Every year without fail our birthdays roll around, and even though it means we’re one year older and have a few more wrinkles, we still love to celebrate here at ASL Wonder!

In our family, we have a special birthday plate and the person with a birthday decides what we will be eating for breakfast and dinner on their day! We do love a fun filled birthday party to celebrate our loved ones! However, we don’t always throw big birthday bashes, in fact, some years just consist of a small birthday dinner. When we do decide to throw a party they usually include cake, singing, music, food, and games.

Dacia here – growing up, my family would have birthday celebrations for me, but unfortunately I didn’t understand what was going on or why we were celebrating until after I turned nine years old. Up until then, I understood that this annual tradition was a happy time but I didn’t understand what the cake and candles represented and how it connected to me.

Imagine going to a foreign country and being included in a celebration, but you have no clue what it’s for and why everyone is celebrating due to the language barrier. This is how I felt in my early years of growing up. At nine, I started learning sign language which started to open up my world and alleviate communication barriers. At the age of 11, I remember someone leaving behind a beautiful cake on my doorstep with a doll on the top.  I was moved to tears and felt special.  At this point, I truly understood that this meant this was a day to celebrate MY birth, and I was one year older.

If you have someone in your life who is deaf or hard of hearing, be sure to make a few adjustments so that they are feeling included. It requires a little preparation and love, but it’s completely worth it!

Here are some tips to make birthday parties more inclusive for your deaf loved ones:

1. 1. Send your guests a video of how to sign the phrase “happy birthday” or how to sign the birthday song in ASL.
   2. Have everyone wear name tags because it’s easy to miss introductions when you can’t hear what’s going on.
   3. Everyone loves a good piñata, so be sure your deaf family member participates safely by not blindfolding them. If the child wants to be blindfolded, then set up tactile cues prior to playing so they know when to start and stop.
   4. Musical chairs is another fun game we suggest playing. Tweak it by adding flashing lights instead of/or in combination with the music. Simply start and stop the flashing lights as you would the music.

Today we are going to teach you how to sign happy birthday in ASL, so that your loved ones can enjoy the feeling of being special and celebrated!