According to a survey done by the Center for Disease Control from 2014-2016, 18.5% of adults in Louisiana have some sort of hearing loss. Additionally, the state has the highest number of deafblind individuals in the country, likely due to the fact that people in the Acadian population have a higher chance of being diagnosed with Usher syndrome, a condition that causes both deafness and blindness.
Despite this prevalence, many people still don’t know the most basic aspects of Deaf history and culture. The first important thing to note is the difference between the terms “deaf” and “Deaf.”
According to SignHealth.org, Deaf, with an uppercase ‘D,’ is used “to recognize cultural and linguistic differences.” Oftentimes, Deaf people are born into Deaf families and sign language is their first language. They share values, beliefs, behaviors, traditions and institutions just as any other culture does.
Alternatively, lowercase ‘d’ deaf simply refers to people with no or little hearing. It includes both Deaf people and people who may not have the same cultural connection but still do not hear much.
In the U.S., the main sign language is American Sign Language, or ASL. It is important to note that ASL is not just a different way of speaking English, but its own distinct language with grammar, rules and slang. It also has its own dialects. Just as hearing Black Americans may use African American Vernacular English, Deaf Black Americans may use Black American Sign Language.
The roots of ASL date back to 1815 when a man named Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet wanted to teach his neighbor, a young deaf girl. The girl’s father sent him to Europe where Gallaudet studied at a school for the deaf in Paris. He learned French sign language and the school’s teaching methods. When he returned to America, he brought with him Lauren Clerc, a talented deaf teacher.
Soon, they opened the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb — now known as the American School for the Deaf. French Sign Language combined with Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language — a sign language used on an island in Massachusetts where many students traveled from — to create American Sign Language. As more schools for the deaf opened and national deaf organizations were founded, ASL spread across the country, allowing deaf people to finally have places to learn and thrive.
At one point however, it was made illegal to teach signing in these schools. Alexander Graham Bell, the man credited with the invention of the telephone and a supporter of eugenics, was against the teaching of sign in schools. He wanted deaf people to integrate with the hearing in order to eliminate deafness altogether. To do this, he campaigned for oralism to be the only way for deaf people to communicate.
Oralism is the method of teaching deaf people to speak out loud and read lips instead of signing. In Bell’s schools, students were punished if they tried to sign with each other and were only allowed to communicate through oralism which was often very difficult for students.
Sign language is important because it does not force deaf people to assimilate and use what is easier for hearing people. It allows them to easily communicate with others, an ability many of us cannot even fathom not having. An entire world of culture full of stories and jokes and history has emerged for Deaf people using sign.
ASL is a language that I believe more hearing people should commit to learning, at least a little bit. In fact, infants can communicate via sign before they are able to speak. Babies develop motor control skills earlier than those of speech, so if they are exposed to signs, they can communicate needs without having to talk. This gives children an early boost in building communication skills.
Sign language can also be incredibly useful for those who have conditions such as selective mutism or are nonverbal due to autism. There are many communication devices made for these people but they can be expensive or, at the very least, used alongside signing.
With that in mind, it is important to remember the origins of sign and the Deaf culture that influences it. It is worth learning even if you are hearing and can speak orally without any problems. The more people who learn sign, the more welcoming the world is for those who have it as their first language.