By Annie Uyehara
This story is brought to you by: Steve and Christy Nilsson
The sound of
hammers and hand drills compete with the sing-song rippling of Snowmass Creek
which wends its way through the Aspen Camp for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Other than that, there is silence.
The young people
constructing benches and a stage for an amphitheater, are not using their
voices, but their hands and facial expressions to communicate about where to
drill in screws, where to lay boards on the stage, and how to follow the
teachers’ instructions.
The Aspen Camp
for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACDHH)
held its first Tri-State Job SkillsTraining Camp the first week of May.
Eighteen students from Utah, New Mexico and Colorado gathered to learn from
carpenters from the hearing and deaf communities the skills to build with
tools, wood, paint, and concrete.
Ehta Kpaw Say,
from Utah, is 18 and hard of hearing. This is his first time at a deaf camp. As
he drills in screws, he signs to his friends and teachers. “Learning these
skills at a hearing camp would take a lot of courage to speak up for myself,”
he says, using his voice and sign language. “But here, I’m like all the kids. I
feel confident and it feels like home.”
Ehta is with a
group of junior and senior high schoolers with a deaf instructor named Kevin
Berrigan. “He taught me to measure and to use tools safely,” he says of Kevin.
Kevin, who is
deaf, is proud of Ehta’s progress. He signs, “He’s an excellent young man,
works hard and is reaping the benefits that the skills camp provides, that he
can apply to his future.”
The ACDHH reopened
on a limited basis in 2021, and although the plans are to fully open, board
member Zeph Williams says the camp isn’t quite ready; funds and leadership are
still in the works. However, there are two family camps in July as well as a
women’s program in August and a fall retreat planned, potentially for CODAs
(Children of Deaf Adults). The camp provides instructors and interpreters that
are bilingual in speaking and sign language.
Ehta continues
to lay out patterns with screws and hand drill. A deaf teen instructs him as
the teacher and others gather around to watch.
It’s not really
silent after all, beyond the noise of the tools and the creek. The sounds of
light slapping is made when they use their hands to sign; whispers and guttural
sounds are made as their lips enunciate visually for emphasis. American Sign
Language (ASL) is not silent, it’s a form of communication.
For more information, please go to aspencamp.org or call
970-315-0513
Comments
Post a Comment