Hi, I'm Beth Ruyak, and you might remember me from the home show, or you might have seen
the interviews I've done with athletes at the Summer Olympics.
Well, I would like to introduce to you a unique person and a wonderful actor whom you might
have seen with Richard Dreyfuss in Mr. Holland's Opus, or maybe with Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire,
or on TV in any number of commercials.
I am proud to have you meet the star of this video and teacher, Anthony Natale.
Hi.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Hi.
I'm Anthony.
I was born and raised by my family, too.
When I was four, I went to a boarding school in Canada, and that's when I started to learn
sign language.
It's great because you can communicate with your friends, or you can teach your family
how to communicate with you.
I also learned how to lip-read, and then eventually I started to take myself and use my voice.
Anthony, I can imagine it was very difficult to learn to say the words when you couldn't
hear them.
Yeah.
But it's easier to get around the world if I talk, because few people have never learned
my language.
Well, we're going to change that and maybe make it your language.
So how many words do I need to know to have a conversation?
Well, a friend of mine has learned about 150 words from a book I understand pretty good.
But I have you.
So what's the first thing I need to learn?
Alphabet.
Alphabet.
Okay.
Okay.
So if you know how to think about the alphabet, you can spell anything you like to say.
You can spell your name or the name of a children.
Oh, is there a sign for children?
Yeah.
What is that?
Children.
Oh.
Is that the same as kids?
No.
That's kids.
Yeah.
You know, because new things, they have a one in all.
Really?
That makes perfect sense.
Yeah.
Most times it makes sense.
They can find something organic.
They'll read and study so that if you teach sign language to hearing babies, they will
learn a larger vocabulary and a better conceptual skill and avoid the terrible two.
A lot of parents would appreciate that.
Is that because children are frustrated when they can't communicate and signing gives them
another way to do that?
Yeah.
Right.
And older people can benefit from signing too.
Because let's face it, as if anyone gets older, your eyes and your ears get weaker.
That's true.
So most people don't mind wearing glasses and they don't like to try hearing things.
Don't like to try hearing things.
So this way, you can see, you can sign.
Oh, I like that.
If you can see, you can sign.
So let's go.
Let's begin with A.
A.
B.
D.
C.
That's an easy one.
D.
D.
E.
E.
F.
F.
Fabulous.
Fabulous.
Okay.
F.
G.
G.
G.
G.
Got it.
H.
H.
R.
R.
R.
R.
R.
R.
R.
H.
I.
I.
J.
J.
Scoop the jelly.
Yeah.
That's good.
Got it.
K.
L.
I'm still stuck on K. Okay.
I can get to L.
M. I have four fingers.
Alright.
Four fingers for M.
M. I have two fingers.
Two fingers for M.
One.
Okay.
O.
P.
P.
K.
K.
And then it's walking people.
Okay.
I think I can try to remember that.
Q.
Q.
Q.
Q.
Q.
Q.
Q.
Q.
R.
R.
R.
S.
S.
T.
T.
U.
U.
U.
U.
T.
Two fingers close.
Two fingers close.
Okay.
O.
V.
V.
W.
W.
X.
Y.
Y.
Y.
And Z.
Z.
Z.
Z.
That's good.
That's great.
Thank you.
And I can practice that looking at things and spelling them and use either hand, right?
Yeah.
I think both hands, here, here, or here, here, or here, here, or here, whatever.
What a great beginning.
I hope that you have tried this at home.
And for the next 50 minutes, Anthony is going to be teaching us in a fun and unusual way
all about this language.
So thank you to all of you for watching.
And don't be afraid.
Try.
Thank you.
I really want you to meet Anthony.
Anthony, hi.
I want you to meet my assistant, Emily.
She's helping with my work.
Remember?
This is Anthony.
Emily.
Hi.
Nice to meet you.
Yeah.
I heard a lot about you.
Oh.
Yeah.
Come here.
Where are you from?
I'm from Canada.
Oh.
Where are you from?
Los Angeles.
LA?
