Our Team is Growing | Meet Sarah | Deaf Journey to Teaching ASL 

Greetings Sarah! Welcome to the ASL team. I'm a 60 year old man living in a nursing facility. I'm a (or was) a full hearing man who has become hard of hearing. My left side is totally deaf and my right side is getting there. I have ALWAYS thought that sign was a BEAUTIFUL language. One I fully regret not learning in my younger life. I mention the nursing facility because I met a 77 year old deaf man there who had become deaf early in life. I just felt drawn to him. We became instant friends, even though we had no real way to communicate except via his lipreading. He's been teaching me ASL ever since. That was about 1 month or so ago. I consider myself a poor student topped off by the fact that my hands are very arthritic and difficult to manipulate. But he says I'm doing well. He makes learning fun again. THANK YOU for helping pass on what I consider to be THE most beautiful language ever created. Oral speech goes in and out your ears, but sign is connected to the heart. Thank you again and God bless!

Nice to meet you Sarah. WOW. Your story touches my heart. I was 3 years old when my mother first found out I was deaf. But my grandma has known since birth. She kept telling my mom I was deaf, she kept telling my grandma that I was just ignoring everyone. That's when my mother decided to find out how I became deaf. But nobody didn't have an answer to that. So I never went to school for the deaf until I was in 3rd grade. But my mother didn't like it. Because she felt I wasn't learning anything. So I went back to regular school. Until I met my best friend from Vietnam who was also deaf not by choice. It was during the Vietnam war and a grenade went off near her home and caused her to lose her hearing. Then her family moved to the USA and she was a very smart girl. They kept moving her up in classes. Finally when she lived in Wyoming I met her on the bus. She was signing me I was like what is she doing with her hands, the bus driver laughed at me and asked, do you know sign language. I said, no what is sign language. She said, her hands are talking to you. I said, I don't hear what her hands are saying. I asked her to talk with her mouth. She said, she doesn't know how to talk. I was oh. Ok. Then after that she taught me sign language. After I learned sign language I said to myself I wanted to be deaf teacher. After graduation, I never got the chance to go to college. You did wonderful Sarah. Congratulations for getting your dream come true.

Sarah just seems to be an authentically nice person.

I really enjoyed meeting Sarah and learning more about ASL and the deaf community! My future husband and I have a love for the Deaf. We are learning more and more about the Deaf culture. Every video you make is a tremendous blessing and very useful for us! We are currently learning ASL so we can tell them about Jesus. I really loved this video and love learning more about ASL. Thank you so much for your love. Please continue to make videos just like this one.

I have recently become very interested in ASL. I hope I can become fluent one day, and I have been watching your videos. One suggestion that I have is to do more videos like this one. It really helps to hear the words associated with the sign in real time conversations. That shows how and where signs need to be placed. I feel like I could naturally pick up a lot from videos like this. Sarah seems so nice and extremely capable of teaching some amazing stuff in a way that is easy to understand. We're glad she's here. 😊 Thanks!

Welcome Sarah I’m a minor in ASL hearing student. Your experience is within the basis of what I’ve learned through textbook. I enjoyed your experience. I’m trying to get involved with a deaf community to gain more experience and confidence and I admit that I am one of the intimidated ones 😅. Thank you.

I was so inspired by your story. I have a older brother who is not deaf, he is mute. . My brother and I had to use training wheels. I was 3 years younger than him. When I to got my training wheels off, he let mom know he wanted his off too. She was scared about him falling, but he fell and I fell until we learned to ride our bikes. Always supervised. My mom died when I was 11, brother 12, the mute brother 13, and my big sister 14. Afterwards, we all went back to school, they wanted my brother to learn sign language years later. I was the only one who would go with him to a separate class to learn sign language in the summer. He was doing good and suddenly the instructor got sick. I told him about it and they got him another teacher, but he would just sit there. I think the first teacher reminded him or mom. The next teacher was very young , probably in 20s. He doesn't like change. He lives in Ware Shoals in a group home now. I always wanted to learn sign language and surprise him. I am just starting and I have seizures also. Small ones. Last seconds. I only stopped working and driving about 6 years ago. Part time only. When u said you learned Spanish also that inspired me too. I had set 2 goals this year. Sign language and Spanish. I know you had support from your family, but wasn't it hard sometimes? The only way I started Spanish was kid style and music. I didn't think I remembered anything from sign class, but watching you talk and sign, I thought about my brother who can hear and sign. If you can think of better ways to learn other than repetition, let me know. It takes more time for my brain to remember new things, but if I do it everyday, I will just know it and it stays in my brain. Even with the seizures. I am grateful for hearing your story. It would be nice if you could write a book or app to inspire people by learning what you had to deal with. I think it would be nice to put something on Facebook. That is how I found an advertisement on Facebook. That is how I found a support group just for epilepsy. There is always someone to talk to or an article to read. It helped me a lot. By the way my name is Cheryl Tolbert.😊

