I'm hearing and I'd like to learn ASL but I don't know if it's going to work out. I know facial expressions are a big part of it and I have never been able to do that at all. Idk why but my face just. Does not make expressions. I've tried to a little but every time I do it just feels fake and like I'm lying or something, so I stop. Is that going to be a problem?

Short answer: no, not necessarily.

Long answer: Consider the spoken English language. Not every person speaks the same way, right? Some people have lisps, or are very expressive, or are very sarcastic. Some people stutter, some people barely raise their voice enough to be heard, some people have an accent, etc. But as long as we can understand each other, there isn’t really (from a descriptive linguistic standpoint) a “right” or a “wrong” way to speak English.

The same holds true for ASL! Some people sign really fast, some people sign “sloppily” or “slur” their signing. On bad pain days when I’ve only got use of one hand, I sign one-handed. Some people, like you perhaps, aren’t as expressive as others (or expressive at all), and that’s okay! Some neurodivergent people have what’s called a “flat affect,” which basically means that they’re not so expressive, and sure, it might take a little extra effort on your part to convey your emotions or on your conversational partners part to understand your intention, but that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong or should stop learning ASL.

As long as people can understand you and you’re signing to your best ability, your specific, unique brand of ASL is perfectly good!

-Mod C