Yeah.
So you're born here.
Yeah.
But you know, you don't sound Canadian.
Yeah.
But deaf people usually don't have an accent because they learn by listening from his mother,
father, or family.
It's neat watching you sign.
Is this a sign for hearing?
Am I a hearing person?
I think it's listening.
Oh.
But you are the hearing person in here.
It's nice to meet you.
It's nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
Where are you from?
Where are you from?
Born here.
Born here.
First day.
First day.
Deaf people.
Deaf people.
Hearing person.
Hearing person.
Have.
Have.
Father.
Mother.
I'm trying to learn from you.
Oh, good.
You know, true American Sign Language?
No.
It's the whole concept.
So we make a choice of what we were saying instead of making English sentences.
Sentences?
Yeah.
And that is a sign in English.
Oh my gosh.
That sounds so confusing.
Ah.
See?
It's just a natural sign for a sign.
Confusing.
Yeah.
Oh wow.
Confusing.
Confusing.
Good.
Good.
Natural.
Natural.
Sorry.
Sorry.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Are you in school?
College.
College?
What is your favorite subject?
Or class?
Um, film?
Film?
Yeah.
This is film.
This is film?
Yeah.
Oh.
You want to drive?
Yeah.
I do.
And, well, also there's a lot of cute guys in class.
Oh.
But you have boyfriend?
Yeah.
Several.
Ooh.
Several.
Yeah.
Good.
But be careful.
You sound like my dad.
Cool.
Cool.
College.
College.
College.
Class.
Class.
Baby.
Baby.
Film.
Movie.
Production.
Production.
Drop.
Drop.
History.
History.
Math.
Math.
English.
English.
Boyfriend.
Boyfriend.
Girlfriend.
Girlfriend.
Several.
Several.
Be careful.
Be careful.
Do you have a brother or sister?
Yeah.
Some family.
Sure.
Family is very important.
Do you want to have a baby?
Just career first.
Yeah.
Brother.
Brother.
Sister.
Sister.
Grandfather.
Grandfather.
Grandmother.
Grandmother.
Actors.
Farmers.
Actors.
Farmers.
Important.
Important.
Nearby.
Nearby.
Career.
Career.
My.
My.
Hi, I'm Christine Jenkins, the creator of this show.
That was a lot of words to learn all at once, wasn't it?
Not to worry, the other scenes are much shorter.
I just wanted to give you a healthy dose right up front.
In all, you'll be learning over 300 word signs.
Anthony is signing and voicing the words together for you.
When two deaf people are communicating,
it is most likely in classic American sign language,
which is a more pictorial and conceptual form
of arranging the same signs we're teaching you.
When a person is born deaf,
their main problem is not that they can't hear.
The problem is that they cannot communicate.
Not all deaf and hard of hearing people do sign.
Some speak well and others don't.
It all depends on how they were raised
and what kind of school they went to.
There's oralism, which is speech only.
There's signing only.
There's speech and signing together.
And mainstreaming, which is deaf, hard of hearing,
and hearing children all together at the same school.
There's no one right way to raise a deaf or a hearing child
except to love them and communicate with them.
I don't have any children myself,
but I do have a lot of deaf friends now,
and I know that they appreciate it when you try.
Thank you.
What would happen if you meet a deaf person
for the first time in the store?
Let's see.
Hello?
Hello?
Is everyone here?
Excuse me, can I help you?
Excuse me?
Can I help you?
Hello?
Hello?
Is everyone here?
Can I help you?
He looks normal.
Doesn't look like he's going to take anything.
He's not responding to anything I've said to him.
Okay.
Hi, can I help you?
Hello, do you have any questions?
Oh, hi.
Hi.
I like this phone.
How much is it?
It's $75.
Can you look at my face?
Good job.
Oh, I'm sorry.
It's $75.
Do you understand?
Yeah, some $5.
Yes.
Did you hear me?
I can't hear you.
Oh, that's great.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Okay.
Thanks.
Mm-hmm.
