Frequently Asked Questions
Question
I am a parent. Can I learn this on my own?
Answer
You can certainly practice with the curriculum on your own, but like any language, ASL is best learned through socialization. That’s tough right now with a pandemic ravaging our country (and many others around the globe), but there are virtual ways to socialize. We hope to have some partnerships to announce soon, to help facilitate language socialization. In the meantime, if your child receives services through a school, county, or other program, consider suggesting this curriculum as a resource to use in your sessions with your providers. Additionally, consider making connections through social media sites to find others who are interested in taking on this language-learning journey with you!
Question
How do I get ASL at Home? How does it work?
Answer
Step 1: Order your curriculum. Just click “Store” above and select “Curriculum Books.”
Step 2: Download your curriculum in the language(s) you chose. It’s available in English and Spanish
Step 3: Work through the curriculum at your own pace. All instructional materials are in the book itself, with links to Google Docs and YouTube videos directly from the text.
Providers, you’ll likely have a schedule of how often to meet with families. Families, you can decide what works best for you in terms of how quickly to move through the content. See question below about pacing for details.
Question
How much does it cost?
Answer
The curriculum books are $15 for a digital copy through our online store, and $25 for a print copy through our printer here. However, we are committed to keeping the digital copy free to families of deaf children, so families can go to our family page to get a code that will make it free. Families only, please!
We also have a variety of supplemental materials available in our store, for a variety of prices.
Question
Is the curriculum available in any other languages?
Answer
Yes! We’re thrilled to announce the release of ASL en casa! It’s available in our store.
We hope to have our book translated into several other languages as well, and we are committed to keeping these books free for families. If you are or someone you know is a translator, please get in touch with us!
To support our translation efforts, you can become a patron of ASL at Home on Patreon or by making a contribution at Buy Me a Coffee!
Question
Were any deaf people involved in the creation of this curriculum?
Answer
Yes! Leah is deaf; Razi is hearing and fluent in ASL. For the time being, Leah signs all of the curriculum videos, but for future versions, our goal is to have a variety of deaf signers to model vocabulary and sentences.
Question
How quickly should I progress through the lessons? What’s the pace?
Answer
We initially envisioned each lesson as taking place over one week, but we realize there are a variety of factors that will influence how quickly learners are able to progress. There’s no right or wrong answer; do what feels right for you/your family. The more regularly you practice, the more likely you are to retain what you’ve learned.
You also don’t necessarily need to progress through the curriculum linearly. For example, you may want to master each chapter before continuing to the next, but maybe you want to go through the vocabulary for each chapter, then go back through for phrase practice, then back though again for receptive practice.
Question
Will you be offering training on the curriculum?
Answer
We have offered two trainings for service providers and two trainings for families. We have also offered custom trainings for organizations, booked separately from our general/public trainings. Custom trainings are available for purchase in our store.
We also offer ASL classes called “Learn ASL at Home” based on our curriculum. You can register for one of our classes in our store, if we have registration open for an upcoming class.