A-Z in Dots and Signs :)

...gone are the days when 'I wanna grow up once again' was just a song lyric...

     Ever since I happened to randomly watch a group of students communicating in Sign language at a bus stop ( a couple of years back) - a strange chord had struck me! Inspite of being a people watcher - strangely enough - I was not able to comprehend a single action of theirs. Wouldn't mind missing a bus or two, just to sit and watch them (yes! have done that :P!) and try to understand their communication - but all that I could grasp was - just their state of mind (by their body language). nothing else. A clear message out of this was - I need to learn sign language!

     The 'Fun World' experience (October, 2013) added my interest in learning a New language - Braille.

     Come Jan 11, 2014 : When a long-awaited dream witnessed a start! Quickly enrolled the Batch 2 of  'GiftAbled's Mini Braille and Sign Language Workshop' class [an initiative organized by Gift-abled - http://www.giftabled.com/; further details shared at the end of the post]. A perfect package!


All about the Session: Role-plays, Fun-n-Learn, Signs and Braille:D

     'Aao school chalen hum' – the song kept running in my mind, while travelling all the way to the i-volunteer venue. [of course, we were gonna learn just 'A-Z' - all in a new and different way :P]. After the registration formalities, the Session started with the series of events - all in an order:

Role-play: 

     Soon after the introduction session, we had a quick role-play wherein the participants were paired into groups of 2 - one was blindfolded acting as a visual impaired beneficiary; and the partner was a  helper. We had to do an exercise of 'road crossing' with our respective pairs [Did u ever know that there are certain 'techniques' to follow to help a visually challenged person? - I didnot until I did this exercise]. The 15-minute session was just enough to make us understand what kind of challenges might be faced by the Visually impaired in their daily lives, and how diligently we can assist them. The role-play eventually turned into an ice-breaker among the participants - who were now little familiar with each other. We moved onto the next session - Sign language.

Fun-n-learn: Sign language:

     The session started with our ' Prarthana teacher' demonstrating and teaching 'A-Z' in signs; and then the students practising the same. It was a totally 'school-like' atmosphere, and learning felt amazing! The session was followed by a test [and I was one of the toppers -yay!! :D]; and then we had a short exercise, wherein we had to communicate with our partners in Signs! [ain't as easy as it sounds! if you lose your track you might well end up wondering, what the hell are u doing with your fingers and fist - and then, erase everything u wrote in the air - and then start afresh :P!] The sign-language session was truly knowledgeable, and fun too! (we were literally acting like kids playing dumb-charades)

The Braille-session:

    The sign language session was followed by Braille-training. It was wonderful to learn every aspect of the Braille basics. Each alphabet consists of a specific punching pattern within 6 dots (6 dots - is where the braille basics starts from) [some additions with marking 'upper case' letters - u need to join the basics sessions for more details ;)]. Again, as a simple assignment, we were asked to punch our favorite quotes in braille [which was quite a challenge too, nevertheless fun!]. Our art of copy-from-others-notes literally went for a toss, as we had to put our independent imagination into it (after 2 failed attempts I managed to punch my quotes correctly in the 3rd!) :P. 

     Along with the fun we had during the entire session, we also got to learn new techniques - some do's and dont's while giving a helping hand  - and more importantly - gave us an awareness in terms of volunteering with the HI's and VI's. 

The session was truly an enriching session - an attempt to bridge the gap between the differently abled and abled. Serving the society had been a thought since childhood, and few additional gyan that our 'Prarthana teacher' used as fillers, helped in putting some of my own thoughts in place:) 

A big Thanks to Prarthana, Gift-abled, and all those who were involved directly / indirectly in this initiative. Hats off! The session was truly a start of one of my dreams-coming-true :)

P.S: Loved attracting public attention, when Shilu & I were trying to communicate in Sign language while walking towards a restaurant for lunch (after the session got over :P). The 'new learning' just ended up making us feel like a child :)

Gift-abled Store links:

Official website: http://www.giftabled.com/

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/464549333613878/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GiftabledAnInclusiveGiftstore?ref=br_tf

Cheers!

Swatz