She's a nicer than a lot of people in the source.
You can't imagine what you can get accused of.
And sometimes people check your face and look in your face.
I think that's the way of the human world.
You know, the human people don't look at each other.
Do you?
Hey, try looking and smile.
You can't lie if you look at a person in your face
or if they're calling you.
This is from my another friend,
named Karen Molina.
Right?
Right.
Maybe we have seen before on TV.
What show were you in before?
I was on Cosby, and I was also in A Different World.
Oh, that was funny.
I like the way you did.
I'm really mad doing a play in Sundown,
and I was surprised that you could sign with me.
I thought, wow, that's great,
because there are very few people that I know
that have met and know sign language.
So why do you want to learn sign?
Well, when I was 15,
I went to the Pennsylvania Governor's School
for the Arts summer camp,
and I saw these students signing.
I thought, oh, my God, what is that?
That is beautiful, and I wanted to learn.
And I found out that I could take a class there,
and so I did.
And you still remember?
I didn't remember,
but when I was an adult in New York,
I took some more classes and studied,
but it's not very hard at all.
Fine.
Fine.
Before.
Before.
The prize.
The prize.
Learn.
Learn.
Why?
Why?
Summer.
Summer.
Camp.
Camp.
Not hard.
Not hard.
You can use it in acting.
Well, I think subconsciously, you know, it helps,
because I think they both kind of use pictures and words.
You know, it's kind of the same thing,
very expressionistic on your face,
so that's what attracted me to it.
Right, because they are so very conductual.
It's like a foreign language.
Mm-hmm.
Exactly.
Time.
What's up?
Okay, he said, what's up?
He wants to know all my business.
He wants me to spill my guts.
Let me say, I'm looking for work,
always looking for work.
That's the nature of the business.
So that means you're self-employed.
Right, mm-hmm.
That's nice, because you don't have to boss around
and complain or argue or next to each other.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
It's easier.
Yeah, but I like the responsibility, I like it.
Which is?
I like to do different assignments.
What do you mean?
You know, you don't have to do the same work every day.
You have to do different things,
and then you finish, take vacation, go live.
Yeah.
Help.
Help.
Word.
Word.
Concept.
Concept.
What's up?
What's up?
Lucky.
Lucky.
Lucky.
Boss.
Boss.
Work.
Work.
Complain.
Complain.
Argument.
Argument.
Negotiate.
Negotiate.
Responsibility.
Responsibility.
Different.
Different.
Meaning.
Meaning.
Vacation.
Vacation.
Relax.
Relax.
Yeah, I like vacation.
It's the best.
I'm trying to go to Italy.
Oh, is that right?
I want to go to Hawaii,
and I would love to go to Australia.
I might go to France.
I'm going to Africa.
I might go to Canada.
I'm going to Philly.
Come on.
Let's go slow talk.
Wow.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
That's it. That's it.
I'm tired.
Oh.
That's not fair, Christine.
You need to be a competitor.
You're being a gating.
Wow, I'm bad at pool.
Tennis.
Gui.
I won, and I live for it every day.
Do you play team sports?
Oh, yeah, sometimes.
I watch basketball,
baseball, football,
volleyball,
and I like to work on
gymnastics,
swimming,
diving in the Olympics.
Hey, do you play golf?
Oh, yeah.
No.
I do a lot of biking
and rock climbing.
Rock climbing,
energy,
body,
sports,
tire.
What are you doing?
I'm teaching you.
Teach me again.
Bicycle,
rock,
climbing,
energy,
energy,
body,
sports,
tire.
This is the photo backdrop
for a photographer's studio.
You probably have a camera
and take photographs too,
but you're probably not a photographer.
You're an office worker,
secretary,
laborer,
financial person,
lawyer,
and, um, lazy.
Just kidding.
Really, one time a deaf person,
what kind of work do you do?
Here are more jobs done.
Um, architect,
builder,
mom,
most hard-working of all.
Carburetor,
computer expert,
writer,
hairdresser,
sales,
cashier,
government worker,
inventor,
teacher,
and, um,
gardener,
or actor.
