Hello everyone and welcome back. For those of you that do not know, this will be my last Ning Journal enter as I will be graduating from the University of Richmond on May 9^th! After graduation, I will be working as a dermatology medical assistant in Alexandria, Virginia, after a year of which I will be applying to PA school. However, I still plan on continuing my ASL! Once COVID-19 has abated, I plan to involve myself in the Galladete Community and volunteer within the Deaf Community. Until then, I will continue my education by chatting with Reba weekly as a friend and teacher.

To provide a brief update, Reba and I have continued to meet twice a week. We are making our way through Barron’s “American Sign Language A Comprehensive Guide to ASL 1 and 2 by David A. Steward and Jennifer Stewart and things are going strong. I am are continuing to expand my vocabulary and with each new word learned, Reba and I generate example sentences. Most recently, we have been creating stories or reciting children’s books through ASL for greater translation and understanding practice. Last week, I had chosen to retell “The Story of Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf, while Reba recited the story of the Three Little Pigs. This has been an extremely helpful exercise as it requires me to incorporate multiple objects and conversations between characters in the story. I believe one of the hardest parts of ASL at this time is establishing different objects/characters signing space and explaining a conversation between two people that are not myself. This is because I have to set specific characters in locations and with personalities within my signing space, something that I have not really had to do before. Additionally, I have to maintain and emphasize my facial expressions while trying to set up the story and its characters.

Regardless, it feels like yesterday that I started taking ASL. I remember when I first joined the Self-Directed Language Program for ASL, I had a lot of trouble finding a time to meet with and communicating with Reba - so much so that I almost decided to drop the program. However, I am forever grateful that I did not as I now have a wonderful friend and mentor. The time has flown by, but as I review what I have learned and through my lessons with Reba, it becomes apparent that I lived and learned through this seemingly and undeniably fast time.

I am forever grateful for the SDLP and hope that all my readers know the program as much as I have. Also, I am so happy to announce that the University of Richmond is offering ASL as a course under the Linguistics classes. Although the course does not fulfill the general education requirement for language, I am beyond happy that the University allowed for the addition of this course. It will increase the University of Richmond students' understanding of the deaf community and, hopefully, if the program gains traction, could eventually be considered a qualification for the Gen-ed.

Once again, thank you to the SDLP for all the time and effort that you have given me. Michael, you are a wonderful teacher and have been incredibly patient and helpful throughout my time here. Thank you so so so much for the work you do. 

Have a great life everyone!

Throughout my ASL learning journey, I have often thought about the role deaf individuals play in society. Do most deaf or hard of hearing individuals stay within like communities? Do they join hearing communities and find ways to communicate? What jobs are accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing? The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability, meaning that being deaf is not fair or just cause for discrimination.

However, through education and social norms/structure, I believe people can feel discouraged pursuing specific passions and goals. Either the information is not easily accessible, the journey is too long, or too many obstacles are in place. This applies not just in the deaf community, but throughout all individuals, but in today's discussion, we are referring specifically to death.

My lessons and past research has taught me ASL is a developing language that changes rapidly. New signs are created all the time to keep up with the modern English terminology. Additionally, not all ASL is consistent. Some areas have their own ASL vernacular. Some races have different signs as well (such as Black ASL which originated during segregation in America). However, because of the fluidity and diversity of ASL, there has been a decrease in the development of standardization of ASL signs in specific fields, specifically within STEM.

When a specific word does not have an established sign, translators and sign language users will spell out the word. However, in the STEM field, words such as bioluminescence and glycoprotein, are often long and require increased thought when spelling. Thus the sign for glycoprotein would translate to the spelling -"G-L-Y-O-P-R-O-T-E-I-N."  Now imagine going to a one-hour lecture where large scientific words are used and you have to follow the spelling of these large words in order to properly understand the specific subject. It would be immensely difficult.

So, I began to inquire and research on any standardized development for STEMbased science terms, and here is what I have found. There are several projects out there, such as ASLCORE and ASL Clear, that are aiming to create new ASL signs for the STEM disciplines. ASLCORE is a more user-friendly site with terminology in subject areas including biology, organic chemistry, philosophy, architecture, and even literature! Each one of these subjects then has subdisciplines for terminology on specific areas. For example, under the biology subject, there is specific terminology that has been established to describe the enzymes and processes involved in DNA replication.

