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history of american sign language title
Deaf History
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

Bob Hiltermann

by Anonymous | March 2, 2013 Bob Hiltermann is a well known Deaf actor and is known for: Founder of Deaf West Theater (Fountain Theater) in North Hollywood California. All

Deaf Accessibility
Starbucks Becomes Inclusive of the Deaf Community

by Madisen Fritz | 24 September 2021 Ordering a simple cup of coffee or specialty java drink is, for most Americans, is a normal part of their mundane morning routine,

Deaf Culture
Deaf People and Music

by Madelynn Willingham | 7 October 2021 For our last research paper of this class, I decided to investigate how the D/deaf experience music. When people experience music, they typically

About ASL
History of American Sign Language

by Faith Ekart | 29 September 21 Sign language has been around for a really long time. People don’t know exactly when it started, but people have been using types

Deaf Accessibility
Two Technologies to Help the Hearing Impaired

by Lakin Getz | 29 September 2021 Many technological advances have been made throughout the history of deafness. This technology can help everyday life, specific activities, and interpreting. Two new

Thomas Alva Edison

by Kamalakannan (India) Another famous deaf person is Thomas Alva Edison who was born on February 11, 1847. He was an American scientist, inventor, and businessman. However, many people don’t

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

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

Anne Sullivan

Anne Sullivan is one of the most well-known teachers in history. She is best known for being the teacher of Helen Keller and the subject of movies such as The Miracle

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

Deaf Culture
The Deaf Inclusion in Sports

By Chloe Colvard | 6 January 2021 In recent years there have been big changes in the sports world to try to include all athletes into sports programs. Inclusivity is

Deaf Culture
The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf

by Anonymous | 2 January 2021 The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf (CCSD) is an organization, almost 50 years old, that preserves Canadian Deaf culture and art (in text

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

William Stokoe

William Stokoe – or William C. Stokoe Jr. – changed the course of American Sign Language history. Before Stokoe, ASL was not seen as a real language. It was seen

Laurent Clerc

Laurent Clerc played a significant part in the history of American Sign Language and was the first deaf teacher of the deaf in America. He was also among the first

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Ludwig Van Beethoven was completely deaf for the last part of his life and yet managed to produce some of the greatest music of all time. Beethoven Articles by Students

LeRoy Colombo – Famous Deaf Lifeguard

LeRoy Colombo was a famous deaf lifeguard entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for saving 907 lives. Leroy Colombo Articles by Students LeRoy Colombo by Leah Ward (Williamsburg,

Sean Berdy

Sean Berdy is a deaf actor, comedian and dancer. He was in Sandlot 2, Legend of the Mountain Man, The Deaf Family, and is best known for his role as

Julia Brace

Julia Brace was a deaf-blind girl who was born before both Laura Bridgman and Helen Keller. She was successfully educated, but lost the credit as the first to Helen Keller.

Deaf President Now (DPN)

A big event that occurred in Deaf history was the Deaf President Now (DPN) movement. DPN was a huge protest at Gallaudet University that started in March of 1988. The

Laura Bridgman – The First Helen Keller

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

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet

Dr. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet is probably the most influential person in the history of American Sign Language. Gallaudet, along with Laurent Clerc, was responsible for starting the first free public

Edward Miner Gallaudet

When Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet died in 1851, his youngest son Edward Miner Gallaudet continued his legacy in deaf education, played a big part in the history of American Sign Language, and

George William Veditz

George Veditz was a former president of the National Association of the Deaf of the United States and was one of the first to film American Sign Language. George William

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

Geronimo Cardano

Geronimo Cardano played a significant role in the history of sign language–particularly in the history of deaf education. Cardano was an Italian mathematician and physician. He discovered in the 1500s

Linda Bove – “Linda the Librarian”

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.

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

Marie Heurtin – the French Helen Keller

by Alyssa Weeks | November 14, 2017 My favorite person in deaf history is Marie Heurtin. You might know her as the French Hellen Keller but to many she is

Marlee Matlin – Deaf Academy Award Winner

Marlee Matlin was born in Morton Grove, Illinois on August 24th, 1965. After she came down with the German Measles at the age of eighteen months, she lost her hearing

Regina Olson Hughes

by Cynthia Brainerd | February 27, 2017 Regina Olson Hughes (1895-1993) became fully deaf at the age of 14, due to the effects of scarlet fever. She could still speak

Teresa de Cartagena

by Jack | April 7, 2017 Teresa de Cartagena was a nun in 15th Century Spain. She is remarkable for being Spain’s first feminist writer as well as for being

Ferdinand Berthier

by Catherine Ritchie | July 22, 2017 The Deaf community has a rich culture with many prominent figures in its history. Some whose names are fairly well known such as

Dr. Candace McCullough

by Anne (Richmond, VA) Dr. Candace McCullough is the first Deaf psychologist to set up a counseling business. She makes counseling services accessible to Deaf people all over the states. Dr.

