First responders learn basic sign language to assist with deaf, hearing impaired

Several emergency first responders in the Rio Grande Valley are learning a new language and it has nothing to do with the spoken word.
The responders are learning basic sign language to assist them in better communicating with the deaf or hearing impaired when they respond to either accident or incident scenes.
On Tuesday, nearly a dozen first responders attended the first of six one-hour classes inside the Dancy Building in which they were taught how to sign the alphabet.
The free classes were put on by the Cameron County Judge’s Division of Emergency Management and the Valley Association of Independent Living.
 “Hello everyone I’m Sylvia Longoria,” sign language specialist Longoria signed to the group.
Longoria, who is hearing impaired, is with the Valley Association of Independent Living or VAIL, which is teaching the classes. Similar classes are being conducted in Hidalgo County as well.
No speaking was allowed during Tuesday’s class. All communication was done by sign language and some of the first responders appeared to struggle as they tried to learn each letter of the alphabet.
The first responders represented the Cameron County Constables, Harlingen Fire Department, Texas Department of Public Safety and Cameron County’s Office of Emergency Management.
Isidro Delgado, a deputy constable with Cameron County Constable Precinct 5 in Harlingen, said learning how to sign was a lot more difficult then he thought.
Delgado made the comment as he practiced signing with fellow deputy constable Ernesto Barajas.
“It’s hard. You have to practice a lot…it has to be a certain way for them to understand you and if you don’t do it right they are not going out understand what you are saying,” Delgado said.
Delgado said he had responded to at least one call having to deal with a hearing impaired person and that he communicated with the individual by writing stuff on a piece of paper.
“I think it is very important (to learn sign language) or at least to have somebody come in and interpret for us,” Delgado said. “Lives could be at stake and you never know what they are saying unless you find out by other means,” Delgado said.
It is estimated that 10 percent of the Valley population is either deaf or hearing impaired. In Cameron County, officials estimate there are about 4,000 residents that suffer from some type of hearing impairment.
 “I want to thank VAIL for helping us put this together to address a segment of our community that is underserved,” said Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Casco’s before the class began.
“I wish that every TV station would have that little block underneath to be able to convey news everyday” to the hearing impaired, that would allow them to know what is happening on a daily basis, Casco’s said.
Although Delgado knew there was a portion of the Valley population that had hearing problems, he didn’t know to what extent until today.
“As I drove around the Valley I’ve seen them, but not to that extent,” Delgado said. “Luckily they can read and write.”