Howdy!

[Madeleine]

Hiya!

My name is Madeleine, but you can call me Em. I use they/them pronouns! I'm a PhD student studying engineering education, and I'm neurodivergent (ADHD/ASD). I'm hearing, and I'm interested in learning ASL for a lot of different reasons.

First, my research is very focused on inclusion and diversity. I believe that a big part of inclusion is for people to be able to have access to what they need. Language is a big part of that, and ASL is a language that is not widely used when it ought to be. I also want to learn it because it is very kinesthetic, which is a big part of how I learn. I like to actively do learning rather than passively absorbing rote information. Also, I am autistic, which means that overwhelming situations can make it difficult for me to communicate sometimes. ASL provides another avenue of communication for me if and when I become too overstimulated to verbally communicate my needs. 

I'm here to engage with the ASL teaching/learning community as a way to practice my ASL skills, get better at conversational language, and to educate myself on other types of disability activism that can overlap with the ASL community. Feel free to reach out if you want an accountability/study partner!

Cheers,

Em