So there are other things
for actors.
It's performance
and play.
If I didn't need your job,
you can be creative
and describe it,
or you can spin the phone.
Let me do the alphabet again.
When I'm done, I want to
spell your name and job.
Here we go.
A, B, C, D, E,
F, G, E, I, J, K, L, M,
O, P, Q, R, T, U, R, V, R, Y, Z.
Oh, sorry.
I go slower. Okay.
A,
B,
D,
D, E,
F,
G, H,
I, J,
K,
L, M,
N,
O, P,
Q,
R, S,
T,
U, V,
W,
X, Y,
Z.
Now you can
spell your name.
Let's see what guys
really talk about.
Is that the universal sign for
beautiful?
Oh yeah.
It depends on how the shape
looks.
That's what you like.
This way.
But,
in sign language, we sign beautiful.
Beautiful.
Right.
Pretty.
Pretty.
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
Pretty is quick.
Beautiful is more tender.
Beautiful. Oh yeah.
Oh.
So, how do you say
will you go out with me?
Would you want
to go out
with me?
Do you want
to go out
with
me?
Be careful.
Send her screaming
out the door.
Right.
I do that without
sign language.
How do I say
I'm sorry?
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Why?
I'll probably use it a lot.
What can you expect?
He's Australian.
How do you say will you dance with me?
Do you want to dance?
Do you want
to dance?
What time for what?
What time for what?
With? I remember that.
Hey, I'm a good student. Me.
Good.
Do you want to dance with
me?
I forgot the dance part.
Do you want to dance?
Oh, I like that one.
That one's better.
I like the way you can say
kissing.
Kissing.
French kissing.
Really?
The French always have that twist on
this.
How do you say sex?
There are five
different signs for
sex. One is
sex. It's a formal
way. That's a formal?
Sex.
What are you guys talking about?
Oh, I don't know.
Football.
Sports.
Hammer.
Camera.
That didn't work
too well.
We have learned a lot of
general words by now. So I want
to teach you more feeling.
What's the time for feeling?
The feeling.
You can communicate
a lot with someone who's dying
by showing how you
feel. That's right.
I feel fine.
I feel sad.
I feel happy.
Just
surprised.
Yeah, man.
Bare.
Uncomfortable.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
Fun.
Fun.
Fun.
The.
The.
Happy.
Happy.
Happy.
Surprised.
Surprised.
Surprised.
Man.
Man.
Man.
Bare.
Bare.
Bare.
Uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
For.
For.
For.
If you feel
you can find
I feel ill.
I need to go to the hospital
to see a nurse
and a doctor.
Or
my thumb hurts.
My hand hurts.
My heart hurts.
Sick.
Hospital.
Nurse.
Or doctor.
My thumb hurts.
My heart hurts.
You could be in love.
You can say
I love you.
If you really mean it.
Or the more casual way
you can say
I love you.
More than words are
falsified.
Contempt.
Wound.
Frustration.
Confidence.
Hahaha woww
Pretty draining.
Falsified.
Falsified.
Contact.
Contact.
Wound.
Wound.
Falsifying.
Falsifying.
Confidence.
Confidence.
Confidence.
Proud.
Proud.
Appreciated.
Appreciated.
You can connect to anyone by putting in the sign for not friends.
Not happy.
Not sad.
Not worried.
To get that?
That's a lot.
Let's put this sign, take a break, and time for a joke.
Hi, I'm Kathy Buckley.
I'm known as America's first hearing impaired comedian.
Yes, it's true.
I am hearing impaired.
No, I am not deaf.
I just don't listen.
I paid $4,000 for my hearing aids, and I'm thinking for another $1,000, I could have
had that boob job.
You see, there's nothing wrong with being deaf.
But there's everything wrong with not being able to communicate.
I myself lip read.
Sometimes I have to go up to people and say, excuse me, but I lip read, and I usually get
this.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
Like I have a degree in dentistry and I'm lip reading the cavities back here.
