Summary Paper 1/30/21

ASL In My Life Field Period

This winter I completed my very first field period. I did not know what to expect. It was a new

adventure for me to start my freshman year off at Keuka College. I chose to independently study

American Sign Language and add my knowledge that I already have. I joined a congregation that I had

only interacted with once before this and I delved deeper into Deaf culture and signs that meant

something to me and my life. I was stepping out of my academic experience and into a more practical

state of learning for myself.

I had such high hopes for this field period. I wanted to get so much done and get so much experience

from my independent learning. I had hoped to be more active in the signing community and to make

bigger strides in my personal signing ability. I truly did not know what to expect from the experiences

that I had set up for myself. I did not know if I would be able to keep up with the Deaf congregation that

I was attending and I did not feel like I was going to be able to move past my strictly educational signing

experience. I did not know if I would be accepted into the congregation or community of South Denver. I

hoped that I would get something out of it but I was not expecting all that I had gotten out of it. I am so

glad that I took this chance and experienced what I had experienced.

I had such a wonderful time. I learned so much from joining the American Sign Language

congregation in South Denver. I was welcomed with open arms and taught from those in the Deaf

community. Through my experiences with the congregation I was able to learn things that I would not

have learned if I did not have members of the community teach me. I was able to grow in my

conversational sign language and make friends in a community I had never had a lot of contact with. I

had met some of my goals in this. I wanted to become more conversational and meet that requirement

in the ASL test from University of Northern Colorado. I was able to learn more signs that were relevant
to my life and the people that I care about. I could not have done this without the Deaf community and

those in the ASL congregation. I did hit many bumps in the road though. I had wanted to go over the 60

hour requirement but found myself scrambling for hours. I had to return to work to help provide for my

family while I was home. I was able to make more time for my Hippotherapy field period but I could not

find a consistent schedule. I found myself tired and relying more on media than independent learning,

but I had to do what was best for myself and my family. I am still glad that I took the risk. I learned so

much from my studies and I learned how to better equip myself for next time.

In Intro to OT we talked a lot about cultural awareness and competency. I learned so much about the

Deaf community that I did not know. I have always wanted to work with people who use ASL and are

Deaf but I did not think of some aspect like cultural and ethnic signs in the Deaf Community. I never

learned that each ethnic group has signs that are specific to their community in America. BASL and many

other ethnic signs are important to those communities and should be celebrated and respected as valid

parts of their identity. I learned that a specific sign in BASL is a rite of passage for many young black Deaf

signers. It is a sign marking them as a part of the Deaf and black community. Being culturally sensitive is

important as an OT. I want to show my clients that I respect them as people and their identities. I want

my clients to feel comfortable in my space and to feel that they can be their authentic selves. We also

learned about the importance of Therapeutic Use of Self. I want to be able to use this in a person's

therapy and help them feel proud of their community. Through this field period I learned the

importance of developing communication skills to. It is important for OTs to be competent in their

communication. I want to work with individuals who sign and that means that I not only need to be

confident in communicating in english but also ASL . I made one of the women in the congregation

frustrated because I had a lack of communication skills in ASL. It is not as simple as it is in English and it

definitely is not as easy over Zoom. I learned how to navigate the intricacies of truly communicating in

ASL. I could have never learned that in a traditional classroom setting. I needed to learn that through
trial and error with those who are fluent in ASL. It was so nice to get to put what I had learned into

action. It was such a good experience that without the field period offered at Keuka College, I would not

have had this experience.

My A-Ha moment came when I was signing with a small child. I was struggling to get past my own

English understanding. This little boy is one and a half years old and Deaf. He was having simple

conversations with everyone in the congregation. His expressions and details were beyond amazing. By

watching him I was able to get my signing to be more in ASL than PSE. He did not know the sign for

everything but he was able to describe what he wanted and get it through to whoever he was signing

with. Being able to sign with a one year old about shoes was such an amazing experience. He loved

shoes and wanted to see them. I was able to describe my favorite shoes without showing him the shoe.

He had so much fun signing with me and I with him. I grew in my singing while signing with a little boy.

Watching him give comments and participating in the congregation was so amazing. I tried to learn

everything that I could from him. He was my big A-Ha moment.

Learned so much about myself during this field period. I learned that I am a pretty persevering

person. I was ready to throw in the towel when my home life got a little rocky. I persevered through it

and made sure that I learned something. I wanted to be able to get my field period done so I can go into

the summer ready to take more classes. I can always do better though. I struggled with organization. As

things at home got more intense I lost my schedule that I had set up and I turned my free time into

study sessions. I had lost control of my scheduled time. I was able to make it to 60 hours but I felt that I

lost control of my schedule. I can not let this happen as a professional. It will not help if I am incapable

of making and sticking to a schedule. Many of the things that stunted my schedule were not in my

control but many things are not in life. I need to work on this so I can be a successful Occupational

therapist.
 This field period was such an amazing experience. I am so glad that I chose to do it. It may have not

been everything that I set out to do but I was able to make the best of my situation and better my

understanding of ASL. I made so many friends along the way and met so many resources too. I am so

glad that I did this. I hope to apply this knowledge and the more that I learn to allow me to receive a

degree in American Sign Language/ English interpreting degree from University of Northern Colorado. I

want to be able to use this beautiful language to make me a better and more well rounded Occupational

Therapist in the future.