Stu.Turk@f26.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Stu Turk) (02/09/91)
Index Number: 13644 [This is from the Silent Talk Conference] WR> From: GE0013@SIUCVMB.BITNET (Roy Miller) [roy miller to Fran O'gorman] > you are unlikely to find old ASL signs for many of the modern medical > terms that might be involved. Secondly, the regional variations that > seem present with all technical vocabulary are so vast that I question WR> the utility of including such signs in any basic signing lexicon You may be correct but the idea is not so much to include specific medical _words_ as it is to include the signs for emergencys (and not only medical). There may not be signs for specific medications, but if there is no sign for such terms as "are you allergic to anything/any medication?", "are you in pain and can you tell me the location of the pain?" "do you have any medication?" (like nitro tablets), then there damn will should be by now. These signs can be answered mostly with yes/no replies which even a injured person can usually make. Also, emergency workers (police/fire) should have some basic idea of the signs for "there is a gas leak in the neighborhood / chemical leak from a train derailment. You must leave your home for a while. Grab your coat and follow me now." I'm sure there are others situations that some basic knowlege of signs could help but do not require a specific medical word/sign. -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!26!Stu.Turk Internet: Stu.Turk@f26.n129.z1.fidonet.org