Iolan Chelsea Shrum, age 36, wanted to be a teacher, a task made challenging because she was born deaf and with cerebral palsy.
After she graduated from the Kansas School for the Deaf, she wasn?t able to finish college. She studied at Allen Community College for a year but struggled without an interpreter. When her brother, Chance, died in 2007, Shrum sank into a four-year depression.
?My life was a mess after Chance passed away,? she said.
It?s taken her a few years, but Shrum can now call herself a teacher. She teaches sign language at Humanity House, 110 East St., every Thursday night. She?s now offering two classes, a beginner?s class from 6 to 7 p.m. and an advanced class from 7 to 8 p.m.
And if you take her class, expect to laugh. A lot.
Shrum shows her class a sign, pointing to the written word. Then, each member of the class takes turns imitating the sign.
It?s inevitable that someone will get it wrong. Shrum will laugh to show them it?s OK to make mistakes. It?s OK to ?say? the wrong thing sometimes.
It just takes practice to get it right.
Sometimes, she?ll lecture someone to ?quit shouting? when they use big gestures.
But more often, she?s amused by the way people contort their faces as they attempt to manipulate unruly fingers and hands.
?It?s funny to see facial expressions,? she signed, with help from her friend and interpreter, Sue Warren of Iola. ?They make me laugh all the time.?
Chelsea Shrum, left, and Sue Warren have been friends since they met at preschool.
SHRUM AND Warren first met when they attended the ANW Cooperative preschool. They became fast friends, and Warren learned the basics of sign language to communicate with her friend.
Their friendship hit the pause button for a few years, as the girls were separated to attend elementary school. In fifth grade, however, they were reunited for a softball league.
?We?ve been inseparable ever since,? Warren said.
Warren brushed up on her rusty sign language skills and now helps Shrum as an interpreter.