Because signs like these are so specific and not used by the general deaf society, many subject-specific terms do not have established signs. I wonder how much of a deterrent this obstacle is for deaf students interested in STEM. If this type of language was incorporated into deaf high schools, would there be a greater amount of deaf works in the STEM field. Although many, including myself, do not see deafness as a disability, being deaf in a hearing world does instill obstacles that may be extremely hard to overcome. I hope that with the development of STEM ASL signs, greater diversity and understanding about the deaf community is brought to the STEM field.

https://www.theverge.com/science/2018/12/11/18133033/science-asl-american-sign-language-jargon-communication

https://www.tlcdeaf.org/services/consultation-research-training

https://aslcore.org/

Hello everyone and welcome back. The month of March has flown on by and we just have a little over one month until my last, official ASL class at the University of Richmond!

       Nevertheless, my ASL classes during March have been spectacular. Reba and I are meeting one on one, twice a week. Although I enjoyed having additional students in the class, the individual one-on-one sessions have been much more helpful as the teaching is targeted to my own ASL level, and Reba and I have direct communication with each other for the full hour.

       Our primary focus has been reviewing and practicing the material from the red ASL book, “. This book has been extremely helpful as it goes into greater depth in regards to ASL grammar and sentence structure. Oftentimes, Reba and I will begin a conversation following an example sentence from the book. However, the two of us will then elaborate on the story. I think this method to be great practice as it allows us to imagine likely scenarios and practice how to communicate in said situations. For example, Reba and I had a conversation the other day that involved me having to justify why and that I did not steal a cookie from her. In such conversations, I also notice that my ASL speed has increased and I do not have to think as deeply about what sign is what.

       Another key skill the two of us have been focusing on is the use of facial expressions. I have talked about the importance of facial expressions in ASL in the past, but I do not feel as though it was until recently that I started really getting the hang of facial expression incorporation. When I first began ASL, and throughout my first few semesters of ASL, I would often forget to incorporate facial expressions since I was heavily focused on remembering which signs to use and the order to place them in. Since my vocabulary and sentence structure have begun to improve, I am gaining a greater ability to sign with my face while still being able to sign ASL.

       One aspect I am still struggling with within ASL is finger dexterity, flexibility, and mobility. Many of the signs that involve specific finger manipulation leave my hands feeling tired, sore, and uncomfortable. I have never played an instrument, and besides typing, I have little experience using my fingers for fine motor skill activities. Although, now, ASL seems to be a chance to improve such dexterity, especially when signing numbers. Depending on the shape, arc, and position of the hand, numbers change between single, double, and triple digits. It can be frustrating seeing as how something so “simple” as numbers could prove to be one of the most difficult aspects of ASL thus far.

       In terms of topics, Reba and I are primarily just working on strengthening the vocabulary I do have and relay focusing on improving my ASL sentence structure. I would rather fix my grammar and sentence structure now and then learn additional terminology later than vice versa.

Gallaudet University is a federally chartered private university that is located in Washington, D.C. The university has provided higher education for the deaf and hard of hearing since 1864, and was originally a grammar school for both blind and deaf children. It was the first advanced educational institution for the deaf and hard of hearing in the entire world!

Because of the nature of the institution, one might think that the President of the university would be representative of the student population. By this I mean the president of a deaf school should be deaf, or hard of hearing, as the President should be a manifestation of the school itself. However, the University has had seven presidents since its foundation that have all been hearing. It was only in 1988, that the first Deaf president was selected by the and his name was I. King Jordan Jr. This decision, although, was not originally done by choice. Before Jordan's selection, the University’s Board of trustees had announced that the next president would also be hearing, despite advocation for a deaf person to be named president by students, facility, alumni, and members of the deaf community at large. In response to the Boards selection of a hearing candidate, Elisabeth A. Zinser, students, faculty, and staff shut down the campus. The students presented the Board of Trustees with four demands before the campus would resume.

