Tell us Your Experience with ASL
Learn and practice basic American Sign Language signs, then create a short signed story or video to share your ASL experience with family.
Step-by-step guide to share your ASL experience
Step 1
Gather your materials and bring them to a quiet place where you can sit and move your hands.
Step 2
Sit in front of the mirror so you can see both your hands and your face clearly.
Step 3
Choose six ASL signs from the chart to learn such as hello thank you please yes no help.
Step 4
Look at the first sign on the chart and study the exact handshape palm orientation and movement.
Step 5
Copy the first sign in the mirror slowly ten times making the same handshape and movement you saw.
Step 6
Repeat Steps 4 and 5 for each of the other chosen signs until you feel comfortable with them.
Step 7
Write each sign word on an index card and draw a simple cue picture showing the handshape on each card.
Step 8
Arrange the index cards in an order that tells a short story about your ASL experience.
Step 9
Practice signing your story from the cards slowly while using facial expressions that match the words.
Step 10
Perform your signed story for a family member or your stuffed toy and ask for friendly feedback to improve.
Step 11
Share your signed story or a description of your ASL experience on DIY.org
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can we use if we don't have an index card, mirror, or ASL chart?
If you don't have index cards or a mirror, substitute cut-up paper or cardboard for cards and use your phone's front-facing camera or a window as a mirror while following an online ASL chart or video for signs like "hello" and "thank you".
I'm having trouble matching the exact handshape and movement in Steps 4 and 5—what should I do?
If you can't match the exact handshape, palm orientation, or movement when copying a sign ten times in front of the mirror, record yourself with a phone and play it back slowly or ask a family member to watch and give specific feedback while you practice.
How can I adapt this activity for different ages?
For younger children, use only three simple signs and big cue drawings on the index cards and perform the story for a stuffed toy, while older children can learn more than six signs, add transitional signs to the arranged cards, and record their performance for DIY.org.
How can we extend or personalize the signed story after finishing the steps?
Enhance the activity by decorating index cards with colored markers and photos, adding movement transitions between cards to make the story flow, practicing expressive facial expressions from Step 8, and recording a polished version to share on DIY.org.
Watch videos on how to share your ASL experience
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Facts about American Sign Language
🤟 American Sign Language is a full natural language with its own grammar and word order — not just English on the hands!
🇫🇷 ASL was strongly influenced by French Sign Language in the early 1800s when Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet helped start deaf education in the U.S.
📊 An estimated 250,000–500,000 people use ASL in the United States (exact counts vary because sign language communities are diverse).
🎬 Marlee Matlin became the first deaf performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actress (honored at the 1987 Oscars).
🧑🤝🧑 The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), founded in 1880, has been a major advocate for the rights and access of Deaf people in the U.S.
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