You should use your base hand as the placeholder when listing siblings.

What “base hand” means

In ASL contexts, the base hand is the non-dominant hand that stays mostly still and acts like a stable platform or reference point.

The dominant hand then moves and signs against this base hand to show relationships like sibling order or ranking.

How it works when listing siblings

  • The base hand is held out to represent your family “line” or ranking.
  • Different fingers or positions on that base hand are used to show where each sibling (and you) fall in order, such as oldest to youngest.
  • Your dominant hand points to or marks those spots, so the base hand consistently “holds” the list while you keep signing.

Why not just any hand?

  • Using a consistent base (non-dominant) hand keeps the list visually clear and easier to refer back to during a story.
  • If you switched hands or used your dominant hand as the placeholder, it would be harder to maintain that stable reference for your siblings’ positions.

TL;DR: When listing siblings in ASL-style ranking, use your base (non- dominant) hand as the placeholder, and your dominant hand to point and sign around it.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.