1. "Elisabeth Zinser must resign and a deaf person elected president;
2. Jane Spilman must step down as chairperson of the Board of Trustees;
3. Deaf people must constitute a 51% majority on the Board; and
4. There would no reprisals against any student or employee involved in the protest."

The protest lasted a week, and after, Jordan was selected as the eighth president.

Since Gallaudet has made a greater effort to selected presidential candidates that are representative of the university. However, immediately after Jordan's presidency, another hearing individual was selected for the role, Robert Davila. He served as president from 2006 through 2009.  The following presidents, T. Alan Hurrwitz (2010-2015) and Roberta Cordano (2016-Present) are both deaf. Additionally, Cordano identifies as female and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to be installed into the position.

I write about Gallaudet University because I am pleased to announce I have received a position as a medical assistant with a large dermatology clinic located in Alexandria, Virginia called Capital Dermatology. Being so close to Washington D.C., I plan to continue my ASL education through Gallaudet and will talk about the application process below.

I will most likely apply as a non-degree student as I have a full-time job and not be able to take a full course load. Regardless, the application requirements are as followed. Applications are $50 and include one written essay, a video essay in ASL if the student is hearing, one letter of recommendation from an academic teacher, an interview, and a letter of verification from the college/university the prospective student is enrolled at. Gallaudet also offers course options for exchange students, online special students, visiting students, and graduate programs.

https://www.gallaudet.edu/undergraduate-admissions/im-ready-to-apply/visiting-or-non-degree-students#visiting

https://www.gallaudet.edu/about/history-and-traditions/deaf-president-now/the-issues/history-behind-dpn

Over this past weekend, I received a call from my mother at around 11:00 at night. Due to the unusual lateness of the call, I immediately answered the phone in preparation for unfortunate news. To my surprise, the call was not negative in any manner, but rather, my mom had just finished a 2-hour  movie, “The Sound of Metal”, and she needed to provide me with a raving review as the movie involved American Sign Language (ASL).

After watching a short trailer for the movie, I decided to watch it the following day, and it was one of the best movies I have watched for a very long time. The following description will be a discussion of the movie’s summary to show the complexity of production however, as a disclaimer, there will be some “spoilers” in this synopsis.

The movie follows a  male ex-addict, drummer named Ruben (played by Riz Ahmed) who plays in a rock band with his girlfriend, Lou (played by Olivia Cooke). As the movie begins, you see the love the couple has for their music and lifestyle together and the passion Ruben has for playing the drums. However, Ruben's hearing begins to quickly deteriorate during the film, sending him into a mental spiral that urges him to become a drug user again, despite being four years clean. To prevent that from happening, Lou finds and sends Ruben to a support group in a deaf community specifically for deaf addicts. Throughout the movie, you see Rubin’s struggle to adjust to a non-hearing world as he learns to communicate through a different modality. You see the pain he feels from the loss of his hearing, but you also begin to see the joy Ruben finds in the deaf community, and more importantly, in the silence of it all. Ruben eventually earns enough money to receive cochlear implants; however, it is apparent he is disappointed in the results of the procedure as his hearing is not the same as it was before. Eventually, Rubin learns to find peace with the silence and even comes to treasure it.

The reason why Ruben losses his hearing isn't fully determined, but his hearing becomes almost entirely lost, and the producers of the movie exhibit such a loss by diminishing the movie's sound, thus stimulating the auditory experience of losing one’s hearing. Additionally, in an interview with Ahmed, it was revealed that the actor had a device placed in his ear that would imitate white noise to prevent his own hearing from working. I thought this component of the film was so exquisite as it makes the audience question their own hearing and forces the audience to let go of this seemingly indestructible sense.

When Ruben moves into the support house, ASL is seemingly introduced into the film. As he adapts to his new lifestyle, ASL surrounds him at the dinner table, addiction meetings, ASL classes, and as he develops new friendships throughout the community. What I believe to be even more spectacular is that script for these sections was written by members of the deaf community.  The producer claimed that ASL was not a language he knew, so he had no right to impersonate the language, thus giving free design to those writers in the deaf community.

