Entries by Michelle Jay

Gallaudet University

by Abby Doss | 2 March 2021 Throughout the years, Gallaudet University has been known by many different names. Gallaudet is located in Northeast Washington, D.C. Its history begins in 1856 when a man, Amos Kendall, devoted two acres of his own land in order to start a school for the deaf and blind. Kendall’s […]

The Organization of Deaf Society

by Olivia Honeycutt | 25 September 2019 The entire world is a built for Hearing people. Despite having no real connection to one another, no defining features other than those that come with being human, they are considered to be what is “normal.” Where Hearing society is defined simply by being able to hear without […]

Psychological Testing of Deaf Children: A Brief Comparison of Services and Viewpoints

by Anonymous As a doctor holding a Ph.D. in school psychology who has previously specialized in assessment of the intellectual and educational abilities of children, I have learned much about the importance of, and make every attempt to utilize, cultural sensitivity when assessing students who have been referred for evaluation who are outside of the […]

ASL Interpretation in the Medical Field

by Teagan North (09/08/2020) Almost everyone is a consumer of health care services at some point in their lives. Doctor’s appointments and trips to the emergency room can require patients to give a brief description of their ailment, or even a detailed family history. The patient must understand the risks and benefits of diagnostic tests […]

Martha’s Vineyard 

by Nicole Colterman (08/27/2020) Martha’s Vineyard, home of astonishing landscapes, fishing towns, marvelous summer homes and one of the first known deaf communities in the United States. From the late 1600’s to early 1900’s Martha’s Vineyard had 1 in every 155 people born deaf, where the rest of America was 1 in every 5,700. The […]

A World of Ableism; Challenges of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community During a Global Pandemic

by Maddie Hammer (08/24/2020) Since its discovery in December, the widespread outbreak of SARS-CoV2 has infiltrated every aspect of our lives. The outbreak duration is still ongoing and there have been more than 21 million cases in over 210 countries. And although there is currently no vaccine or cure, the World Health Organization (WHO) and […]

Sordo

by Rocio Caceres (7/23/2020) Sordo or The Silent War (English title) is a Spanish movie released in 2019 and directed by Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas. Sordo’s genre falls between a few categories like drama, western, thriller, and deaf/hard hearing. Sordo translates to deaf from Spanish but titled to English as The Silent War. Sordo’s story is based on the comic by David Muñoz and […]

Deaf Culture Values: Deafness

One of the most beautiful aspects of Deaf Culture is the value Deaf people put on their own deafness (their hearing loss). This is known throughout the Deaf community as Deaf Pride. While hearing society deems deafness a “disability,” many Deaf people feel that they are not disabled at all and are instead part of […]

Deaf Culture Values: Sign Language

American Sign Language is the most highly regarded asset of Deaf Culture. ASL is the natural language of the Deaf, so a strong goal of Deaf advocacy is to preserve ASL. There are many language systems that have been invented to try to help deaf children learn English—Sign Supported Speech, Signed English, and Cued Speech, […]

Deaf Culture Values: Art and Literature

The Deaf highly value the literature and art of their culture. Deaf Culture art and literature is how the Deaf share their values with future generations – their values of sign language and deafness, Deaf education, Deaf experiences, Deaf pride, and more. There is a wealth of Deaf art, poetry, stories, theater, media, and even […]

Start ASL Group Practice Sessions

Start ASL offers Group Practice Sessions hosted by our ASL Instructor for our Online Course students. These topic-based 1-hour sessions will give you the opportunity to practice ASL in a group setting with an ASL instructor. Topics include: Unit Vocabulary, Numbers, Sentence Types, Parameters, Time Signs, (etc.) and will vary each week. All levels are […]

Start ASL Virtual Office Hours

Start ASL offers Virtual Office Hours with our Start ASL Instructor for our Gold level Online Course students. During these meetings, you can discuss challenges you are facing with the Start ASL Courses (discuss unit lessons, questions you may have about ASL or ASL Grammar as well as any other questions you may have regarding […]

Start ASL Private Zoom Social Events

Start ASL offers private Zoom ASL social events for students of our Online Course to practice! These are private ASL social events and are perfect for you to practice ASL and engage with our Start ASL Community! This is not a presentation or tutoring. This is an event where you’ll be socializing with others like […]

#IloveStartASL Contest 2020 – Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Begins at 6:00:00 a.m. Pacific Time (“PT”) on June 26, 2020. Ends at 11:59:00 p.m. PT on July 10, 2020. Entrants must be legal age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence. Internet access required. Void where prohibited by […]

Deaf Classroom Design

by Michelle Waldo | August 28, 2018 When I was in college I spent a semester interning at Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services (D&HHS) in Grand Rapids, MI. One morning during my internship hours, a teacher (or paraprofessional?) walked into the agency with a student who appeared to be around middle school/early high school […]

Gallaudet University

by Madeline Huwaldt | October 3, 2018 Gallaudet University was founded in 1864 and is located in Washington D.C and is a federally chartered private school. Originally Gallaudet was a grammar school for deaf and blind children. Gallaudet was the first official school for deaf and hard of hearing people to get a higher education […]

Fun American Sign Language Games List

We have had some fun experiences with American Sign Language games in the classroom. Here are some of our favorites: Sign Language Telephone Game Remember the game “Telephone” from grade school? Well, with this game, you sign it instead of say it. So, everyone lines up or forms a circle without looking at each other. […]

Children of a Lesser God

Children of a Lesser God is a 1986 film that, we believe, brought Deaf Culture and the values of deaf people into the public spotlight. If you have never seen it, you will be blown away. The movie stars William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, and Philip Bosco. The film was directed by Randa Haines, and […]

