ASL Health Signs: Learn Them With Video

Health signs help you say how you feel and follow a conversation at a doctor's office, at school or at home. This group starts with six common ones: cough, dizzy, hiccup, nausea, pregnant and patient.

Each sign has a short looping video by a Deaf, fluent ASL signer. Several of them show the feeling with the body: a fist moves against the chest for cough, a bent hand rests at the throat as the head jolts for hiccup, and a claw hand circles in front of the stomach for nausea or in front of the face for dizzy. Facial expression matters here as much as the hands. Patient, as in a person under medical care, uses a P handshape at the opposite shoulder. This group follows the Health and Medical category in the AISA School app.

Learn two or three signs at a time and practice them with the right face, not only the right hands. When you are ready, practice in AISA School with your camera and get instant feedback on your signing.

The signs

A Deaf signer signs COUGH in ASL

Cough

A Deaf signer signs DIZZY in ASL

Dizzy

A Deaf signer signs HICCUP in ASL

Hiccup

A Deaf signer signs NAUSEA in ASL

Nausea

A Deaf signer signs PATIENT in ASL

Patient

A Deaf signer signs PREGNANT in ASL

Pregnant

A 5 minute practice plan

  1. Minute 1: watch cough and hiccup and copy each one twice.

  2. Minute 2: sign dizzy and nausea and compare where each claw hand circles.

  3. Minute 3: sign pregnant, then patient, slowly and with a clear handshape.

  4. Minute 4: sign all six in a row with the matching facial expression.

  5. Minute 5: practice one sign in AISA School with your camera and get instant feedback.

Practice these signs in AISA School

Start free. Sign in front of your camera and get instant feedback on your signing.

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