I also loved that the movie portrayed deaf users, not as handicapped individuals, but rather fully autonomous individuals. The audience gains a sense of the connectedness of a deaf community and the audience sees how a deaf community actually is.  Before this movie, I had only heard of deaf communities, but I had trouble envisioning what they actually looked like. How do people interact? What are the schools like? Is there a deaf grocery store? This movie provides insight into how deaf people go about their lives.

The movie makes me think of my journey with sound and how much I use on my ability to perceive vibrations. I do not just use hearing though, I rely on it. From my class lectures to the music I dance to, the audiobooks that keep me grounded, I rely on my hearing for so much. This movie makes me question how my life would change if I lost this incredible sense.

As you might be able to tell, I thought the movie was incredibly well done both from an acting and producing side, and would highly recommend it.

Hello everyone and welcome back. The school year has finally solidified, and schedules have been set. I have continued to work on my ASL education, and every week I can feel my understanding of the language expanding.

Over the past month, I have been working with Reba individually on Friday mornings and, on Tuesday evenings, Reba, Susmita Nibras, and I all meet together. Because I have taken ASL for several semesters now, much of the information that is covered is a review and not entirely challenging. For example, last week we reviewed colors and question words. Although I appreciate the review, this aspect of the Tuesday meetings can feel frustrating as the difference in our ASL comprehension is very clear, and sometimes, it feels as though my ASL education has slowed down. However, this past year has taught me even though the situation may not always be the greatest, one can often find what they are looking for if the perspective is changed. As such, I have changed my perspective to one that looks at this as an opportunity to act as a translator. I have acted as a translator in the past from time to time, but never really constantly. This requires me to clearly articulate the information Reba is conveying to the other students and from the students to Reba at a fast rate. I find that my ASL grammar is still not as strong as I would hope, but during my  Friday sessions with Reba, we often work on grammar and more complex aspects of the language. I then try and use what I have learned from these Friday sessions in my Tuesday sections. Additionally, within the past week, Kaye has begun joining our Tuesday zoom sessions. Acting as a translator was great practice for my ASL, but I feel as though I could not effectively communicate Reba’s instructions and the student’s questions as well as Kaye's. Her presence has decreased the amount of stress placed on me during those Tuesday classes, and for that, I am thankful. Additionally, as Kaye translates for Reba and the other students, I am continuing to improve my vocabulary! If there is a sign I do not recognize Reba using, I can often determine the sign’s meaning as Kaye will verbalize the sentence. Whichever aspect of Reba’s signing I do not understand is then inferred to be the novel word.

I do feel that it is important to discuss some of the issues that have been occurring with the class and meeting. At the start of the month, when all the students and Reba joined together on the zoom, we experienced many technological issues. One of the biggest issues was that Reba was unable to access the “Gallery” view on zoom that allowed her to see all the students at once. In response, she could not get a visual of all the students and their signs. This proved to be extremely challenging as I tried to help her navigate the software, but doing so in another language was extremely difficult. Thankfully, Mary was able to visit Reba one day and guide her through how to operate the program appropriately. Since then, communication during lessons has improved! However, another problem that we had to face was the effects of icy and snowy weather. These conditions resulted in a decrease in internet speed, or even in some cases, the entire rescheduling of lessons due to the loss of power. Sign language is such an interactive and personal language, and the effects of COVID-19 and weather have a clear impact on the ability to learn the language. But, we have to pursue and adapt! So, that is was we did! I am hopeful that most technical issues have been solved and to continue my education in ASL.

February 6^th, 2021

On Wednesday, January 20^th, at 12:00 P.M. our country of the United States of America experienced a monumental shift in leadership. As many American’s know, that day was the day of Joe Biden’s inauguration. It was the day he was sworn in as the 46^th president of the United States. Not only was Biden’s induction as president the mark of a new beginning, but it marked the end of the hateful and dividing presidency of Donald Trump. That day was the day democracy prevailed. It was the day of firsts and a day that signified a united future as Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman, first African American, and first South Asian American to hold the title. It was the first time the “Pledge of Allegiance” was spoken and signed using ASL at the presidential inauguration. It is this event, that I will be discussing today.

