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