Question: And ASL student asks:
How to you teach toddlers when some of the signs are fingerspelled? I’m on
lesson 9 [of the ASL University curriculum] and the words “stove” and
“refrigerator” seem like pretty useful toddler vocabulary words for a parent.
Are there alternative toddler signs? Or do they just learn fingerspelled signs
before they can spell?
Response:
Toddlers in signing (typically Deaf) households learn to recognize commonly fingerspelled concepts (by sight -- not by decoding). Toddlers also fingerspell common concepts. The fingerspelling of toddlers is often highly blended and overlapping to the point of lexicalization (in other words -- the toddlers are not so much spelling as they are articulating a sign comprised of various shapes and movements).
There are various signs for "stove" and "refrigerator" -- but that
is beside the point. The point is that toddlers that grow up being frequently
and regularly exposed to fingerspelling develop the ability to recognize
commonly fingerspelled concepts. The adults in such environments become adept at
recognizing child-like fingerspelling. My goal in the lessons isn't to teach
"workarounds" it is to teach students authentic signing as done by (the majority
of) actual Deaf in real life. While a person could point out exceptions -- the
goal isn't to learn to sign like a small subset of the community -- it is to
sign in ways that are recognizable and common to the typical socially-active
adult Deaf skilled signer.
At your convenience, see this page and read about my daughter, Kelsey, asking
for vitamins:
https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/v/vitamin.htm
Notes: