Sites for Children and Families to learn ASL

Live Classes

• ASL Connect from Gallaudet – free online classes and vocabulary. (Can also take online college level classes for a fee).
• VL2 Parent ToolKit from Gallaudet’s Visual Language and Visual Learning – Our toolkit is intended to support families of deaf children (aged 0- 5) in learning about American Sign Language (ASL). The site contains information on ASL language acquisition milestones, communication and language activities to use at home, and lots of other exciting resources for families to explore.
  • VL2’s Making Visual Sense! Tutorial Series is a collection of brief, accessible, online tutorials designed to familiarize parents with ASL language milestones and to support parents in facilitating visual interaction and play.
  • VL2’s “Find-A-Sign” Dictionary is a fun and interactive place for families of deaf children to learn basic family oriented ASL signs and phrases to promote positive communication in the home.
  • VL2’s Parent Resources is an organized list of resources compiled to provide easy-to-access central points of information for families.
• ASL Literacy Activities VL2
• Practice ASL online!  Sign with a Deaf adult in real time and choose your conversation topics. Or your child can join “Friends Like Me” and chat with other deaf and hard of hearing children their age once a week. ASDC members get 5 FREE sessions (a $125 value). Not a member yet? Join ASDC. Join our email list and get: ASL Story videos, Free Downloads, and Events in your area.  ASL Stories Directory- hundreds of free videos of ASL retellings of your child’s favorite books. Search for stories by your child’s age or by the book’s title. Classes range from $5-$15.
• Parent Sign Language Classes – Florida School for the Deaf & the Blind
• FSDB/EHDI Deaf Mentor Program
• FSDB ASL Class for Parents – offered for free online every spring and fall.
• The Maryland/DC Deafblind Project, Connections Beyond Sight & Sound will be offering live classes again beginning September, those classes are free.

Archived Classes

• Sign It ASL – Through the generosity of Signing Time Foundation donors and our partners at NCHAM, Sign It ASL is available for free to families in the US who have a child 36 months or younger who has any type of hearing loss. Apply at MyDeafChild.org
• Bravo Family Beginning ASL Video Course – Streaming lessons available through the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) to teach vocabulary, grammar and Deaf culture applied to the real world.  
• ASL University – This is an online curriculum resource for ASL students, instructors, interpreters, and parents of deaf children
• SignLanguage 101 – Some free videos or can buy courses
• Loan Library – Remember to use the free materials from the RMTC/OSBD Loan Library!

FL Virtual School (FLVS)

• ASL 1
• ASL 2

ASL in Spanish

• Family Sign Language: Lessons 1-4 (Spanish) (Lenguaje Americano Por Señas ASL Para Principiantes)
• Family Sign Language: Lessons 5-7 (Spanish) (Lenguaje Americano Por Señas ASL Para Principiantes)
• Family Sign Language: Lessons 8-10 (Spanish) (Lenguaje Americano Por Señas ASL Para Principiantes)

ASL Stories

• Signed Stories – Can be used via app on OverDrive via a school district or public library
• Texas School for the Deaf ASL Storytelling Library
• Rocky Mountain Deaf School – Toddler Program ASL Storytelling
• ASL Stories Directory – Stories signed in ASL, discussions, etc
• Books signed in ASL – Books signed in ASL
• ASL Nook – Stories signed by a Deaf family
• Sign Me A Story (info)
• Sign Me A Story – Little Red Riding Hood
• Sign Me A Story – Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Peter Cook – stories for children

• Your Story Our Hands – Princess Bellybutton and the Snow Adventure by Peter Cook
• Your Story Our Hands  – Douglas the Space Boy

Peter Cook – poetry

• “The United States of Poetry” by Peter Cook
• Poetry – Peter Cook – Flying words Project

Keith Wann – stories for children

• Llama Llama Red Pajama ASL with Keith Wann
• Otis in American Sign Language (Jumpstart Read for the Record)
• Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad
• Oh, the Thinks You Can Think
• Green Eggs and Ham
• Night Before Christmas
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Wink – stories for children

• David Goes To School
• ASL Story The Circus

Jenny Locy – stories for children

THE SNOWY DAY in ASL

Stories by Ben Bahan

• “The Wolf Who Cried Sheep” by Ben Bahan
• “The Fisherman and His Wife” by Ben Bahan
• “The Musicians of Bremen” by Ben Bahan
• “The Princess and the Pea” by Ben Bahan
• “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Ben Bahan
• “Rumpelstiltskin” by Ben Bahan
• “The Little Mermaid” by Ben Bahan
• “The Candy Bar” from Signing Naturally Level 1
• “The Science Lab” from Signing Naturally Level 1

Stories by Nathie Marbury

• “Sleeping Beauty” by Nathie Marbury
• “Cinderella” by Nathie Marbury
• “Rapunzel” by Nathie Marbury
• “Inchilena” by Nathie Marbury
• “Hansel and Gretel” by Nathie Marbury
• Learn about Deaf Culture: “Deaf and Hearing Cultural Differences”
• LEARN ABOUT ASL GRAMMAR!

Ella Mae Lentz

• “The Dogs” by Ella Mae Lentz

Lou Fant

• Lou Fant- Kids Do The Strangest Things (ASL)

ASL Resources

• HUGE collection of ASL resources, etc.
• Center for Accessible Technology in Sign (CATS) – Free online resources inclusive of games, signed books, a dictionary and more. Developed as a joint project between the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Articles

• Brenda Schick. “The Development of Sign Language and Manually Coded English Systems.” Deaf Studies, Language and Education(2003) by Mark Marschark and Patricia Spencer (Eds). Oxford University Press.
• “SimCom (Simultaneous Communication) is Not Inclusive” – Gives 2 very good examples of how trying to sign while talking totally screws up the message produced.
• “Simultaneous communication with deaf children” – In short, practice bilingualism, not simultaneous communication.  Simultaneous communication or its term variants (SimCom and sign supported speech) is one of some “communication methods”, in which one speaks both spoken language and manually coded English at the same time.  Top reasons for say no to SimCom: Speaking two languages in two modes simultaneously may sound perfectly feasible to naive hearing people. But, in truth, it’s not feasible. It’s unrealistic.

Resources on Learning Language

• Focusing on Accessible Language
• Setting Language in Motion: Family Supports and Early Intervention for Babies Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Language Learning Through the Eye and Ear Webcast
• Parent Advocacy App – app for families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing attending IEP meetings, 504 meetings, or other meetings.
• Optimizing Outcomes for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Educational Service Guidelines
• ASL Content Standards K-12 – This website is designed to help teachers plan for ASL instruction for deaf and hard of hearing students nationwide.
• Multicultural Considerations (PDF Format) – This section of Info to Go includes resources related to multicultural considerations for students and their families, as well as links to resources in languages other than English.