Henry Daily Herald

Instructor Pat Pirtle leads the beginning American Sign Language class at the Heritage Senior Center in McDonough, for those who want to be able to communicate with family members and friends who are deaf, and also understand the deaf culture.

Jack Hunter, of Stockbridge, worked to perfect his finger-spelling skills, during a class on American Sign Language. The 74-year-old retiree said he is losing his hearing, and wants to be prepared to communicate with people through sign language.

“I can do all my letters, and some of the signs,” said Hunter, adding that learning sign language requires time and effort.

“Like any exercise, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you think you’re going to be exposed to people that read sign language, or you, yourself, are going to need it, then I would come to class,” he continued.

Instructor Pat Pirtle offers a free, “Beginning Sign Language” class, which started last month at the Heritage Senior Center, 1050 Florence McGarity Blvd., in McDonough. She teaches the class each Tuesday, from 1 p.m., to 3 p.m.

Pirtle said she proposed the class after a friend began losing her hearing. “She got to the point where she couldn’t communicate with anyone, and she was very isolated,” said Pirtle. “I started to teach her, and she suggested that there are other people that would probably like to do this as well.”

American Sign Language features a combination of finger-spelling and conceptual signs, rather than the word-for-word communication inherent in English Sign Language. Pirtle said her 25 students have given different reasons for wanting to learn American Sign Language.

“There are a couple of them who have family members that are deaf, and [they] have never learned sign language, and wanted to communicate with them,” said Pirtle. “We have others that are just interested in the language, and learning something new.”

The instructor said along with letters and signs, participants in the class are also learning about the culture of the deaf community. “I want to teach them how to reach out to people in the deaf culture, and to realize that they have a culture,” said Pirtle. “They have ... a language of their own, and they want to be involved with others and fellowship with others. So, I want [them] to be able to do that.”

Pirtle hopes to open another class at the senior center, depending on the level of interest in sign language locally.

Not all of the students in Pirtle’s class fall into the 55 and older category, to which the senior center primarily caters. Ashley Bonucci, 22, of McDonough, began taking the course four weeks ago, in order to communicate with her best friend’s mother, who is deaf.

“Just recently, I was having a conversation with her, and she couldn’t understand me,” said Bonucci. “When she’s not looking at you, she can’t hear you. She just reads lips. It’s very hard to talk with her, so I wanted to learn sign language to help her understand what I’m saying, and to be able to have that conversation with her.”

Bonucci said she has enjoyed learning about sign language, and the culture of deaf people.

“They’ll ask you, flat out, if you’re deaf, and why you’re wanting to learn their language,” said Bonucci. “It’s a very private culture.”

Nita Kerr, lead activities coordinator at the Heritage Senior Center, said area residents have responded well to Pirtle’s class. “We weren’t quite sure how it was going to go over, but the first week, we had 20 phone calls from people wanting to sign up for it that quickly, when they first heard about it,” said Kerr.

The sign language class is one of numerous offerings for older residents. Other activities include knitting, crocheting, oil painting, crafts, and a caregiver support program. For more information, call (770) 288-7000.