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 […]
by Lisa Baker (05/27/2020) Literature and the Arts is an incredibly important outlet within the deaf community. It is one of the four crucial values of Deaf Culture, as it provides a sense of pride in one’s culture, especially for those deaf or hard-of-hearing who may have strong feelings about their hearing loss (Jay, 44). […]
by Lisa Baker (03/11/2020) It is widely believed in the Deaf community that deaf children should have access to American Sign Language, Deaf role models, and one-on-one interactions with teachers and peers, both hearing and deaf (Jay, p. 56). Some might say that the easiest way to access all of these needs would be through […]
by Anonymous | 03 June 2020 For many humans all over the world, our names are one of the first things we receive that differentiates us from everyone else. Names can signify many things about a certain individual, such as their culture or the culture of their parents (Evans). For instance, the name “Antoinette” could signify […]
by Amanda Rolfe | January 13, 2020 American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters facilitate communication between people who are deaf or hard of hearing and people who can hear. Sign language interpreters must be fluent in English and in ASL, which combines signing, fingerspelling and specific body language. ASL is a separate language from English and […]
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 […]
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 […]
by Caitlin Epstein (09/10/2020) In 2018, model, actor, and Deaf activist Nyle DiMarco answered the question “how do deaf people go to the movies?” DiMarco became a well-known public figure after participating in and winning the 22nd cycle of the show America’s Next Top Model, and he has since gone on to compete on Dancing […]
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 […]
by Anonymous (09/04/2020) In the United States, as of 2006, about 1 in 20 people is considered deaf or hard of hearing (1), however its uncommon to encounter deaf students in most colleges and universities. Around 1.3% of enrolled college students are deaf, and are more likely to enroll in Associates programs, community colleges, and […]
by J. Conor Crockett | September 2, 2020 The Daily Bruin published a news article written by Noah Danesh on August 3, 2020 titled: “A Glove Developed by UCLA Researchers That Can Translate ASL into Speech”. Engineers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) designed an electronic glove that could convert American Sign Language […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 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 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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
We all know Alexander Graham Bell (known as AGB in the Deaf community) as the inventor of the telephone. That makes him a good guy, right? Creating a way for man to effectively communicate across long distances? Not so much. Bell was an innovator and educator. However, he was also an oppressor, and this side […]
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 […]
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 […]
Juliette Gordon Low was a deaf woman who was best known for being the founder of the Girl Scouts organization. Juliette Gordon Low Articles by Students Who is your favorite person from deaf history? Juliette Gordon Low, a Hero to All People by Jodi J (Parsons, KS, USA) | January 24, 2013 Perhaps no greater tribute […]
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 […]
Laura Bridgman was the first deaf-blind person to learn language. When you think about the first deaf-blind child to be educated, you will most likely think of Helen Keller. In reality, though, Helen’s frustrated teacher was not the first to attempt this type of education. She was born on December 21, 1829 in Hanover, New […]
Helen Keller is an internationally acclaimed author and lecturer. And that is so amazing because she was deaf and blind. When I was in elementary school, we learned all about Helen Keller. I completed a report on her and dressed up as Anne Sullivan in the fourth grade. Helen is the most famous deaf-blind person […]
Linda Bove was born on November 30, 1945 in Garfield, New Jersey to deaf parents. She majored in library science at Gallaudet University and received her bachelor’s degree in 1968. She then got into the acting profession and performed for the National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) recently after it was formed in 1967. In […]
Dummy Hoy made history as the first deaf major league baseball player. He’s also not famous just because he was deaf; he was also a remarkably talented and skilled baseball player. Dummy was anything but dumb. Baseball is known as America’s sport, and Hoy had a lot to do with what happens in baseball today. […]
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 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 […]
Truly Inspirational There have been several famous deaf actors in the media that have made significant contributions to the deaf community and hearing society. If not for them and their influence in mainstream entertainment, deaf awareness may not be where it is today. These famous deaf people changed the Deaf world by showing hearing society […]
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 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 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 […]
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 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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Stockard Channing is a film, stage, and television actress who narrated the film Through Deaf Eyes. She is best known for her role as First Lady Abbey Bartlet on The West Wing, Betty Rizzo in the film Grease, and in Six Degrees of Separation. She was born on February 13, 1944 and is the daughter […]
When you are 9 years old, you don’t think about making history. Alice Cogswell made history at the age of 9 by sparking the beginning of the creation of American Sign Language and American deaf education. Alice is known as the young deaf girl who inspired Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet–the man who began the education of […]
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 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, […]
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 […]
When you are learning American Sign Language, it is important to get involved with the Deaf community. Many believe that learning ASL within the Deaf community is the only true way to become fluent in the language. But first, it is important to understand that the Deaf community is just one part of the Deaf […]
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 Smith is famous for the important role he played in the Texas Revolution. Erastus “Deaf” Smith was born April 19, 1787 in Dutchess County, New York and lost most of his hearing due to a childhood illness. Smith first moved to Texas in 1821 where he married a Hispanic-Texan (Tejana) named Guadalupe Ruiz Duran. […]
Deanne Bray is a well known deaf actress who was probably the first deaf person Hollywood created an entire television show around. She is best known for playing Sue Thomas on Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye that aired on the PAX channel for 3 seasons. She competed with both hearing and deaf actresses for the lead role, […]
If you have ever wanted to read the true thoughts of a Deaf person who is a strong advocate for Deaf culture and is a proponent of the Deaf community, follow the blogs of Dianrez. When I was learning sign language and entering into the community of the Deaf, her blogs gave me true insight […]
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 […]
The events that occurred in the history of sign language are actually pretty shocking. How deaf people experience life today is directly related to how they were treated in the past. It wasn’t long ago when the deaf were harshly oppressed and denied even their fundamental rights. The are many famous deaf people who have […]
