Disabled Developers / Players?

[vermithrx]

The discussion here appears to have evolved, and I no longer feel out of place in contributing.

My Aunt is in the process of adopting a deaf child from a foreign country and our entire family plans to learn ASL together over the summer in support of that endeavor. We can't wait to meet and welcome her once the process is complete.

I am curious, but do you happen to know how long it usually takes to learn/master sign language at a level where conversation with a deaf individual is possible? I know it depends on commitment and the environment one grows up in, as well as the age (infants versus below 12 versus all other). However, I am thinking about whether those one session learn sign langauge courses is worth taking or not.

I honestly have no idea how long it will take. I suppose it is a little much to expect to be able learn a foriegn language over as little as a season, but I didn't mean to imply that I did. I'll ask my aunt about it the next time we talk and send you a PM when I have an answer for you.

In my famity's particular case, my aunt will be teaching us personally and I have much confidence in her. She teaches ASL and English (both spoken and written) to the deaf and hearing alike as her life's work and frequently acts as an interpreter at community performances in her area. It also helps that we will have each other to practice with on a daily basis to keep things fresh in our minds between lessons.

Edit: Never mind about that PM. Stalk posted this in the Shizune thread:

I replied this to another thread, but thought it would be applicable here for those not following other threads since it fits the theme of this thread well.

I am curious, but do you happen to know how long it usually takes to learn/master sign language at a level where conversation with a deaf individual is possible? I know it depends on commitment and the environment one grows up in, as well as the age (infants versus below 12 versus all other). However, I am thinking about whether those one session learn sign langauge courses is worth taking or not.

A hearing person would tell you "just a few months! I can totally talk to them now!"

A deaf person would open their eyes in horror and say don't even bother me until you have two years under your belt.

I can't count the number of times someone would hear that I'm deaf, and stop me while I am doing something, and say "I know sign language!" then proceed to fingerspell at me really. really. really. really. slowly. If looks could kill....

In an addition, it's not that I despise the person for it. It's just... well, if you see someone speaking french, how often do we go up to them and try to speak the few words we know to them?

But deaf people and sign language are just enough of a mythical beast that there are days were I would get stopped at least four times in a single mall trip. It gets old, fast. So I'm not trying to be mean spirited, but... well, it's just old. LOL.

Seems to me that learning ASL properly is a lifelong commitment (and maybe that is true of any language), so unless you intend to treat it as such those courses are a waste of your time.

[OtakuMegane]

No physical disabilities for me though my best friend had a girlfriend at one point who had lost part of a leg. She hardly seemed to notice most of the time and it wasn't always obvious to others at first.

I have been diagnosed with Asperger's, not severe but enough to cause problems as well as difficulty with larger coordination (kicking a ball, dancing, etc) as well as several years of severe clinical depression in middle school and early high school. Also ADHD plus some OCD tendencies though neither was that much an issue on its own and I've apparently outgrown both for the most part. I've learned to adapt to my problems enough that I can function normally most of the time, if a bit quirky lol. But it's only due to a lot of help and nearly 2 decades of work on my part to get this far. I still have trouble with not understanding some forms of joking and many of the common mannerisms (saying "how are you" for example and responding to same) are little more than an empty, conditioned response for me. Some things will probably never be natural for me and I've learned to accept that.

Actually without the adaptation I've learned, my behavior would be very much like Rin's. It made her path a bit odd at first for me since it was like facing a female version of myself in some ways, though it's also her odd behavior and amusingly expressive face that's made her grow on me.

[Painiac]

This topic remind me something. When I was 5, I was bit autistic, and mute. I don't remember much though, I know about this mainly from family. I remember only deja-vu-like picture, where I'm sitting on special chair, and have cables pinned to head. I even didn't remember breaking my arm; brother remind me of this when I was 12 =.=' Maybe for fact, that he breaked my arm... And, he told me also bullshits that I started speak German first than Polish... I remember watching German TV stations, but not that >.< I have now aversion to German language... But, when I started going to kindergarden, I have started also talking. Because I have contact with other childrens, I have learned speaking. Lazy me, learning something when it's only really nessesary Yes, I had to take special lessons with speech therapist, but I had very quickly learnt proper speech. So, I was disabled, but it's closed episode in my life.

[robinhood]

i am , well a bit , i have really bad eye sight about 20:200 and i am dyslectic so i basicly cannot read or wright verry well, i really like the idea of the game, i did have to go to a specal english class in my school, not as mutch fun as this game makes it seem, most of the kids really disurve to be in their own class but some are just lazy and find that pretending to be disabled is easyer than real school

[Bara]

To my good fortune I have no disbilities. (20/200 20/240 corectable to almost 20/20 is no disability.) When I was a young child I did have to wear leg braces for about a year and a half from the age of 4 to 5 and a half to straighten my legs (remember we are talking 1971, '72 here... thick leather belt around my waist and jointed metal bars running down my legs all the way under my instep to special ugly assed orthopedic shoes with buckles and snaps) . I'm sure somewhere I have the mental scars of bullying since my older sisters tell me they had to fight the older kids who waited to beat me up on the way home. Thankfuly I don't remember much of that though I'm sure it probably still shapes some of my personality to today.

[Boosh!]

Chick with faggoty legs here.

See, since I was 11 or 12, I had these awful pains in my legs that would keep me up and night and sometimes my legs would even buckle under me, causing many a sprained ankles. Now, my mom thought these were just growing pains, but after I got my third sprained ankle within a year, she decided to take me to the doctor.

Now I just have to take an Advil or such after to breakfast to null the pain, but it doesn't stop the occainsonal leg bucklings, so I'm probably going to buy a cane, soon.

... I've got my eye on a genuine Lucius Malfoy pimp cane.

[Maldita]

Hmm... If eating disordes count as a disability, then I have it. Also, I have seasonal depressions (winter/spring, it stops with summer and starts with late autumn) and I'm short-sighted. Also, I act exactly like Hanako in school, but that's not a disability...

Eehh, I'm just a bit messed up, I guess.

[somedude]

Chick with faggoty legs here.

See, since I was 11 or 12, I had these awful pains in my legs that would keep me up and night and sometimes my legs would even buckle under me, causing many a sprained ankles. Now, my mom thought these were just growing pains, but after I got my third sprained ankle within a year, she decided to take me to the doctor.

Now I just have to take an Advil or such after to breakfast to null the pain, but it doesn't stop the occainsonal leg bucklings, so I'm probably going to buy a cane, soon.

... I've got my eye on a genuine Lucius Malfoy pimp cane.

I have a similar condition. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. I refused to use a cane before, and now that I got decent treatment I really dont need it. It used to be bad enough that I couldn't run for very long, and when it flared up my legs were pretty much rendered useless.
I recommend asking your doctor about checking for "coxsackie virus" in your blood. after a viral disease specialist saw me, he identified the problem (the virus) then gave me immune boosting supplements for 2 years and now I'm 90% cured. All the rheumatologists in the world wouldn't have been able to diagnose me if they didn't consider the strong chance that it was not genetic.