       The individual who recited the “Pledge of Allegiance” was Andrea M Hall, the first black woman to become a Fire Captain in the City of South Fulton Fire-Rescue Department, in Georgia. She is also the president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 3920, an association that had endorsed Biden in his early stages of the presidential companion. As such, the Biden inaugural committee reached out to her to see if she wanted to participate in the inauguration on behalf of the firefighters, which she agreed to do. Following the stunning performance of the National anthem by Lady Gaga, Hall approached the podium and recited the pledge while also signing it were her hands. A link to this video is below.  

Let us discuss a bit more about Andrea Hall. Why does she know ASL? Why did she use ASL during the inauguration? Well, Hall identifies herself as a CODA, an acronym that is equivalent to  “Child of Deaf adults/parents”. (Side note: In comparisons, if a deaf child is born to deaf parents, the term is “DODA” ). Her father, Russell “Bubba” William’s was born hearing but soon was plagued with an illness that took his hearing away. As a result, Williams went to Georgia school for the deaf starting at 6-yers-old where he began to learn Black American sign language. During his time at GSD, segregation between white and black schooling was still present. Much like hearing white and hearing black schools, the white school received better funding and greater opportunities for the students. The white students went on field trips, had sports teams, and received better supplies than their black counterparts.

When watching an interview regarding the segregation of GSD through the Deaf Moth and an interview with Hall herself, on Sign1News, I learned that ASL was distinctly broken into two languages during segregation– Black and White ASL. I had heard about the difference in signs between communities and I am aware that ASL has grown and evolved with time; however, It never crossed my mind that during segregation in America, there would be two languages of ASL based solely on race and not location.

Furthermore, drawing back to Hall’s speech, she used ASL at the inauguration speech because she has felt the deaf community has always been supportive of her. She wanted deaf people to feel as though they were part of this new, unified America. She hoped to make the deaf community, family, and friends proud.

https://www.wfaa.com/video/news/nation-world/video-pledge-of-allegiance-sign-language-fire-captain-inauguration/287-00dc613b-96a7-4441-96e4-2e8ba48a0b94

https://www.facebook.com/sign1news/posts/1143118802825102

https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/captain-andrea-m-hall-a-coda

S

January 31^st, 2021

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen!

It has been some time since I have posted on the Ning, and I apricate your patience. My final semester at University has begun, and we are approaching the end of the third week.  Additionally, I apologize for the delay of this journal as I meant to post on January 31^st, but due to a combination of medical and scheduling issues, my sessions with Reba did not begin until yesterday. Nonetheless, I have exciting news! Two new students have signed up for the SDLP’s ASL program. Yesterday, during our first meeting with Reba, I helped translate the ASL alphabet as well as some elementary-level signs including “baby”, “tree”, “sad”, “happy” etc. Although I have only completed two semesters worth of ASL, I am faced with my progress and development of the language head-on when I act as a translator. As I see myself two semesters ago where the students I translate for, I feel a sense of accomplishment for my devotion to the langue and excitement to continue my journey with it.

       This brings us to the current semester and what I hope to achieve. In the past, Reba and I have focused on the building of vocabulary and terminology in ASL. As time has progressed and I can form complete sentences, thoughts, and maintain a conversation, I hope to improve my speed of signing as well as my understanding of ASL grammar. I hope to not fall into the habit of translating ASL directly from English sentence order, thus, I am trying to solidify a foundation of proper ASL grammar from this point on, so that as my language abilities grow, my fluency of the grammar grows in conjunction. To enhance such a goal, Reba has provided me with a new textbook, Barron’s “American Sign Language A Comprehensive Guide to ASL 1 and 2 by David A. Steward and Jennifer Stewart. Since receiving the book, I have made it a goal to read at least 25 pages of the book a day and practice whatever exercises are in it. So far, this has been the most helpful book in addressing questions regarding the language, offering advice towards classifiers, grammar, directional verbs, role-shifting, and more! I am excited to continue working through the book and am beyond grateful to have Reba guide me through the more challenging chapters.

