The ASL Translation Is Not a Test

Key takeaway

You cannot hear the room, or someone you love cannot. The catalog lists an ASL Big Book with the early chapters and Dr. Bob's Nightmare, with audio and English subtitles, and a separate ASL Twelve and Twelve. Watching is not membership. Desire to stop drinking is the line. A video does not put an interpreter in the local room.

Last updated: Tue Oct 06 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The hands on the screen are clear, and you still feel like you are failing something. Maybe you are Deaf. Maybe the hearing you have left disappears once a room gets loud. Maybe the person you love has been nodding for years, and you only now see how much of the hour never arrived.

A signed copy of the book is not a membership test. You can watch it. You can leave it unwatched. Neither choice decides whether you belong.

What the signed recording actually holds

Alcoholics Anonymous, the book people call the Big Book, is still the basic text. It was first published in 1939. The literature catalog lists a DVD, DV-11, the Big Book in ASL for the Deaf and hard of hearing. The catalog says that recording contains the Preface, the Forewords, The Doctor's Opinion, the first 11 chapters, and Dr. Bob's Nightmare. It comes with audio and English subtitles.

That list is specific. It does not claim every personal story in the book. If you finish the DVD and a meeting later reads a story that was never on it, you did not miss a hidden disc. The catalog description stops where it stops. You can use the chapters that are signed and still be a person who has not seen every story in print.

A second item, DV-12, is the Twelve and Twelve in ASL for the Deaf and hard of hearing. The catalog says that recording also has audio and English subtitles. Twelve and Twelve is the common name for the book of essays on the Steps and the Traditions. It is not a second copy of the Big Book, and it is not homework due before you walk in. You can watch a piece of it on a tired night and stop when your eyes quit.

You can use either recording at the speed you can actually follow. You can pause. You can skip a week. The point of the signed chapters is simple. Spoken English in a noisy room may not carry the book, and your eyes might. Not watching is allowed too. Nobody takes attendance on a DVD.

Desire is the line, not a viewing record

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. That is the short form of Tradition Three. It does not add a clause about sign language, about how much you hear, or about whether you finished a recording. The newcomer welcome says there are no dues or fees. You are welcome regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, income, or profession. You can sit and listen, or you can share. If listening is the part that breaks, you can still take a chair. Introducing yourself is not mandatory. You do not have to join a prayer if one is said. Talk after the meeting is optional, which matters when the hallway is even harder to follow than the hour itself.

If you are the one who loves a Deaf or hard-of-hearing person, you do not get to grade their membership. An open meeting is for anyone interested in the program, and a nonalcoholic may attend as an observer. A closed meeting is for members, or for people who have a drinking problem and a desire to stop. Ask which kind of meeting it is before you walk in beside them. You can tell one person what the barrier is. You cannot hear what they share is the longer conversation about saying that out loud without turning it into a speech.

Groups set their own format. Some meet in person. Some meet online, with video on, video off, or by a phone dial-in. A video-on meeting lets faces show. Faces are not an interpreter. An ASL recording on a screen at home does not put an interpreter in the local room. Nothing in the catalog listing staffs your Tuesday, or whatever night you can actually get there. If this group cannot help you follow the shares, that answer belongs to this group. Another meeting may be different. It may be the same. You are allowed to find out.

aa.org is not a meeting finder. Local lists are. Meeting Guide is a free app for iOS and Android. It syncs information from more than 500 entities, carries over 150,000 weekly meetings, and refreshes twice a day. Local entities send the listings. The meetings search on this site is a different list, and those listings are not verified here. Confirm the time before you build the night on a line of text.

Phone meetings help some people and leave others out, depending on what their hearing can use. Online meetings go further into the camera choice. You get to try the format that does not wipe you out. You also get to leave a room that cannot include you. What to expect at a first meeting still covers the parts that are not about your ears. People share what drinking did, what they did about it, and how they live now. A beginner meeting is one more format some groups choose.

If the body is in trouble on the same night

Hearing trouble and withdrawal can land together. Call 911 if you are sick, confused, or cannot breathe. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. NIAAA says alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening when a person who drinks heavily over time stops suddenly. A meeting cannot manage that. NIDA says mutual-help groups such as A.A. are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment. The hour is peer support. It is not detox.

FindTreatment.gov lists programs. SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), is free, confidential, and available 24/7 in English and Spanish. The withdrawal guide is for when you are safe enough to read it.

Tonight

You do not have to finish DV-11 before you are allowed to want to stop. If the signed chapters help, watch the part you can use. If they do not, go anyway. Tell one person you cannot hear the shares, or go with the person who cannot hear them and ask what this group can actually do. Then pick a meeting from a local list. How to find a meeting walks through the looking-up part. Confirm it before you leave.

Call (800) 653-9376 if you need treatment; the call is free to you, treatment providers pay for the referral, the line is not an intergroup, and the line is not A.A., and it is not SMART Recovery.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

Common Questions

Does the ASL Big Book include every personal story?

No. The catalog lists DV-11 as the Big Book in ASL for Deaf and hard-of-hearing members. It contains the Preface, the Forewords, The Doctor's Opinion, the first 11 chapters, and Dr. Bob's Nightmare, with audio and English subtitles. That contents list does not claim every personal story. If a meeting reads a story that was not on the DVD, you did not fail the recording. You can listen. You can still take a chair with a desire to stop drinking.

Is the ASL Twelve and Twelve the same video as the Big Book?

No. DV-12 is the Twelve and Twelve in ASL for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, and the catalog says it includes audio and English subtitles. It is a different book from Alcoholics Anonymous. You do not have to watch DV-11 or DV-12 before you are a member. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees. Spoken shares can still be hard to follow.

Will an ASL video put an interpreter in my meeting?

No. A recording you watch at home does not staff the local room. Groups choose their own format. Some meet in person, some online with video on or video off, and some by phone. None of those facts is a promise of an interpreter. Tell one person you cannot hear the shares. That group may have a way to help, and it may not. If it cannot, try another meeting. aa.org is not a meeting finder.

Can I belong if I never watch the signed chapters?

Yes. Watching is a tool when spoken English will not carry the book. Skipping the DVD is allowed. Tradition Three says the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. The newcomer page says you can sit and listen or share. Introducing yourself is not mandatory. If you love someone who is Deaf or hard of hearing, the video is not a test you get to give them.

What if I am sick and I also cannot hear the instructions?

Call 911 if you are sick, confused, or cannot breathe. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. A meeting is peer support, not detox. NIDA says mutual-help groups such as A.A. are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment. NIAAA says alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening when a person who drinks heavily over time stops suddenly. Get medical care before you worry about a DVD.