I've not had a date in three and a half years.
Now I don't know if it's because I haven't heard the phone ring or what.
See, there's a large range to deafness, just as there is to hearing loss.
As people having prescriptions for their eyeglasses.
I don't care how you communicate.
I don't care if you read it, you write it, you sign it, you talk it, or you mime it.
Just don't lose out on an opportunity to communicate with someone out of fear of not
being understanding or being understood.
Otherwise, you might miss out on having a friend.
After all, war is near me.
This is my friend Joshua.
He's deaf, too.
But if we don't look deaf, people are always asking, can we drive?
Girl, I can drive.
I have feet.
I have my hands.
I have eyes.
Right?
Fuck.
Do you want me to put it in the room?
I want you to put it in the room.
Why?
I don't know.
Animal.
Cat.
Cat.
Dog.
Dog.
Bird.
Bird.
Mouth.
Mouth.
Color.
Blue.
Green.
Orange.
Pink.
Peach.
Black.
Yellow.
White.
White.
I knew there was a polite way to talk with your mouth full.
Hungry.
Hungry.
What do you want to eat?
What do you want to eat?
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Lunch.
Lunch.
Dinner.
Dinner.
We want to order.
Toothpuff want to order.
Hamburger.
Hamburger.
Fish.
Fish.
Chicken.
Chicken.
Bird.
Bird.
Bird.
Bird.
Bird.
Bird.
Bird.
Egg.
Egg.
Drain.
Drain.
Water.
Water.
Waiter!
You see, deaf people are not disabled.
We don't like to even call that.
Because we have our independent.
We give you many things.
We have our normal jobs.
Oh, I like music concerts.
I go to some sign theater.
I feel very special.
There are a lot of dancing, great actions.
But I'd like to have a good sign language table.
And I'm easy to follow.
Oh, hi.
What would you like to order?
We should all get together and go to the movies.
Good idea.
Oh, wait.
Is that a stupid question?
I mean, can you lip read movies too?
Yeah, it's a stupid question.
No, it's not a stupid question.
Well, I don't stand down very well.
But I like movies.
I go to a lot of foreign films.
Oh, because of the subtitles?
Yeah.
And most deaf people run a video movie
because they have closed captions.
Oh, well, I don't think my TV has that, though.
If your TV was built in 1993,
you shouldn't all of a sudden have closed captions
because that's the law.
Good idea.
Good idea.
Stupid.
Stupid.
I cannot understand.
I cannot understand.
TV.
TV.
Run video.
Run a video.
Foreign.
Foreign.
Bill.
Bill.
Automatman.
Or automatman.
Law.
Law.
Closed captions.
Closed captions.
Well, how do I get it to come up on the screen?
Um, you just get remote control.
And you press back in the menu.
And then show the list.
And you see the D, D.
You select that.
And then we're all among open captioning.
Let's go and see a movie.
Okay, good plan.
But let me check my calendar again.
See if I have a plan.
Calendar.
Calendar.
Week.
Right.
Week.
Nightly.
Nightly.
Well, what is it for day?
Day.
Day.
Day.
Let me teach you.
Okay.
Day.
Day.
Month.
Month.
Year.
Year.
Right.
Month.
Month.
I'll do that.
Month.
Anthony, what are the days of the week?
How do you sign the days of the week?
Pretty easy.
Because you know the alphabet.
Yeah.
Okay.
M for Monday.
Mm-hmm.
So that's it.
T Tuesday.
Tuesday.
W Wednesday.
H Thursday.
Why?
Because T we have for Tuesday.
We cannot have another T for Thursday.
So H is Thursday.
A Friday.
A Saturday.
And Sunday is just Sunday.
Wonderful.
It's all starting to make sense to me now.
Okay.
So we're going to go on Friday.
Friday.
Oh, well, what's Friday night?
Okay.
That's another easy one.
Okay.
You see the sun?
The sun.
Yeah.
Sorry.
And that's the ground.
Okay.
That's the sun.
It rises.
