LISBON FALLS – As an expansion of Mt. Blue High School’s annual American Sign Language Immersion Workshop Day, Lori Lewis of Mt. Blue High School and Gail Carlson of Lisbon High School will co-sponsor a workshop for their combined ASL students.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at Lisbon High School and will feature many speakers from the deaf community for discussions, panels and activities to offer students real-world signed communication experiences and expand their understanding of deaf cultural issues. Interpreters will be on site through the day.

Featured presenters will be Judy Kegl, Ph.D., a linguistics professor from the University of Southern Maine, and Barney Vega, a deaf interpreter, also affiliated with USM.

Kegl and Vega will discuss the formation and history of a recently created local sign language in Nicaragua, which Kegl has studied extensively for many years, and Vega helped develop.

Jennifer Welch from the Maine Center on Deafness will demonstrate and discuss various adaptive communication devices commonly used by the deaf community.

A group of panelists will describe living with deaf family members; another panel will describe the employment opportunities for people with ASL proficiency.

The event is free for MBHS and LHS students and is open to interested community members, but reservations are required in advance. There is a $5 charge for students who are not from MBHS or LHS; hearing adults, $10; deaf adults, free. A pizza lunch may also be purchased for an additional $2, but is available only through advance reservation.

For more information and reservations, contact Lori Lewis at 645-3945 or [email protected] or Gail Carlson at [email protected].