Women teaches ASL classes, promotes inclusion
Common Ground Teen Center hosted American Sign Language teacher Michelle Walker, who is instructing the teens and young adults in ASL. Walker, founder and owner of Lend an Ear Consulting, is deaf/hard of hearing, and advocates inclusion for those with disabilities.
Karen Mansfield/Obserer-Reporter
Michelle Walker, founder of Lend an Ear Consulting, is teaching American Sign Language classes to youths at Common Ground Teen Center in Washington.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Staff and teens at Common Ground Teen Center practice sign language on Wednesday during an American Sign Language class taught by Michelle Walker, founder and owner of Lend an Ear Consulting. Walker, who is deaf/hard of hearing, also shares her experiences navigating a hearing world.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the proper opening year of Walker’s business.
When masked faces became the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, Michelle Walker, who is deaf/hard of hearing and relies heavily on reading lips and uses American Sign Language, sometimes felt lost.
Walker, founder of Pittsburgh-based Lend an Ear Consulting, recalled an incident where she arrived at the register in an unfamiliar grocery store, realized she had forgotten syrup, and asked the cashier what aisle the syrup was in.
Between the cashier wearing a face mask, the noisy store, and her anxiety at holding up the line, the exchange between her and the cashier – which would have been simple for a hearing person – turned into an ordeal.
For Walker, it was another example of a world that is less prepared to include those with hearing difficulties. If people in public places at least knew basic ASL, she said, communication would be much easier for Walker and others who depend on reading lips.
“ASL would have been incredibly useful during that time. Even if everyone had learned the alphabet alone, ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ that alone would have been life-changing for a lot of people,” said Walker. “It might seem trivial, but even now sometimes I tear up when I think about (the grocery store incident), and about how frustrated and exasperated and stressed I was.”
Walker’s desire to advocate for people who are deaf and hard of hearing led her to start Lend an Ear Consulting in 2016. The company offers consulting services on disability inclusion and accessibility, corporate training and workshops, and speaking engagements.
She also teaches classes in ASL and deaf culture education.
Since Aug. 10, Walker has been teaching ASL and inclusion classes virtually to teens and young adults at Common Ground Teen Center in Washington once a week.
“Gaining a new skill has been something I’ve enjoyed, but also getting to hear Michelle’s story is something that’s been really meaningful,” said Landan Weakland, supervisor of Common Ground. “I realize how important it is for us to have multiple skillsets in language so that when we meet someone who can’t hear, we can communicate with them. It makes me feel good, even though it’s a small amount, that I know it.”
At a two-hour session on Wednesday, the youths worked on basics, such as numbers, alphabet, family signs, emergency signs, and action signs.
Walker, who received the 2021 WHS Academy of Adolescent Health – Teen Outreach Inclusion Award, also taught a sign language class to Common Ground youths in 2020.
Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski, founder and president of the Academy for Adolescent Health, received a grant from Three Rivers Community Foundation to host Walker, who will teach the weekly classes through Sept. 21.
“This class is incredibly rewarding. They’re so enthusiastic about learning sign language, and they’re as excited about learning as I am about teaching it,” said Walker.
Walker works not only to teach ASL but to share her experiences and help people understand what it’s like to be deaf or hard of hearing.
Walker has been deaf since birth. Born prematurely, she weighed 1 pound, 14 ounces, and her ears were not fully developed, resulting in bilateral sensory neural deafness.
Her hearing family did not learn sign language, so Walker “had to adapt,” and learned sign language on her own.
People might be intimidated at the idea of learning a new language, but Walker is confident that anyone can do it if they practice.
“Effort is everything. We’re looking for effort, not perfection,” said Walker. “It means a lot to us when people take the time to learn how to sign.”
There is, in fact, a growing trend at colleges and universities to offer ASL courses. According to the Center for Language Study, American Sign Language is now the third most commonly taught language at American colleges and universities, behind Spanish and French.
Walker believes it’s important for everyone to understand some sign language, and she is working hard to teach as many people as she can – and to have them teach others.
“It’s about inclusion,” said Walker. “Sometimes inclusion is an afterthought, and I’m on a mission to make sure it’s not. Inclusion for the deaf/hard of hearing is often overlooked, and I don’t think it’s always malice, it’s because not all people are deaf. It’s an ableist society, and often, the person with the disability finds themselves trying to accommodate those who don’t have disabilities. So many times people get exasperated with me asking them to repeat themselves. We have to change that.”