Sheri's Story

Early Life & Family

Growing Up Deaf

My brothers and I were raised by a single dad in a big city of Houston. As long as I can remember, I have always been Deaf. Being the only Deaf in the family or being the only girl in the family was not difficult. However, not being able to sign with my family was mostly challenging.

When I was nine, my life became painfully difficult when my father decided not only to quit signing, but to ban signing at home and enroll me in a local oral school. For the next three years, I was constantly punished and bullied for signing.

When I began a new school where everyone signed, I felt incredibly relieved. I was finally able to understand everything said in the classroom and could ask questions. Before long, I became one of the top students in my class.

Education & Reflection

Finding Belonging Through ASL

Later, I attended Texas School for the Deaf, where I truly thrived and graduated with honors. I earned my bachelor’s degree from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., and my master’s degree from Lamar University in Texas.

Unfortunately, my father passed away shortly after I started college. He died thinking he was doing me a great service by forcing me to speak rather than to sign.

He also died a stranger.

My father was a good man. He hugged me when I cried. He never raised his hand with me. He smiled when he saw me. However, even to this day, I do not know his favorite color, his favorite food, his stories, his thoughts, or his history. I know more about my friends’ signing parents than I ever did about my father.

Career & Purpose

Creating a Space to Honor Our Language

Over the years, I worked as a language teacher and eLearning consultant, meeting people from many different places. It was always the same: Deaf children who could sign with their parents often outperformed their peers with non-signing parents academically. Yet, like my father, so many parents think they are doing their children a favor by not signing with them—and they are failing their children.

In 2015, I left my job and launched a business to focus on developing sign language resources to encourage more families to sign with their Deaf children as a way to honor my father.

My business offers authentic and personalized sign language art, Deaf culture art, woodcut pictures, and more.

The Story of How Deafroot Saved My Life

Deafroot began as a way to heal and reconnect with my language, my culture, and my father’s memory. What started as small handmade pieces became a path to purpose — blending art, community, and American Sign Language into something that gave my life meaning again.

Through each piece of wood I carve, I rediscover fragments of connection I once lost. Deafroot became more than art; it became my way to tell stories without words — stories of love, resilience, and the beauty of signing hands that speak through the heart.