Nanette Fabray

by Nanette Kaufmann (Kissimmee, Florida) Award winning actress and advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities. Her honors representing the handicapped are many, including the President’s Distinguished Service-vice Award

Gertrude Ederle

by Natalie Picone | August 27, 2016 In 1926 at the age of 19, Gertrude Ederle was the first woman to swim across the English Channel.  Twenty-one miles from Dover,

Kevin Lucas Smire

by David Cooper | October 13, 2016 The deaf person wrote about was Kevin Lucas Smire who was also known as “Deaf Kev.” He was born on October 28, 1996

Pedro Ponce de Leon

by Marcus McNeal | November 29, 2016 “Everybody has to start somewhere. You have your whole future ahead of you. Perfection doesn’t happen right away.” (Haruki Murakami, 2006). The quote

Louise Fletcher

by Lisa | February 3, 2016 I’m going to talk about someone here who first opened my eyes to sign language, and that is the actress Louise Fletcher. Louise Fletcher

David Michalowski

by Anonymous David Michalowski, profoundly deaf since birth, grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He competed at the United States Figure Skating National Championships from 1978 until 1982, including the 1980

Joseph Henry Sharp

by Kristyn Murray (Houston, Texas) Joseph Henry Sharp was one of the founding members of the Taos Society of Artists, a group that produced some of the most significant artwork

Learning Beyond The Sign

by Janeel Hew (Hawaii) | June 18, 2010 Understanding the past, helps us to embrace the present. Finally an online class, that teaches you that learning ASL means more than

Lou Ferrigno

by Hannah (Indiana) Lou has been an inspiration to many deaf, he played the Hulk in the original series, he also appeared in “I love you, Man” and appeared as

Granville Redmond

by Grace (Canada) My favorite deaf historical figure is Granville Redmond. His struggle to be accepted by the common man is fairly touching, and his paintings are simply out of

Robert Hoskin

by Joseph Heenan (Frankston, Australia) | March 8, 2013 The 48 year old Australian named Robert Hoskin is a well-known deaf filmmaker who has won several film awards from his

Rodger Young

by Anonymous Rodger Young was a deaf man who faked his Army hearing test in World War II. He won a Posthumous Medal of Honor in the Soloman Islands. Rodger

Joel Barish – Contemporary Deaf Performer

by Sara Huang (Taipei, Taiwan) | March 12, 2013 I have read a lot about the oppression of the Deaf, but I really appreciate people who have embraced Deaf culture

Matt and Kay Daigle | That Deaf Guy

by Karri Kimery | August 18, 2016 As I was reading about people in the deaf community, I came across Matt and Kay Daigle.  These two met in 1993, at

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

history of sign language title
Deaf History
History of Sign Language – Deaf History

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

Andrew Foster

Andrew Foster is a very important person in Deaf history. He was the first African American Deaf person to earn a Bachelor’s Degree from Gallaudet University and is known as

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

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,

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

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

Braam Jordaan

by Anonymous (03/25/2020) Braam Jordaan was born in Benoni, South Africa in 1981. He was born “profoundly deaf to deaf parents”. Jordaan and his family moved to Cape Town, South

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

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.

Law and the Deaf

By Janet Alberts | 16 November 2020 Every Deaf and hard of hearing individual has the right to communication access. These rights, as well as other laws are protected by

Texas School for the Deaf

Isabella Rogers | 30 November 2020 Although many would disregard the disabled, The Texas School for the Deaf is considered the pride of Texas because it accomplished so much independently

Impact of Masks on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

by Jonathan McGee (10/29/2020) The world wide pandemic has caused many inconveniences for the general public. Shops are closed, plans were cancelled, “regular life” has been interrupted, but in all

Poetry in the Deaf Community

by Emma Pellegrini | 16 November 2020 It is often noted, and quite strongly from a multitude of personal experiences, that words have power. A power that is stronger than

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