PLEASANT GROVE, Utah — The Pleasant Grove "ASL in The Park" event brings families in touch with mentors, resources and other families to socialize and bring awareness to the importance of learning American Sign Language.
Hosted Wednesday mornings during the Summer by ASL interpreter and President of the non-profit organization About Love and Language Laura Blum, "ASL in The Park" was attended by Ariana Kennedy and her family, believing that events like these are not common enough.
“Often, families never meet a deaf person, their baby is the first deaf person they’ve ever met,” said Kennedy. “And they just don’t know what to do and how to communicate, so we go in, and teach them signs and show how they can communicate with deaf babies and we welcome them into the deaf community so they can meet all different kinds of people.”
For those families who struggle to learn American Sign Language for their children, Blum created a book to help make the process as easy and accessible as possible.
“I learned that families that were trying to learn sign language were so frustrated that they couldn’t share bedtime stories with their kids,” said Blum. “So I was really motivated that I wanted to make books that families that were new to sign language could sign.”
The books contain stories that are simple to sign for parents while containing a QR code to learn how to sign the book from a deaf mentor so that families don't feel overwhelmed.
“It pairs a number with an animal, that shares the same hand shape,” said Blum.
The books look like regular English baby books, but if you sign them, that’s what you can rhyme. These rhymes also make very similar hand gestures to make signing easier for families.
Stephanie Morgan, Parent Infant Program director at Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind, says she hasn’t seen books like these before.
“Finding good books for families can be a little bit challenging," said Morgan. "We want families to feel comfortable so they can have that connection with their child."
If you want to get these books, you can find details on their website here.
If you want to join 'ASL in the park', contact Laura Blum at her email here.
