Frequently Asked Questions
What is ASL at Home?
American Sign Language at Home: A Family Curriculum, which we call ASL at Home for short, is a beginner-level curriculum for learning and teaching ASL. It teaches the language that adults need to communicate with young children during daily routines.
Who is ASL at Home for?
ASL at Home was written specifically for family members of young deaf and hard of hearing children. Our target audience is families with children ages 0 to 5, but families with older children have also benefitted from using it. Professionals who work with these families can also use ASL at Home, either to learn basic routine-based ASL, or as a teaching tool to guide families through the learning process.
My child is hard of hearing, not deaf. Should I still learn ASL?
Absolutely! Language builds language, and ASL is fully accessible visually while oral language is often difficult for hard of hearing people to access. If you learn ASL to pass on to your hard of hearing child, that will only add to their ability to communicate in a wider variety of situations, potentially in two modalities.
Why is it important for hearing families of deaf and hard of hearing children to learn ASL?
Evidence shows that access to a first language, as early in life as possible, is crucial for deaf children to develop language skills at the same level as that of their hearing peers. Children who don’t have full access to a first language when they are very young (before the age of 3) tend to struggle with a wide range of language, learning, and social skills as they get older. Providing a visual language from a young age can help prevent these challenges.
How can I get the curriculum? How much does it cost? How is it different for professionals and families?
Links to the various options available are on our homepage, ASLatHome.org. You can get the book in the following ways:
Paperback from Bookshop.org ($39.99)
Paperback from Amazon.com ($39.99)
Kindle from Amazon.com ($39.99)
PDF from our online store ($39.99 for professionals)
PDF from an online form (free - for families ONLY)
How do PDF digital licenses work for professionals?
Professionals are welcome to share the PDF book directly for free with families they serve, but must purchase a digital license for every professional using it. Here are the two purchase options:
To purchase multiple (2+) digital licenses to the ASL at Home electronic book, purchasers must choose the item in our store with “multiple (2+) digital licenses” in the title here, then indicate how many licenses they are purchasing at checkout. The PDF will be emailed to them within 48 hours of purchase, to be distributed to the same number of professionals as the number of licenses purchased.
To purchase only one license, they must select the item with “1 Digital License” in the title here. The PDF will be automatically emailed to them upon completion of the purchase.
How do PDF digital licenses work for families?
Families of deaf children may share the PDF of the book freely with anyone in their family.
Do you teach classes? How much do they cost?
Yes, we teach 9-week online (Zoom) classes throughout the year. They cost $119, with early bird discounts of $99 in the first few weeks after we release the dates for each cohort. More information about our classes here: Classes and Trainings
Wait, I thought ASL at Home was free for families.
That’s right! The PDF of the book is free for families. The paperback and Kindle versions are $39.99 for everyone, and the classes also cost the same for everyone.
What’s all this I see about the 2nd edition?
The original edition of ASL at Home was released to the public in July 2020. Immediately after, the authors started working on a second edition of the book, which was released in June 2023. The 2nd edition has 12 chapters (3 times more than the 1st edition) with custom illustrations, videos with deaf language models, and direct links to a wealth of resources.
Is the curriculum available in Spanish?
The 1st edition of the curriculum is currently available in Spanish. The 2nd edition is in the final stages of publication and will be available on April 7, 2024. Check back for information on our release party!
Was the curriculum written by deaf people?
Yes! The curriculum was co-written by Leah Geer, PhD, a deaf linguist with over a decade of experience teaching ASL who also holds a certificate in early intervention with deaf infants, toddlers, and families from Gallaudet University; and Razi Zarchy, SLPD, CCC-SLP, a hearing speech-language pathologist who is fluent in ASL and has over a decade of experience working with deaf children and their families, specializing in early intervention.
Who teaches the classes?
Leah and Razi typically co-teach the Level 1B and 1C ASL at Home classes, while Dr. Sara Goico Alcantar teaches the Level 1A class.
How is ASL at Home different from other curricula?
Most language curricula are designed for adults to hold conversations with other adults. ASL at Home is designed for adults to communicate with children, which is more relevant to the needs of family members of young deaf children. ASL at Home was also designed to encourage families to get their hands up and signing in full sentences immediately, while avoiding overwhelm and providing useful resources in an approachable, welcoming way.
We are often asked about the differences between ASL at Home and the SKI-HI Deaf Mentor Program. The main difference is that ASL at Home is primarily a curriculum for language instruction, while the SKI-HI does not teach ASL; instead, it focuses on a wide range of other knowledge and skills for supporting families with deaf children.
How fluent will I be when I finish the ASL at Home book?
ASL at Home is a beginner-level curriculum. When you finish ASL at Home, you will not be fluent in ASL because fluency in a language takes years of learning and practice. However, by the time you finish ASL at Home, we hope that you will have the foundation and confidence you need to continue your learning journey.
What will I know when I finish the book?
If you get your hands up and sign along with the vocabulary and expressive sentences, complete the receptive fill-in-the-blank activities, apply the language enrichment techniques, and discuss the Deaf Community Cultural Wealth topics, our goal is that you will be able to communicate effectively with your deaf child across a wide variety of routines.
If I’m still learning ASL, how can I be a good language model for my deaf child?
Recent research shows that the younger deaf children are when their parents expose them to ASL, the better their vocabularies are by the time they turn 2 years old, regardless of how fluent the parents are in ASL. That’s fantastic news! No matter where you are in your learning journey, signing with your child builds their brain and prepares them for higher levels of communication. We also recommend finding your local deaf community and bringing fluent signers into your child’s life as language models for them and for you. This is just the beginning!
My child is hearing and has a communication (speech or language) disorder. Can I use this curriculum?
Yes, you can! Our curriculum is centered around the experiences of hearing families with deaf children, but we also know of many families with hearing children who have benefitted from using our curriculum. Feel free to take as much as you can from it and apply it in whatever way fits your family’s needs. You are welcome to fill out the form for families on our homepage and download the PDF book for free.
If you have any additional questions, please get in touch! You can reach us at info@aslathome.org or by filling out the contact form here on our website.