" Deafness is not the opposite of Hearing. It is silence full of sounds"
-Mark Medhoff
-Mark Medhoff
Dancing with Language is an American Sign Language based company, led by the founder, Amy Walper. Through interpreting, tutoring, and linguistic research, the mission of Dancing with Language is to increase the understanding, utilization, and respect of sign language as a tool not only for the hard of hearing, but to be a way to increase cognition and processing of everyone!
About Amy
Amy has had a strong passion for American Sign Language since she was 7 years old.
"I can remember watching my best friend having a conversation with her mother, who is deaf. The flow and movement of language was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Sign language was a dance with hands that left me in awe."
As the years went by in College, Amy realized that she had a learning disability which caused her retention to be very limited. Upon taking an ASL class, she noticed that she was learning faster and understanding more when using sign, effectively counteracting her disability. At that moment, Amy knew that Sign language could be used to help others who might have challenges learning or with other disabilities.
Amy received her Certificate in American Sign Language Interpreting in 2015, and graduated from California State University Long Beach in 2016 with the major of Linguistics specializing in American Sign Language.
Amy is currently an American Sign Language teacher at a private school.
Dancing With Language Services
Tutoring!
"I absolutely love teaching ASL!"
Q: Who might be interested in learning American Sign Language?
A: Everyone! Learning a second language has been proven to improve cognition for all, especially during early development for children. Because ASL uses both sides of the brain, the benefits of sign language may be enhanced! In addition, through learning sign, one becomes able to communicate and learn with the often undeserved and underappreciated deaf culture.Q: What does a beginning training class entail?
A: Beginning sessions are about an hour long starting with basics, alphabet and numbers, then moving on to sentence structure. Specific and customer built trainings can be made available.
Q: What are the standard rates for a session?
A: Sessions cost $60.00 an hour, $20.00 for students.Q: Where is your service area? Are online sessions available?
A: Dancing with Language is based out of Huntington Beach, and services most of Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. In-person and socially distanced sessions are preferred, but virtual sessions, especially for clients outside of a 50 mile range, are available.
Interpreting!
Amy has been Interpreting for five years as a freelance interpreter.
Q: What are examples of interpreting jobs Amy would consider taking on?
A: Amy loves to work within the music field and interpreting music. Ideal opportunities are interpreting for performance and theater, for basic medical appointments, and also for within the educational institutes. Other opportunities will definitely be considered.Q: What are the standard rates for interpreting services?
A: Dancing with Language provides interpreting services for $120.00 an hour. Note, if longer than one hour, a break will be required as to rest the hands.Q: Where is your service area?
A: Dancing with Language can service within 50 miles of Huntington Beach, CA.
Dancing and Costume Design!
Dancing is a way of telling stories and feelings through non-verbal communication. Just like Sign Language. The movement is fluid and can change pace. Facial expressions are key in telling your story. The intersection between dance and sign language leads to the heart and inspiration of Dancing with Language. In addition to incorporating the spirit of dance into interpreting, and to seeing interpreting as an art in itself, Amy has experience with performing modern dance and with providing costuming services.
American Sign Language is for Everyone
ASL is not just for the hard of hearing. Amy's studies with children that have learning disabilities, speech problems, and Autisim have linked cognitive improvement with the utilization of ASL. For those who have processing disorders, the brain tends to not pick up on everything and can get distracted. ASL has the potential to bypass this, because language is processed in a different part of the brain when signing. ASL is very stimulating and keeps the brain active.
Advocating for more clinical studies on the benefit of ASL is a major part of the mission of Dancing with Language. The benefits of sign language has been widely underrepresented and under researched due to stigma against the deaf community. With further research and support, ASL has the potential to significantly improve cognition for many!
