned to sign. "Who, me?" I answered, "I only know one song; I just copied you!" "For real?" she said, "Girl, you got talent. Go take classes!"
I registered for courses in a four-year program at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan. In class, I heard the story of Alice Cogswell, a deaf girl back in the 1800s. My heart cried for her and all the children who were left out and ignored. Alice was alone by herself while a group of girls played together down the beach. A young minister, Thomas Gallaudet, noticed this beautiful but unfortunate girl all alone. He asked the group of girls why they were not playing with her. To which they responded callously, "She is deaf and dumb." He asked them what her name was, and they told him, "Alice." The young priest approached Alice. He then began to write her name in the sand. All day, he worked with her until she understood that he was writing her name. Finally, for the first time in nine years, this child heard she had a name: ALICE!
In my English classes at Madonna University, we also discussed inclusion literature. To my surprise, I found out there were no children's picture books with children signing in them. So I set out to change that by creating ASL Picture Books. I'd always wanted to write for children, and Alice Cogswell had moved me so much!
Alice, along with every child, has a gift to give. It's our job as adults to help them discover who they are. It's our job to help them uncover what they are meant to achieve in life that only they can. So many children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing are left behind in the classroom, ignored at home, and struggle to achieve their dreams. It saddens me deeply because children bring such joy to our world! So, it became my mission to bring smiles to little faces and hope to the world. In creating ASL Picture Books, I wish every child to experience the joy and magical experience ASL offers. Every child should know that they have a name and know they can do great things.
Do you use ASL on a regular basis?
When I was working with d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing children, I used ASL every day. I have witnessed the magic of ASL in children learning to sign. With the ability to tell a story using ASL, their faces light up! Working as a special education sign language supporter further kindled my passion for helping children reach their educational potential, for families to build relationships with full language access. As a result, in 2020, I self-published my first children's picture book, My Monster Truck Goes Everywhere with Me, illustrated in American Sign Language. I am delighted to help fill the need for picture books illustrated with characters using American Sign Language.
Do you ever dream in ASL?
Perhaps I have, but not that I recall. I love that question, though. Dreams are such a great place for ASL to show up since it is a visual language, not a spoken one, and dreams are so intensely visual, with great details and vivid colors, full of rich and unique characters.
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?
Your daughter describes ASL very well! Sign language is like painting a picture and directing a stage play. A signer can arrange characters on a stage, in a room, anywhere. Once the stage is set, the signer can then reference them by pointing to that space. The expressions of the signer's production can be compared to the tone and inflection of one's voice. I would describe ASL as the most enlivening, descriptive, best live painting and stage play ever!
As a children's book creator, does ASL ever work its way into your stories?
Yes! ASL found its way into My Monster Truck Goes Everywhere with Me. I wrote a poem for a children's poetry contest. As I wrote the narrative poem, I realized this was a perfect story for a children's picture book and an inclusive picture book where the characters themselves sign the words in the story. Simple, basic terms, like "please," "thank you," "purple," "happy," "sad," and "surprised." I was looking for this kind of book when assigned to sign a picture book in Sign Language Studies class, and I couldn't find one. The seed was planted to write one!
So when I finally wrote My Monster Truck Goes Everywhere With Me, I wanted to create accompanying video books where the story is signed. The books have a QR code that takes you to four video books with which ASL students can experience outstanding storytelling by Diana Campbell and Michelle Osterhout. In addition, they can learn how to sign each of the 32 signs in the book. The fourth video is narrated by WWJ News Radio 950 personality Dennis Neubacher.
When you watch Diana Campbell and Michelle Osterhout, both Deaf Storytellers, sign the story, you will see for yourself the magical powers of this beautiful language. Their expressions, sign selections, and brilliant production really capture your attention. I remember during the filming of the videos with my good friend Dustyn Blindert, Diana or Michelle would ask after each page recorded, "How was that? Everything good?" We never found a flaw. Instead, we were mesmerized by the explosive expressions and excitement delivered on the canvas of air in the stage space. We were in awe!
The response to this book has been overwhelmingly positive. Readers and reviewers have told me that it should be on every bookshelf, in every library. And that is certainly something I hope for also!
Was there a moment when sign language was especially helpful to you?
While traveling in Alaska and Thailand, I came across Deaf tourist groups from Israel. It was a delight to be able to converse with them. Knowing ASL was also especially helpful in communicating with my Deaf illustrator. It was imperative to me that the illustrator for this book was a native signer. While I initially searched for local talent, I eventually found Isaac Liang in Singapore.
But I think sign language is beneficial to me and everyone else every single day. Sign language activates areas of the brain that most people never access. In a research paper, "Research Proves Sign Language Enhances Brain Cognition," I set out to find proof. Research has shown the benefits of sign language on cognitive development.