Glad you came aboard Sarah. Without people like you I would have no access to learning ASL because I don't know anyone that is deaf or knows ASL for that matter. Platforms like this are my only portal to learning it!

Welcome Sarah! Excited to learn from you!

I'm Japanese and live in Japan, so this is my first time seeing a conversation with an American Deaf person! I think it was a very valuable experience for me. I support you in your future endeavors. Good luck!

Meredith I think inviting Sarah in our LHTS is one of your brilliant ideas!!! Sarah I can't be happier! To see you more often and learn from you make me want to keep with my journey of learning ASL even though is a little late in my life. I never think about what would I do if I were born again (I am satisfy with my life) but after discover ASL I wish I knew about this beautiful language before in my life. Oh well! "better later than never". So Sarah welcome back!!!

How wonderful that Sarah is joining.! it was very interesting already to watch Sarah sharing her story. You are both great and passionate educators. Thank you.

Thank you Sarah for this video, it will give me lots of notes. In 1986 (age 25), I worked a rotating night shift, 7pm-7am at a Home for the Handicapped and I was the only person there for them on that night. I emotionally stressed out and had to leave. Before I left, one of the new girls had to sign and she taught me some words. Now in 2024, age 62, I still remember her words but want to fully learn all words. My family is scared for me to leave the house alone because I started Epilepsy : 2014 @ 52, TIA-stroke over Christmas @ 54, & brain surgery @57, yet I still take seizures almost every other day, alone with daily & moment memory loss times. It would be difficult to get to downtown Toronto, or even leave alone because they are scared for me. I will watch videos, take notes and practice. One day within the future, hopefully quickly, I will be able to sign, but all the 5 medications & the Epilepsy, TIA-stroke and brain surgery effects my memory. Again, thank you for this video.

Dear Sarah, I watched intensely as you communicated with simcom. To see both English and ASL come from one person simultaneously is really helpful for grasping ASL communication (since I am hearing). And you are so friendly. What a joy! I also love the Christian testimony and witness. Thank you for sharing!

Very excited that Sarah will be more involved as part of the team! Congratulations! I live overseas and am enrolled in the accelerated course to learn to communicate better with my niece who is 30 years younger than I am to do the day. She is considered hard of hearing but went to deaf school away from home during her upbringing. She learned ASL and prefers to use that as her main form of communication. Before she went away to school the immediate family including myself took Signed English courses. This video is amazing for me as I need to learn better in understanding the signer communicating with me. The materials on RU-vid and the structured course have been very helpful for expanding my knowledge not only of ASL but also the deaf community and its history. Thank you for sharing and wishing the entire team continued success and happiness.

Welcome Sarah. I hope you will do more of these type of segments where you sign and talk. This has been a great tool for me learning sign, seeing you and Meredith talk and sign about your life and journey. We are blessed to have you be a part of Learn To Sign. Look forward to watching more of your teaching.

Greetings! I find that being a hard of hearing person is difficult, because we are between two worlds. Communication feels difficult to me. Sometimes I am in the hearing world and sometimes the signing world. I'm just used to home signs and I am finding asl difficult. Maybe I am finally in the right place. Love and blessings ♥️ 🙏

So happy you are being able to expand your channel. Welcome, Sarah! I'm so excited to have you join us. This is the best channel ever! Here we grow, friends! ❤🙏 from SC, Jane😊

Thank you Sarah and Meredith. I’ve been hard of hearing since I was an infant, caused by Rubella. I learned the alphabet in sign language from my friends little sister, who is deaf, when I was about 11 yrs old. I’m 67 now and my hearing is worse so I’m now wearing hearing aids. I started watching and learning from Meredith’s online RU-vid a few months ago. I’ve learned a lot from Meredith & now I’m practicing recall. I don’t know any deaf people and not sure how to go about that. I wish I had a deaf friend to learn signing with. I lose out in conversation with my hearing friends so I just don’t go out anymore. How do I find a deaf community that’s accepting of someone my age that’s still learning to sign. I’m a very shy person but when I get to know someone, I can be fun and outgoing. Just takes me awhile. ❤

