Strathmore library to offer ASL classes this October

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Strathmore FCSS and the Municipal Library are excited to be announcing a series of American Sign Language (ASL) classes to be hosted at the library this October. 

According to community support coordinator Melissa Masse, the Strathmore FCSS received a Rural Mental Health community grant, which is meant to support community members being able to reconnect with each other and with community groups and services. 

The grant is supporting the cost of an ASL instructor, while the library will be providing staffing support as well as space for the lessons, at no additional cost to attendees. 

Dee-Ann Wagner-Mercer, a resident of Strathmore living with Neurofibromas Type-2 (NF2) said she is excited to have these types of classes made easily available locally. 

“My heart doesn’t even have the words for that this is happening. There is so much interest to learn. I’ve heard a lot of people tell me they would want to take an ASL class if it wasn’t for travel and cost,” said Wagner-Mercer. “It’s very exciting for the community to have access to ASL. I’m not the only resident in our area that uses ASL on some level. There are other deaf, hard of hearing and non-verbal residents in our area that use sign language.”

NF2 is a genetic disorder which may be inherited from a parent. The hallmark of NF2 is the appearance of bilateral tumors in or around a person’s hearing, balance and facial nerves.

Wagner-Mercer described most people with NF2 become deaf either from tumour growth or as a result of surgical operations to remove them.

“Removing my (tumors) saved my life but also took away my hearing, most of my facial movements and expression and a lot of my balance away,” said Wagner-Mercer. “Not only can tumours grow in that hallmark spot, but they can grow on any nerve in the body, which doesn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason for their appearance. This can mean a bunch of different challenges, (and) there is no cure for NF2.”

Wagner-Mercer launched two signing groups at the library in 2015 to encourage the practice and use of ASL. A skill, she describes, that needs to be regularly used and practiced in order to maintain.

She approached the library with an idea to bring an ASL instructor from Calgary and to use a room for free to keep the cost of classes down for folks who were interested to participate. 

With the Rural Mental Health community grant made available, attendance to the ASL classes is completely free to the public. 

Masse added since the announcement of ASL classes being made available, local interest has been much higher than was originally expected.

“Having more people in the community with some basic signs is an amazing thought. There are no words for it,” said Wagner-Mercer. “This means so much less isolation. As a late deaf person, I miss the hearing world. Running into someone that can ask ‘how are you,’ is an amazing feeling. I don’t feel like a ghost.”

Wagner-Mercer said for folks who are interested, there is also a host of resources available online to aid with ASL education.

Following classes in October, the ASL group will be hosted in the library on Wednesday nights from 7 to 8:30 p.m. beginning on Nov. 23. 

The Strathmore FCSS is also already looking into opportunities to potentially host more ASL classes in early 2023 in partnership with the library, after seeing the “overwhelming response” for pre-registration to the October classes.