Mm-hmm.
So the morning is this morning.
Morning.
Now if the sun is at the high noon, it appears on the ground.
So it's afternoon.
Okay.
What happens if the sun goes down?
Right.
Evening.
Evening.
Evening.
Okay.
Good.
Cool.
So are you going to call me or...
Oh, no.
How will we make a plan?
I'll call you.
You'll call me?
How?
How?
Through a constant relationship with G-R-S.
Plan.
Plan.
Plan.
Plan.
Easy.
Easy, G.
Plan.
Plan.
Plan.
Plan.
Show.
Show.
Example.
Example.
What do I do?
Just add the phone.
What do you do?
I'll show you.
Okay, now.
Just call 6800 number.
And you will get a relay operator.
And then you give them my teacher line number.
They will connect them.
Okay?
Let me go to my office and you try me, okay?
Wow, this is so fun.
Now, this is free, right?
I mean, I don't have to pay for the special service?
Well, after it's on your phone bill every month.
What?
Everyone has to pay for it,
whether you use it or not.
Well, how much does that cost me?
Four cents.
Oh, okay.
Only four cents.
Okay.
All right, now.
This is the number that I use no matter what state I'm in?
You mean like a state of mind or?
Yeah.
No, no.
It's a different 800 number in every state.
You can look right in front of the phone book.
And call, okay?
Are you ready?
Yeah.
Good.
Hello, California Relay Operator.
Hi, this is my first time.
Okay.
The person will be typing
and the relay operator will be relaying the conversation to you.
When you hear the words go ahead,
that means it's your turn to respond.
The operator will type everything that is heard,
so please speak a bit slower and directly to your party.
Okay.
Say go ahead when you are finished talking
and ready for a response.
Okay.
Once the line is dialed,
the operator will not be able to hear you
until the TTY is connected dialing now.
Hi.
Is he there?
Hello?
A machine picked up and we're waiting for a response.
Okay.
Hello, go ahead.
Hi, this is Emily.
Is this Anthony?
How do you spell your name, man?
E-M-I-L-Y.
Yes, it is me.
Hi, Emily.
Are you calling through the relay operator?
Go ahead.
Yes, this is so weird.
Is it coming through okay?
Go ahead.
Yeah, it comes through loud and clear.
How do you like it?
Go ahead.
It's just so...
I don't know.
It's just...
It's strange.
Yeah, go ahead.
Ha, ha, ha.
I'm glad you like it.
I will talk to you later.
I got to go now.
Wait, can I say one more...
Goodbye, Emily.
Are you ready to hang up?
Oh, my gosh, Anthony.
That was so weird.
I mean, it was fun and strange,
but I mean, like I was listening to this lady
and I knew I was talking to you,
but I don't know.
You can mute it right away.
You know that you laugh a lot.
Why?
What makes you say that?
But the operator wants it.
Yeah.
See?
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
Oh, my gosh,
this is our whole conversation printed out?
Why does David love that?
My mother always loved that, too.
This is so neat.
I mean, I can call my boyfriend
and then I can get their whole conversation on TV.
Are you metadata?
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
Yes.
Hi.
I was.
It's okay.
I've missed my parents so much since they died.
Do you believe that they're in heaven with God?
Yes, I do.
And that their spirits are watching over me like angels.
Hmm.
What religion were you reading?
Hmm.
Now, my mother was Quaker.
Quaker.
Is there a sign for that?
I don't know.
Hmm.
My father was Methodist.
I-S-T.
Methodist.
What about you?
Me?
I'm a town, you know.
I went to a Catholic church.
Everything is all about first name, Jesus Christ, then those.
Ha, ha, ha, ha.
I know.
Churches and temples are so different, aren't they?
I have a lot of friends.
Some are Mormon.
Some are Jewish.
Hmm, Christian.
All beliefs.
Everyone seeking inner peace.
Hmm, me too.
In all people, they believe the building will die.
Meditated.
Meditated.
Must.
Must die.
Die.
Bleed.