These new additions are so brilliant! Thank you very much! I look forward to the different interactions we will get to experience. I am so proud to be a lifelong member! 👏🏽🤟🏽 ☺️ Thanks for being born. 🙃

Welcome Sarah, excited you are apart of the team. I've been learning sign language for a few years now, I love Meredith channel learned so much from her. Excited to get the perspective of your teaching and you both are doing it together, going to be super amazing!!! Thanks for all you guys do.

So amazing to hear this story again! Will forever be very inspirational! Much love and congrats Sarah + LHTS!🥳🙌🏾

I have been wanting to learn asl for a long time (im hearing, but im autistic and can easily become nonverbal) and i think im at a point where im ready to be diligent in my studies! Im happy to have found this channel!❤

Made my heart happy to hear this woman's story. Fascinating, touching.

Great story Sarah. It was really nice to meet you and I hope we can hear more about your life and such. Thanks to Meredith, I am able to understanding your signing a little bit. My dream is to be an interpreter for the deaf community one day. Love you guys!!

Just watched your video and loved it ❤ I am a grandmother of a 13 year old autistic grandson, they consider him non verbal though he does talk a little. They taught him ASL in school and watching the video will help me communicate with him. Thank you and God bless you ❤❤❤

Hello, blessings. I'm trying to learn sign language to help others in need. I speak Spanish and English but I would like to be fluent in ASL. This will help me a lot I'm practicing my ABC's I know some words because when I was in collage I took a ASL class. It was back in 2014. Thanks again for the videos. Love having Sarah.❤

I can't wait to see Sarah in the upcoming videos❤

Thank you for this video. As an ASL learner, currently getting into classifiers, S/O/V etc, I was fascinated to watch this multiple times and pick up signs and see how certain phrases/words are done. I definitely enjoy watching lengthy dialogue. Her story was very interesting and touching too. Hope to see more person-to-person conversations!

Welcome Sarah! I've seen you briefly in other videos. It was inspiring to see/ hear your story. I can't say enough how I loved seeing the conversation between the two of you in sign language. Maybe I need to see more conversations on asl as well!?! My journey in the d/h/h world system when I worked for Belltone hearing in Roseville, MN when I was 19-20. My second child was born in 1995. When she was almost a year and a half I noticed that she wasn't responding to me like she should. It was like the next day that her daycare provider said the same thing. She went to the doctor. He said she needed tubes. Then I called and said that the tubes weren't working. We finally went to the audiologist. Only a parent knows how devastating it is to get the news. She has bilateral severe to profound hearing loss. There is so much more to our life in this area. Her speech teacher was beyond amazing!! MN Hands & Voices was amazing as well! We learned some sign language when we thought she was going completely deaf in grade school. She wanted to be an audiologist. She switched her dream job to be a paramedic when she was about 12 years old. She is a brilliant paramedic! She only needs to go through the physical test to be a firefighter again. She was never treated any different than my boys. When my children were growing up I worked with non-verbal adults. My client I'm working with now is deaf so I've been learning asl again. I have a grandson that has a fellow student in his (new) school who is deaf. He sees this child in the hallways only talking (asl) to adults. My grandson wants to learn asl so they can be friends. That night I taught him the alphabet and it was like he was already taught the alphabet. He knew it immediately. There were a couple letters he did ask about. I taught him some basic signs so he could have a conversation with the child. The next day he didn't see this child. I hope this sweet caring grandchild of mine makes a new friend. Thank you both for sharing your knowledge of asl with us. I would like to know Meredith's story of how she wanted to do this for us. P.S. When the newborn screenings law was going through the legislation, I was sure to call every one of them to get it to go through to be a law. No way do I want anyone to go through what we had to go through.

You are both a great blessing and I appreciate you so much for your dedication.

This is exciting news! I just started learning how to sign. So I might need to slow down the video to catch everything.

