[sasi] ASD students get first signing doll from Lions Club

[Rita Kersh]

ASD students get first signing doll from Lions Club
by Aziza Jackson The Daily Home 
Feb 21, 2012 | 396 views | 0  | 1  |  | 


The Talladega Lions Club presented a signing doll to Alabama School for the Deaf on Monday. From left: Talladega Lions Club Secretary Linda Smith, ASD Principal Paul Millard, Dr. John Mascia, interim vice president for Adult Programs at Alabama School for the Deaf and Blind and past president of the Talladega Lions Club, Talladega Lions Club President Ronda Murner, and Talladega Lions Club 1st Vice President Pat Lee. Photo by Brian Schoenhals/The Daily Home
slideshow 


"The Lady Warrior" was presented to Alabama School for the Deaf students on Monday. The signing doll has bendable fingers and has a hearing aid.
slideshow TALLADEGA - Alabama School for the Deaf students met a new friend Monday.

The school's first signing doll was presented in the school's auditorium.

The doll comes in the form of a rabbit for both boys and girls to play with, and is equipped with a hearing aid and an "I Love Signing" shirt.

The doll's fingers will also bend and sign any way someone wants it to.

"The Lady Warrior," as she is being called, will live in the library so that every student has access to her.

Ronda Murner, president of the Talladega Lions Club, presented The Lady Warrior to ASD principal Paul Millard.

The doll was donated to deaf schools across the country by Signing Works' I Can Sign Doll© collection.

Lions Club members around the country were asked to present the doll to a local deaf school on Valentine's Day, but ASD wanted to wait until President's Day when all the students would be present.

Parents can purchase the doll for $65, with 10 percent of that total going to ASD.

"In the trials for the doll there were children that would never sign, but would sign to the doll," Murner said.

She said many deaf and visually impaired children do not get to enjoy some of the same toys other children do, and hopes the doll will serve as a playmate ASD students can relate to.

Millard said he hopes the doll will prove itself to be as educational as it is fun for his students.

"I hope the doll is going to specifically help with finger spelling," he said. "I can see teachers using it for instruction. I see it as a play activity that turns into a learning activity."

Millard said he believes the more fun students have with something, the easier it makes learning.

"I think it could expand beyond language," he said.

"If we can fuse learning development with fun activities then we want to do that," said Dr. John Mascia, interim vice president for Adult Programs, who is also past president of the Talladega Lions Club.

Mascia couldn't say whether ASD would be getting more dolls soon, but did say there would be some interest in getting more dolls if the children take well to The Lady Warrior.

"We thank the Lions Club for years of support not only with Alabama School for the Deaf, but with Alabama School for the Blind," Millard said.

He then made The Lady Warrior sign "I love you" to the students, who responded back with the "I love you" sign.

Contact Aziza Jackson at ajackson at dailyhome.com.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/sasi/attachments/20120221/e0582ff7/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: comments-icon.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 63 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/sasi/attachments/20120221/e0582ff7/attachment-0004.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: thumbs-up-icon.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 343 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/sasi/attachments/20120221/e0582ff7/attachment-0005.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: email-this.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 58 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/sasi/attachments/20120221/e0582ff7/attachment-0006.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: print_icon.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 854 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/sasi/attachments/20120221/e0582ff7/attachment-0007.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2ON_Signing_Doll01.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 30511 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/sasi/attachments/20120221/e0582ff7/attachment-0002.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 1TR_Signing_Doll02.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 33064 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/sasi/attachments/20120221/e0582ff7/attachment-0003.jpg>