Our brains are the most outstanding organ. The brain controls our entire body. To have a language that enhances your brain, what more could anyone ask for? Sign Language is great for remembering numbers and names. Try it, have a friend give you a phone number. Use your fingers to repeat the number once or twice. Later, when you want to recall the number, your fingers will help you. Fingerspelling is an excellent tool for students studying for spelling tests.
Who inspired you to love books and writing?
I loved reading picture books to my children and now to my grandchildren. My love for writing came through journaling. I found writing is soul cleansing. When you have released all that is not of you, inspiration comes. When that happens, beautiful things emerge onto paper.
For me, one of these highly inspirational moments led to a vision of writing books for children and meeting in a cozy treehouse to share stories of adventure. Now that sign language has entered the formula, writing for children has expanded into something bigger than I ever imagined.
What is your Work In Progress? What are you working on now?
Currently, I am working on a top-secret project with a friend in California! We hope to have something to share about that in the new year.
My grandchild and I have a few stories in the works. In the meantime, we provide educational blogs monthly.
For me, this year has been an education in technology, social media, marketing, and so much more that goes on behind the scenes. We are very excited to have earned several awards, including a very positive Kirkus review.
We are working on getting My Monster Truck Goes Everywhere with Me into the hands of children, schools, and libraries. In addition, we are scheduling author visits, interviews, and podcasts. You can find all of that at our website, www.aslpicturebooks.com.
Contact Info
email address: info@aslpicturebooks.com
IG and FB: @aslpicturebooks
Rachel McCollum
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?
As an artist and visual learner, I find American Sign Language to be one of the most beautiful languages in our world and have been fascinated by the language since high school although didn’t learn it until University. I didn’t take a single foreign language class in high school! When it came time to graduate, thankfully an exception was made, and I graduated with the simple warning “colleges will frown upon the fact that you do not have a foreign language on your high school transcript.”
While colleges and universities did question how I got through without taking Spanish, French or the like, they didn’t turn me away. They simply required I complete both the two-year high school requirement of language study and the two-year collegiate requirement of any language of my choosing, to which I readily agreed. Much to my excitement, my Alma Mater, the University of Findlay in Findlay, OH, offered American Sign Language, as did the local community college back home. This allowed me to take ASL during the school year and continue my studies in my hometown over the summer so I wasn’t delayed in completing my coursework.
Ultimately, it was my professor at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio that instilled a deep fondness in me for the language. She was partially deaf and extremely passionate about teaching ASL properly to students of all ages and backgrounds. For our coursework, we were required to take video tapes of ourselves as homework and even attend various social meetups with others who were hard of hearing, or deaf, to get some practice.
As a creative person who is always using my hands, I knew without a doubt, American Sign Language would be the language for me. While I was fluent throughout my college years and still have all my old notes and videos, sadly, I no longer practice the beautiful art of American Sign Language.
Do you ever dream in ASL?
No, I do not dream in ASL, although I would welcome the experience!
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?
I would agree with your daughter on the “painting a picture” description. ASL is an art form and a necessity. It’s a beautiful, fluid body movement coupled with deeply expressive facial expressions to convey the spoken word for those who live in silence.
As a children’s book creator, does ASL ever work its way into your stories?
I have only started one picture book so far and it does not have ASL in it, but I am open to the idea for future books!
Was there a moment when sign language was especially helpful to you?
Not in the form of me using ASL to ask for directions or help. ASL did help me in college to meet the necessary education requirements and gave me something creative to practice outside of my regular studies. Most importantly, learning ASL taught me how to be more compassionate and attentive to other people.
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| Married January 2021 |
One of these experiences happened at the beginning of October. My husband and I visited the Field of Dreams in Iowa and at the start of the house tour, our tour guide announced to the group two members were deaf and would be reading the guidebook as we moved through the house. Oftentimes, when someone is completely deaf, as these two individuals were, they don’t make any sound at all so it’s easy to overlook them in circumstances such as ours.
While I couldn’t fluently speak with them, I did introduce myself, take their photograph and made sure they were watching the TV screen and our guide reenact a famous scene while we were in the home. We take our hearing for granted too often. They didn’t know the TV was playing, so they didn’t know to turn around and watch. Because I had studied ASL, not just the act of speaking the language, but the importance of it and its history, I had awareness for this couple and compassion toward them on this tour.
What was your early childhood like?
I was always reading and dreaming up stories. I loved to read stories, tell stories, draw stories, and act out stories.
Who inspired you to love books and writing?
My mom always made sure we had books in our hands growing up and always supported and encouraged my art and writing.
What is your Work In Progress? What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m working on a Christmas picture book about a Snowgirl who enters a cookie bake-off with all of it’s magical, fun and unexpected surprises!
Contact Info
Website: https://mymidwestlife.online/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/lebellarachel/
Welcome to New Equity & Inclusion Team Members
Please help SCBWI-MI welcome Jason and John. We appreciate their passion for the E&I efforts in our community and we are thrilled that they are joining the team.
Good post! Loved finding out about how ASL has changed people'slives. Thank you.
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