“(Signing) is a way for people to express themselves,” she said. “Plus, American Sign Language is the third-most common language in the U.S., so it’s something I would encourage people to try.”

A native of Cincinnati, Kreiner made a decision to try signing in the fourth grade, when one of her friends took up the language. The decision proved to be worthwhile, as she now is majoring in hearing, speech and language sciences, and was later classified as hard of hearing.

“I find myself signing to myself so much that my friends sometimes make fun of me,” she said. “But I see it as way that you can express your entire body — especially your facial expressions — in what you say.”

Tessa Valpando, a sophomore at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y., echoed Kreiner’s sentiments.

“Signing is more than a way of communicating,” she said. “It really is a means of expression.”

Valpando, who hails from Cleveland, became interested in sign language in a similar manner as Kreiner. Learning from a neighbor who worked as an interpreter, Valpando quickly became devoted to what she calls “an essential tool of society.” Through her dream of working as a freelance interpreter, Valpando hopes that people — those who use sign language and those who don’t — gain a firm understanding of its importance.

“It’s not English; it’s not Ebonics,” she said. “It has its own grammatical structure; it’s a language.”

Ohio University offers a gamut of services available for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. According to the Web site for the Office of Institutional Equity, the branch of the university to accommodate students and faculty with disabilities, services are provided for anyone providing documentation from a licensed professional.

Services can include sign language interpretation or auxiliary aids on a first-come basis, according to www.ohiou.edu/equity. An estimated 4.5 million Americans use assistive technology for hearing, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. However, it estimates that millions more have varying forms of deafness, including classification as hard of hearing.

Regardless, Kreiner is hoping that a different form of accommodation takes hold of Ohio University — the personal kind.

“Deaf and hard of hearing people are the same as hearing people, but they just express themselves in different ways,” she said.

Both literally and figuratively, Kreiner hopes everyone can “understand each other better.”

By Shaylyn Cochran
http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/articles/2006/04/14/features/12711.html