Here is a story that would encourage you to learn ASL online - Carlos Lopez of Littleton, Colorado, USA, was about to miss his young son’s birthday for the second year. So, he felt he had to create a tremendously one of a kind way to present his well wishes to the young man on this special day.

Carlos was at sea serving for his country in the United States Navy then, so he had an appropriate reason behind being away from his home and family for an extended period. For the reason that CJ is deaf, Carlos thought of integrating American Sign Language (ASL) into the boy’s taped video birthday message. In doing so, he looked for the aid of his associates. A lot of them approved to learn ASL words and communicated "Happy Birthday" along with other positive thoughts to CJ by signing to him in the video recording.

The video starts with Carlos standing alone, communicating his love by signing birthday greetings to his loved ones. The particular scene then moves into a montage of photographs of Carlos, his wife, and their children enjoying themselves at Disneyland, in the woods, and also in other fun places. Next, the scene changes to a shot of Carlos and a group of sailors signing their birthday communication to CJ on their ship’s deck.

In other footage shot in Carlos’ home, the Lopez family can be seen reacting pleasingly to Carlos’ amazingly considerate and creative notion to his son. The children are smiling and gesturing happily, and his wife is also looking quite fascinated.

The advantages of learning sign language are numerous. ASL is one of the most frequently used languages in the US today and is the fourth-most regularly studied second language at the country’s universites and colleges. Furthermore, at the very least 35 US states recognize ASL as a contemporary language within their state-wide public school systems curricula.

US and Canadian citizens who are either deaf or hard of hearing, mainly employ ASL. This particular group includes around 250,000-500,000 individuals in the United States and Canada. And most of this individuals communicate with ASL as their primary language in private and public settings.

- the hearing children of parents that are deaf or hard of hearing;

- the hearing siblings and extended family members of the Deaf and Hard of hearing;

- hearing people who are getting to be deaf or hard of hearing and therefore are learning ASL from Deaf citizens; and

- an increasing number of hearing individuals who are studying ASL as a 2nd language in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools.

Therefore, attaining knowledge in ASL enables you to connect with a diverse spectrum of hearing, Hard of hearing, and Deaf people. These include students in mainstream and deaf schools or universities as well as Deaf or Hard of hearing business people, health care staff, along with other community associates. Furthermore, communicating through ASL raises the quality of interactions for hearing people who have Deaf or Hard of hearing family members or friends.

Although learning ASL demands a somewhat different procedure and skill set compared to learning a spoken language, it still creates a rich learning experience. Furthermore, it leads to a highly useful and rewarding capability to have.

With this in mind, below are some of the other advantages of learning sign language for hearing individuals, based on the experiences of countless ASL learners throughout the world.

Studying an oral language stimulates the brain and helps to keep it healthy. Getting to be proficient in sign language isn't any different. More specifically, learning ASL enhances your cognitive skills, creative thinking capability, brain functions, memory, spatial awareness, and much more. Plus much like riding a bicycle, you will never forget how to use it.

Knowing sign language, you are able to reach and communicate with the multitude of individuals in the Deaf/HoH community. Skill in signing furthermore equips you to definitely manage any communication boundaries and increase the range of one's community.

When you learn a new oral language, you become familiar with a great deal regarding the history, traditions, and people of the region where that language is spoken. And the same holds true for learning sign language considering that the Deaf culture and Deaf community possess a rich historical background and way of living.

Learning and using sign language by natural means, connects you with the Deaf/Hoh population and offers you a much deeper comprehension of the challenges they encounter. This action, in turn, will mean that you will learn much more about deaf recognition and perhaps grow to be enthusiastic about wanting to raise deaf awareness in your local community and beyond.

It is now never been easier to learn ASL online. The internet is full of high-quality ASL courses and learning resources like Start ASL to assist you to effectively and quickly become experienced in the language.

So, if you feel empowered via the lovely story of Carlos Lopez with the exceptional thoughtful use of ASL with his son, think about seeking ways to learn ASL online yourself. Doing this will be the best birthday present or holiday gift you could ever give to that special someone!