Will She Win the Chatty Kathy Award This Year?

We took our 12 year old daughter to camp yesterday. Such an insecure child (not). She was barely aware of us as we drove off, just managing to wave goodbye, before she was off to visit old friends and make new ones. Her counselors this year are totally ASL, with no voice. She didn't seem to have any concerns, and dove right in with her signing. It does not matter whether she uses her voice or her hands, she is a talker. Every child gets an "award" certificate at the end of the week. I can't remember what she got last year, but the year before, she got the Chatty Kathy award. I am positive that she earned it. The girl can chatter. We have to regularly remind her that half of a conversation is listening to the other person. "Oh yeah!" I am very hopeful this year that she will not only improve her ASL skills, but that she will spend more time letting the other person get a word in edgewise. Hey, a mom can dream can't she?

Creating Divisions

What is the point of this?

On twitter, AGBellTweets made derogatory comments about sign language:

This was later found to be a fraud:

Why are we creating divisions when we should be working together for the future of deaf children?

Speaking of Camps...

If you are in or around Oregon, there is a wonderful kids Deaf Camp called Camp Taloali. Here is the link: http://www.taloali.us/

They use primarily ASL, but are capable of handling both SEE sign and kids who are primarily verbal with implants. They also allow siblings and friends if room is available.

My daughter has gone there for the past two years, and she loves it. She has really been working on her ASL skills this year, so we will see how much she has improved since last summer.