The noblest gift: ASL
American Sign Language is the noblest gift from my family to me. Without access to ASL, I would not have become who I am today. I want to thank my family and friends for learning and supporting my native language.
I’d like to share how I received my gift of ASL and how it enabled my family and friends to become involved in my life. The Deaf school in Georgia played an important role, too. ASL and Deaf Culture are deeply intertwined and are embedded in Deaf communities across the USA, particularly in the states where Deaf schools are established with a supportive community nearby.
Had it not been for:
♦ John J. Flournoy, a Deaf Georgian who proposed and influenced the state to pass a bill to establish the first public Deaf school in Georgia;
♦ Asa Prior, the Father of Cedartown, who helped build the Cedar Valley Academy, the first Georgia School for the Deaf in Cedartown, for his five Deaf children and other Deaf students to attend: and
♦ the second opening of GSD in Cave Spring in 1846,
my parents would not have known what to do when they discovered I was Deaf. They would have had to move to somewhere else to find a suitable education for me.
But they didn’t have to! GSD in Cave Spring is less than 10 miles away from Cedartown, and my parents received all the information they needed to raise me. I feel so blessed to have parents who were willing to help me any way they could.
My parents, Jesse and Nellie, are Cedartown natives. They met in 1962 and married on my grandmother’s 64th birthday, July 24, 1968. Camille, my sister, was born the following year and I was born 13 months later.
After Mom and I stayed at the hospital in Rome for 7 days while she recovered, Mom intuitively knew I was Deaf the day we went home because I did not respond to some sounds like I should.
One example was while Camille and I slept together in the crib, Mom accidentally made loud sounds while cleaning the house. Camille woke up crying, but I did not even stir. After visiting several doctors, one of them confirmed to my mother that I was indeed Deaf.
When I was still a baby, my parents were encouraged to sign for me. They also sought an opinion from Jim Whitworth, GSD’S 11th superintendent, on early education for me. The best advice Whitworth offered my parents was to continue learning ASL from the Deaf community, Deaf Culture, and how they could stay involved in my life. And they did!
My parents took advanced ASL classes taught at Floyd Junior College, now Georgia Highlands College, in Rome. Some members of my extended family also learned ASL, including my cousins Tara and Richy, who lived across the street. We grew up playing and chatting in ASL together. Tara and Camille attended kindergarten, and because I wanted to be with them, the school director permitted me to attend with them. I was the only Deaf student in the class. There was no certified interpreter so Tara and Camille would sometimes interpret me.
After our kindergarten graduation, I entered GSD at the age of 5. My family, Tara and my friends would often visit me at GSD to show their support until I graduated.
You would find it amazing that, besides my family, I have about 30 childhood friends from Cedartown — all hearing — who were eager to learn ASL because they wanted to talk with me. They were the best!
I’m told that some of my younger relatives are also excited to learn ASL. One small cousin sent me a video of her signing a song for her kindergarten recital. An older cousin recently sent me a video showing her three small children in a class, responding in ASL to their teacher reading a storybook out loud.
If you have been wanting to learn the gift of ASL, I have good news for you. The Polk County Historical Society Museum in Cedartown is offering free ASL classes on four consecutive Saturdays starting Jan. 21. Everyone is invited, so feel free to share this with everyone you know. The more, the merrier!
It’s making me smile to know that there are people out there who want to learn ASL to talk with their Deaf friends. Thank you!