Welcome Sarah! I'm so glad we'll be seeing more of you; I always enjoyed your guest appearances here on LHTS. Do you think it was harder for you to learn ASL as an adult than it would have been as a child? Your story is very interesting (thank you for sharing it with us), and I think I understand the benefits of going to elementary school with hearing children. But, what I mean is, is it similar to learning a second verbal language as an adult versus as a child?

So glad you brought Sarah on. Love being able to practice my ASL receptivity watching 2 people chat. Also thanks so much for the captions

Welcome Sarah! Thank you for sharing!

Welcome Sarah! 😁

Sooo happy to have Sarah join the team, I’ve always loved seeing her in other videos on the channel and I’m excited to learn from her! Super valuable to have both her and Meredith’s perspectives as teachers, they both provide different perspectives and teaching styles that are valuable to students. On another note, would LHtS consider uploading more finger spelling videos, or maybe some tips and tricks to getting it right? I try hard to rely on context of the conversation when reading finger spelling but I often feel like I haven’t actually registered the word until my deaf friend has finished it, and I have to ask him “again, again, slow down” until I read the word right. It almost feels like dyslexia or something lol.

Amazing story Sarah. Your determination to work through the learning process was truly inspiring. Isn't it funny how life eventually leads us right to were we are meant to be.The journey is never easy ~ But that's what makes it great.

Nice to meet you Sarah!

This was a great story of life! Hey Sarah! Great to meet you!

Amazing story! I really loved it!!! Could you do more videos like this one?

So nice to hear your experience and learn about your life. I have always appreciated sign language. I look forward to watching more videos!

Welcome Sarah 😍😍☺☺☺☺🥰

Welcome Sarah I'm so happy you are apart of the team I ❤️ lhts and I have learned so much from it but I get nervous bc I have trouble with fingerspelling and I'm afraid if I try and talk to a deaf person bc I am afraid they won't understand me do you have any advice please thank you

Thanks Sarah for sharing your story, it was so interesting!

Greetings from Singapore and GOD bless!

Hi Sarah, nice to meet you. Your story was interesting and engaging. I’m very new to the channel, maybe an hour 😊, and now I think this will be a channel I will be watching allot. Welcome.

Welcome Sarah

Hi Sarah, nice meet-you, last year one of my Deaf coworkers showed me the two-handed sign for "Bored", index fingers pointing at the mouth and ear, fluttering, while motorboat mouth make. it's widespread but used very specifically, are you familiar with it? Oh, it's also not in Hearing circles, but several Deaf and interpreters here know about it.

Thank you !!

Amazing content

thank you for sharing Sarah

What a lovely introduction video, lovely to meet you Sarah. I look forward to learning from you😊. Do you find adult hearing students are different to teach than hearing children/teenagers? Thanks Cara

Sarah your Awesome! one question though, I can hear you talking through this entire video (and your signing helped me learn a few words) I know you can't hear but how did you learn how to speak? how did you know what sounds to make if you couldn't hear them? or anyone else? Your awesome and I loved this video that was my question thanks!

OMG the same happen to me, they dint know I was deaf,, they would ask why is she so quiet and not participating, so I got send to DR and found out I was deaf until I made it to 6th grade. I did oral speech also allot as I got older the same lots of speech therapy and oral,so that I would not lose my muscle to speak voice diction and lots or training with lips. Very hard very very hard.. But did suffer allot because people would make fun of how I spoke but they would not know I was deaf and I dint know why they would laugh at me for the way I spoke.

Nice to meet you Sarah. I love sign language. Iam trying to learn it.iam very slow I have had a learning disability all my life. I hope to learn to communicate with the deaf community. I truly love the language but I fear I'll fail cause I can't spell and I have a hard time remembering I have been told there is nothing iam good at so don't try this it's to hard for a stupid person please tell me this is not true. I want to learn if it takes me till the end of time. Thank you so much for all you do to help us with these videos you all keep making them it's not in vain. Iam losing the high and some low tones in my hearing I have hearing aids but hate them .they pick up all the annoying stuff and I still can't hear people just wind road noise and it frustrates me. I don't drive so school is not an option iam home bound this keeps me sain. Thank you so much again please don't quit I don't want to be without you.

Curious, when you guys are having a personal conversation, without filming, do you guys sign while speaking, or are voices off?

Meredith❤

@Learn How to Sign How do I know when to use voice on voice off while Im signing to someone or a group of people?

My God 😮 I had meningitis myself. My parents were very concerned about it .

nice conversation 👍👍👍