Experience w/ ASL programs for high school language credit?
My son wants to take ASL for his high school language credit. His school recommended Tilden Prep, BYU and Berkeley City College. Hoping parents on here can share their experiences with local programs? My son has ADHD and a language processing disorder so trying to find the best fit.
Jul 6, 2022
Parent Replies
Hi
My daughter who has severe dyslexia, adhd, plus anxiety and some processing issues, took asl at bcc. She excelled! It was entirely online which worked for her.
Berkeley City courses will be free for him, but you'll need to figure out if they fit in his HS schedule, last time I checked they were in the afternoons/evenings, but still online. Your school may offer discounts for the BYU course, Tilden will be the most expensive. Will online courses be ok for his ADHD? If not, I'd go with Tilden, which is probably your only option for in person. Good luck!
Hi,
My son took ASL as his foreign language because of dyslexia and ADHD. He has taken ASL at BCC in person and through BYU. I would say that a lot will depend on your son's motivation. BCC is a regular class (not sure if they are in-person or on Zoom these days), taught by a professor. BYU's classes are units that students complete on their own, interspersed with one-on-one TA sessions that you have to make sure to sign up for. My son first worked with a private tutor and then took a BCC class before turning to BYU (BCC wasn't offering the class he needed at the time), and he found the course hard to navigate. I have heard great things about Tilden Prep, but they are very expensive.
I am happy to talk to you more about this if you'd like to get my info from the moderator.
ASL is a wonderful language to learn, good for your son being interested!, I went to Berkeley City College many years ago and got my AA degree in ASL. It is a great program and I had amazing teachers. 2 years ago my son was a sophomore at Berkeley Independent Study, only 15, and he could have used more support than provided. He has ADHD. He wanted to take ASL too. He unfortunately had a terrible experience. He did not know he needed to sign up for Canvas - we didn’t really know about Canvas at the time and the teacher never pulled him aside to explain he needed to be on there (of course the full time students were aware but he was fresh from HS and not in the loop) The teacher didn't hand out announcements on paper or show a message on the board in class, everything was on Canvas, so he frequently missed crucial information. Then the pandemic hit and everything went to zoom. It was the first time any of us had done school on zoom! When they had a test the teacher expected them to make a video on YouTube of them signing and upload it but my son had trouble and got an F in the course. I did email to see if my son could do any make up work in order not to fail--the pandemic was a huge blow for so many kids! The teacher responded that I couldn’t be involved because of FERPA law (gives minors autonomy in City College) My husband knows Gerard Di Pietro, another teacher at BCC, and he is warm and funny, has stellar reviews, and could be a better choice for your son (unfortunately his classes were at night and that is why my son couldn’t take his class due to sports conflict) Also to consider, though, is that at BCC, the classes are twice a week, 3 hours each time, so make sure that isn’t too much for your son. I hope other folks can give you info on Tilden and BYU. You can contact me if you have any more questions! I hope your son finds a way to take ASL!! It is truly a beautiful language.