Most of our close friends and family have tried to learn a few signs here and there to communicate with Clarity. Much of what folks find on the internet etc... is ASL (American Sign Language). Clarity actually uses SEE (Signed Exact English) to communicate. ASL and SEE are actually quite different in many ways. Here's a pretty good description of the differences I found on the web.
Many families, when they begin learning sign language, wonder about the differences between American Sign Language and Signing Exact English or Signed English.
American Sign Language (ASL) is a language unto itself with its own grammar and syntax. American Sign Language uses word order that differs from English word order, and often an idea is expressed in ASL very differently than simply translating word-for-word what an English speakers would say. One sign in ASL may be used for a number of English words that are synonyms.
Signing Exact English (SEE) was developed by Gerilee Gustason and Esther Zawolkow in the 1970's to help deaf children learn English, which is a foreign language for those whose first language is ASL. Signing Exact English is not its own language but is a manual expression of English, in the same way written English is English represented by a written code. In SEE, each sign represents only one English word, and the word order is exactly as it is spoken in the English sentence. SEE uses over 80 signs for English prefixes and suffixes so that a sign such as climb can become climbing or climbed by the addition of the affix signs. In the same way, neighbor can become neighborhood, king can become kingdom, and form can become reform, transform,transformation, etc. Someone who signs SEE fluently signs every word in an English sentence. Most of the signs in the SEE vocabulary are ASL signs or variations of ASL signs, thought many signs are formed differently than in ASL.
So, why am I so excited? Today I discovered the perfect app to go on anyones iPod, iPad or iTouch that will immediately teach you not just a sign, but a SEE sign! It's called Sign 4 Me and it's $9.99. Download it onto your device and learn some new signs to chat with Clarity! She'd LOVE it!
No more lugging those bulky, yellow SEE dictionaries around with us wherever we go to learn new vocabulary on the spot...This will be SO much easier....YES! (fist pump)
Ahhhh...The simple things....
Sign 4 Me - A Signed English Translator
By Vcom3D
Hi,
My name is mikayla, and my 2 year old son is autistic. I stumbled upon your blog by accident. What an inspiring story you have! Your daughter is beautiful and your son is so handsome and your family looks very happy all together.
I'm commenting on this particular post because of my son. He doesn't have language and I'm looking for apps that will help him communicate better by learning SEE, and that will help us learn it at home. Did you find the sign 4 me app helpful in the end? Or is carrying a dictionary around a better option for learning SEE?
I don't mean to take a ton of your time, and thanks for posting about your family. I subscribed to your blog, and hope you keep updating!
Mikayla Straub
Posted by: Mikayla Straub | January 24, 2012 at 11:52 PM