The decision to learn sign language is not always an easy decision for people who are late-deafened and those with whom they communicate.  When a person has been accustomed to communicating in their native language, thoughts of learning a new language for everyday communication can be very intimidating.  People who have become deaf often wonder if they will be able to learn sign language and if family and friends will support the decision and join in the learning process.  Quite often the individual who is late-deafened decides to learn sign without family participation or support.  If you do not have family support at this time, just focus on you and your interest to sign. You may find in time that your family and friends will develop an interest to learn sign.  What is important is that you are taking action to more effectively cope with late-deafness.  It is my belief that people will feel better about late-deafness when they can replace a “disability” with an “ability”.  Congratulations on taking a very big step to develop abilities to enhance aural communication through sign language.