SASL Journal Vol. 1, No. 1 | Page 99

Is Silence Music to the Eye? Egbert From a practical application, signed music can play a valuable role for families with Deaf children, as well as in Deaf Education. The American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) is the oldest parent-to-parent organization in the United States whose purpose is to support, encourage and provide information to families who are raising Deaf children. ASDC recognizes the critical role of families who set the tone for their children in terms of education, language, culture and more. ASDC supports Deaf Education programs that embrace ASL and English equality and are open to ideas that will scaffold a Deaf child’s creativity while concurrently balancing ASL and Deaf culture. The American Society for Deaf Children encourages families and educators to capitalize on a child’s strengths. If a Deaf child was interested in exploring music visually, it would behoove the child to watch signed music. Videos such as Rosa Lee Timm’s River Song (2008) and Tell Your Story (2014), as well as Janis Cripps’ Eyes (2003) can be used to enhance appreciation for visual arts, introduce and showcase Deaf culture, and enhance the self-esteem of Deaf children. Families with Deaf children can simply enjoy “the arts” together by talking about the signed music pieces and find inspiration together. Time for families to bond together in ASL and learn about Deaf people and their community is essential. Promoting family togetherness in ways that provide language accessibility build self-esteem in a child, provide a foundation of security for the child, and more, much more. Having a family that not only celebrates a Deaf child, but also includes cultural and linguistic features for the child, is monumental. Acknowledgement Special acknowledgment to Georgia Nemeth in preparing this article. References Bahan, B. (2006). Face-to-face tradition in the American Deaf community: Dynamics of the teller, tale, and audience. In H-D. L. Bauman, J. L. Nelson, & H. Rose (Eds.), Signing the body poetic: Essays in American Sign Language literature (pp. 21–50). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Bauman, H-D. L. (2004). Audism: Exploring the metaphysics of oppression. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 9(2), 239-246. Bauman, H-D. L. (Ed.). (2008a). Open your eyes: Deaf Studies talking. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Brown, H. D. (1994). Principles of language learning and teaching, 3 rd edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Cripps, J. E. (2003). Eyes. Tucson, AZ: A Janis Furlong Production. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=YnwJsFHFebg Cripps, J. H. (2016). Signed music: A symphonious odyssey [film]. Towson, MD: A Cripps Production. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JjFCM8UZHM. SASLJ, Vol. 1, No.1 – Fall/Winter 2017 99