Hi again, Richard!  This is a continuation of my previous message to you:   
      
   RW>  My lady's eldest daughter learned sign, as she has   
   RW>  deafness in one ear, and a Sunday school program she   
   RW>  attended in Florida was very inclusive and got their   
   RW>  deaf members involved in all their church programs.   
      
      
             Good for them!  Over the years I have noticed that some   
   denominations seem more receptive to folks with disabilities than others.    
   When I was growing up, there were two families with offspring in wheelchairs   
   who attended the same church my family did.  For as long as I remember there   
   has been a ramp into the church... and when renovations were made to the   
   church hall & office area, i.e. some time before Nora was born, an elevator   
   was added.  At the other end of the continuum, there was a woman in this echo   
   years ago who said the members of her church had shunned her family because   
   one of the kids had a learning disability & they interpreted it to mean the   
   family weren't good Christians... (sigh).   
      
      
      
   RW>  HEnce, when she was a clerk at a fast food establishment   
   RW>  years later the deaf folks who liked to gather for coffee   
   RW>  gravitated toward the line she was working at the counter,   
   RW>  as they didn't have to write out their orders on a slip of   
   RW>  paper, but could converse with her naturally using sign.   
      
      
             They may even have been attracted to this place because they knew   
   she understood their language.  We know which coffee shops in our   
   neighbourhood are receptive to folks with disabilities & we're glad to support   
   them.  On numerous occasions these establishments have attracted groups of   
   eight or more customers who would otherwise be unable to get together... a   
   win-win situation IMHO.   
      
             While I'm not fluent in sign language, I know a lot of people who   
   use it for various reasons.  It's helpful with kids who have difficulty   
   enunciating certain sounds... e.g. the consonant blends in words like   
   "please", "thankyou", and "hungry"... and we still use it in certain social   
   situations to indicate to one another without interrupting the flow of   
   conversation that we need to go to the washroom.  I can also relate to how   
   this person's customers must have felt. When Nora was younger & still using   
   the stroller, I would often stop to let her observe construction crews etc.    
   One day, as the two of us approached the glass door at the entrance to the   
   community centre, we saw a woman washing the glass. She started to make a move   
   toward opening the door for us... but I indicated to her in my best Sesame St.   
   sign language that Nora wanted to watch, knowing Nora couldn't see what I was   
   doing from behind.  The woman grinned from ear to ear & cheerfully went on   
   with her job.  Only then did I realize she was deaf....  :-)   
      
      
      
   RW>  Even if you can't do things in the "normal" way the   
   RW>  important thing is that you get them done, and can   
   RW>  live a full life.   
      
      
             Absolutely... you do what works!  In our bathroom we have a key   
   chain with a stuffed animal suspended from a toggle switch.  Before that...   
   when Nora was too short to reach the light switch... we attached a bit of   
   dowelling to it as a less expensive alternative to the commercial product we'd   
   seen in the home of a friend whose husband was quadriplegic.  Although Nora's   
   needs have changed we're still using the basic concept of modifying the switch   
   so she can turn the light on & off by herself.  If other people think we're   
   weird, chances are they already realized that before visiting our home or   
   before we invited them.  :-))   
      
      
      
   RW>  Even if that's as simple as using our dry measuring   
   RW>  cups to measure liquids   
      
      
             I hadn't thought of using dry measuring cups that way, but I think   
   it might work well for Nora too.  She often finds it difficult to read the   
   numbers on the graduated cups associated with liquids.  Thanks for the   
   suggestion.  :-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)