Bleed.
Heaven.
Heaven.
God.
God.
Angel.
Angel.
Spirit.
Spirit.
Religion.
Religion.
Search.
Search.
Temple.
Temple.
Damn.
Damn.
Girl.
Girl.
Mormon.
Mormon.
Jewish.
Jew.
Catholic.
Catholic.
Christian.
Christian.
Peace.
Peace.
It's beautiful out here.
Peaceful.
Ha, ha, ha.
Not now.
A minute ago it was.
What do you mean?
Sometimes I think you're a little lucky, Anthony.
I have to work hard to block out the noise of the outside world.
I hear airplanes, cars, lawn mowers, weed whackers, kids yelling in the swimming pool.
I think that hearing people are a lot noisier than deaf people.
Are you telling me the truth? Are you noisy?
Lack.
Lack.
Deer.
Deer.
Noise.
Noise.
Um, remember when we went to the open caption movie?
Yeah, you were one of the few people down there, up there.
Yeah.
I loved it. The audience was so quiet.
No one talked.
You hear people talk during the movie?
Oh, yeah.
And they yell at the screen and they burp.
Well, not me, of course.
And they eat their popcorn really loudly and slurp their drinks.
You hear people slurp their drinks?
Don't you hear people slurp your drinks?
Yeah.
Some people think the deaf are disabled.
I don't think so.
Hi. My name is Amy Walker.
My name sign is Amy.
When I was born, the cord was tied around my neck three times and I had a lot of problems.
When I was nine months old, I was playing with some things in the kitchen.
And my dad was in the kitchen, too, making some food.
And he dropped some glass.
And my dad was worried about me because when he saw me, I just continued to play and I didn't turn around.
And my dad was wondering if I couldn't hear or not.
So he said to my mom to get a pan and bang it together and try to make some noise.
And I couldn't hear it. I just continued to play.
My mom said, I can't believe it. She can't hear.
And then my parents took me to the doctor to check if I was deaf.
And the doctor said, yes, I was deaf.
And I'm blind in my right eye.
And I have no hip sockets.
I have hypotonia, which is weak muscles.
And I had to use a brace.
And then my cousin, she broke her leg when I was eight years old.
And she let me go and take her place in her gymnastics.
And I loved it. I loved doing gymnastics.
And I learned a lot. And I got good strong muscles.
And also I do good floor exercises. I can't hear the music.
But when I compete on the floor, I imagine what the music sounds like.
And the people don't know that I'm deaf.
And I won first place on the state floor championships
and in the western state championships.
And I teach my friends from different states how to learn sign language.
And they know sign language now.
And I have a wonderful family.
I'm so happy that my family learned sign language.
And we can communicate together.
I'm so thankful that my brother learned sign language.
Because when he went to college, he forgot a lot of sign language.
And I felt sorry for him.
But he went on a deaf mission and he learned how to communicate with the deaf people.
And he learned a lot more sign language.
And when he came home, I was so happy because we could communicate together so much better.
I like being together with the deaf kids and the hearing kids of the school.
And I'm in John Muir Middle School now.
And the deaf and the hearing kids are combined in class.
And the hearing kids learn really fast to sign language
because there's a teacher and an interpreter that signs.
And the kids watch it and they learn it.
All the hearing people who don't know sign language and deaf people who don't know sign language,
this will help them so that they can communicate.
Thank you.
Wow, what an inspirational story and a good way to end the video.
And I have to say that I'm surprised at how much I learned so quickly.
That's the way you should be.
And now you can rewind the tape and learn all over again.
Thank you for taking time to learn.
Goodbye.
Bye.
Stay tuned to find out how you can order a copy of this program.
This is the photo backdrop for a photography studio.
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Camera, not camera.
This is the photo backdrop for a photography studio.
You probably have a camera.
This is the photo backdrop for a photography studio.
You probably have a camera.
This is the photo backdrop for a photography studio.
You probably have a camera.
Camera.
This is the photo backdrop for a photography studio.
Either way is fine.