Deaf Culture Do’s and Don’ts

Learning the nuances of Deaf Culture can be difficult for new American Sign Language students. Below you can find some tips and insights about interacting in the Deaf community submitted by signers, interpreters, Deaf people, and more! Making the World More Welcoming to the Deaf Community by Danielle Pelletier | 26 January 2021 Since beginning […]

Abbe de L’Epee

Abbe de L’Epee, a French Catholic priest, founded the first social and religious association for deaf people around 1750. L’Epee’s full name was Abbe Charles Michel de L’Epee and he was one of the most important people in the history of sign language. A common story retold throughout the history of sign language claims that […]

History of American Sign Language

The history of American Sign Language didn’t truly begin until 1814 when deaf education was introduced to the United States. There is virtually no information about American Sign Language history before this time. Early in the 1800s, there were only a few thousand deaf Americans. No standard signed language existed at this time, but various […]

Sue Thomas

Sue Thomas was a deaf undercover specialist for the FBI. She was the inspiration for the TV series Sue Thomas: FBEye, an international speaker, author, and founder of Kennels of Levi: EPEC Service Dogs for people who are physically challenged. She was also the founder of WaterBrooks – a Christian spiritual renewal center – and […]

Find an American Sign Language Practice Partner!

Are you learning American Sign Language on your own? Finding an ASL partner with whom to practice your signing skills is an integral part of learning this language. And since ASL is a visual language, face-to-face practice time is crucial to your success. As they say, practice makes perfect! So, if you are learning ASL […]

Deaf Culture Art / Deaf Art

Deaf culture art is a cultural art that reaches both positive and negative ends of the spectrum unlike any other. You can learn so much about the Deaf simply by seeing the artwork that Deaf Culture produces. Deaf people have experienced many negative life changing events throughout history. They’ve been strongly oppressed and labeled as […]

Shoshannah Stern

Shoshannah Stern is a well known deaf actress who is best known for her roles as Bonnie Richmond in Jericho, Holly Brodeen in Threat Matrix, and Megan Graves on Weeds. Shoshannah was born in Walnut Creek, California in 1980 and attended the California School for the Deaf, Fremont growing up. American Sign Language was her […]

I LOVE YOU Sign Language Sign

The Truth Behind the Sign I read something incredibly amusing today about the “I Love You” sign language sign. I read the “article” on a page called Signs of Satan. I am honestly thinking that whoever wrote this did it just for the attention. If that’s the case, I really hate giving them the satisfaction, […]

Switched at Birth – Deaf Culture on Television

Switched at Birth is a television show featured on ABC Family that has truly brought American Sign Language and Deaf Culture into the living rooms of today’s generation. It is the first television show to feature several deaf actors/characters and entire scenes shot using only ASL. Switched at Birth is about two teen girls and […]

An Interview with Jamie Berke

An Interview with the Famous (Now Former) About.com Deafness Guide If you have ever researched deafness, deaf people, or sign language online, you have most likely landed on one of the many Deafness articles by Jamie Berke at About.com. Jamie was the Deafness Guide for About.com from 1997-2012. When I was learning sign language, her […]

Who Invented Sign Language?

The question of who invented sign language has sparked much debate and has a vague answer. If you want to know who invented sign language, you need to analyze the events in Deaf History. Some scientists credit mankind as the inventors of the first sign language. This is probably true. Early man, before spoken language, probably […]

Interpreting Songs for the Deaf

Signing songs for the deaf is a great way for students to learn a LOT of vocabulary and retain that vocabulary for a long time. If you need to interpret a song, I suggest finding a native Deaf signer or ASL interpreter to help out. If that’s not possible, the approach you take to interpret […]

The Best Songs in Sign Language

American Sign Language is a very expressive language. Songs in sign language are therefore equally expressive and many times are more expressive than their purely vocal versions. If you’re interested in learning how to sign songs, visit our Interpreting Songs for the Deaf page. There are so many people that have interpreted songs into ASL […]

American Sign Language

American Sign Language (ASL) is the natural language of around 500,000 deaf people in the US and Canada. A “natural” language is a language that is learned as a first language in childhood. However, not all deaf people learn ASL as their first language. Many use it as their second language and some only use […]

Through Deaf Eyes

Through Deaf Eyes is the most informational movie about Deaf people. Most hearing people are completely clueless when it comes to Deaf people, the Deaf community, and Deaf culture. This film on PBS probably opened thousands of hearing people’s eyes to the intriguing lives of Deaf people. Through Deaf Eyes not only emphasizes how funny, talented, […]

Cochlear Implants – A Cultural Threat

This article discusses a common Deaf cultural view of cochlear implants. Not everyone shares these views and this article is for educational purposes only. The company’s name used throughout the article has been omitted. A cochlear implant is a new mechanism for hearing when a hearing aid is not sufficient. A hearing aid amplifies sound […]

Deaf Olympics “Deaflympics”

The Deaf Olympics, known as the Deaflympics, are international athletic competitions for the deaf. The Deaflympics started in Paris in 1924 and have had three official names: “International Games for the Deaf” from 1924 to 1965 (sometimes also the “International Silent Games”) “World Games for the Deaf” from 1966 to 1999 (sometimes also the “World […]

Deaf Culture Essentials

Learning about Deaf Culture is perhaps the most important part of learning ASL. Deaf Culture was first truly recognized in 1965. The idea that Deaf people had a culture of their own was first written in the Dictionary of American Sign Language by William Stokoe, Carl Croneberg, and Dorothy Casterline. This was a huge step […]