       An additional form of learning that I have picked up is the watching of The Deaf Moth. This is a youtube channel with the Deaf host, Alex Abenchuchan, which covers trending stories and Deaf topics with a twist of humor and Deaf culture (www.dailymoth.com). Each video is fairly short, around 5 minutes, but it offers me the opportunity to practice interpreting from another ASL user, learning new vocabulary, insight on global news, and gain a sense of how the deaf community reacts to the hearing world. Often, I will watch the videos at reduced speed to discover the meaning of every sign, thus converting the 5-minute video into a 15-minute exercise. I figured this could be a helpful way to practice my skills, especially because with many auditory languages, one could practice their language skills by listing to music, reading books, or watching movies in said langue. With the limited amount of Deaf friendly entertainment, I must utilize what is out there to ensure my own success.

Welcome back to all of my devoted followers! I hope everyone had a spooky, socially-distanced, safe Halloween and are ready for the upcoming chilly turkey season! Reba and I have continued to learn American Sign Language using zoom, and things are going very smoothly. Reba has recently gotten much better about her usage of technology, from what source or how I am unsure. Regardless, I am extremely thankful as now I do not have any difficulty seeing her hands when she sings, she is in proper lighting, and the communication as a whole is much easier. Our lessons are going extremely well. For the past few sessions, we have been tackling the task of numbers. Although I understand the numbers 1-1,000,000,000, the usage of number signs differs when referring to numbers in different contexts. What I mean by this is that the sign for 10 minutes is different than just the sign for ten and sign for a minute. There is a slight alteration between the two signs and meanings and because the alteration is so subtle, it is often hard to remember and keep track of the proper sign usage. Other forms of time are also difficult including precise measurement of time, hours, minutes, months, days, weeks, and seconds. Additionally, numbers in the context of money are also difficult as the sign of money needs to be incorporated into such contexts. It is a bit discouraging to have difficulty with something that seems so simple in my own language but then is so difficult in another language. I understand that the languages are different, but numbers and math are usually considered universal and as such, it is frustrating to have problems learning about something that seems so “simple” but “essential” in a different language.

       We do not have much time left in the semester, and as I look back to August, I think about all I have accomplished. My vocabulary has definitely expanded to include words that are much more sophisticated and my ability to read others when they sign has increased drastically. My signing is much better than before, as expected, but I still wish to become faster and more accurate with my signing skills. I feel confident enough in my abilities to be able to converse at a basic level of sign and offer my opinion in the simplest of terms across many subjects. I still would like to learn more medical terminology, but I have an additional semester with Reba and I still want to emphasize my understandings of the basics and foundation. It is crazy to think about how close to graduation I am as it feels like I just started university yesterday. It also makes me think about how will I continue my ASL journey in the future. Honestly, I don’t know. It will depend on where I am and what I am doing, but I would like to continue doing classes of some sort. That I know.

In my personal experience, one of the most renowned deaf individuals in history is Helen Adams Keller. She was born on June 27, 1880, to Arthur H. Keller, a retired Confederate Army captain, farmer, and local newspaper editor, and Katherine Adams Keller, a young educated woman from Memphis. Helen was the older of two daughters and in February 1882, just before her second birthday, Helen succumbed to an undetermined disease – possibly scarlet fever or meningitis- that stole her hearing, as well as her sight. Because she lost these two major senses at such a young age, Helen never learned to speak, thus she communicated with her family members through the physical touch of facial expressions! Additionally, due to her “disability”, she was not offered a formal education until the age of seven. It was at this point that Katherine knew of her daughter's intelligence, despite her lack of vision and hearing, and she demanded her daughter's education at which point Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, was contacted by the Keller family in the summer of 1886. The famous inventor suggested contacting the director of Perkins Institution for the Blind, Michael Anagnos, to request a teacher for Helen.

       Anne Mansfield Sullivan, Anagnos’ star pupil and valedictorian, became Helen’s manual sign langue instructor on March 3^rd of 1887. Because Helen could not hear, nor see, Sullivan had to be creative to teach Helen manual sign language. Her method, although originally met with resistance, was to teach Helen the alphabet and then spell out words as Helen encountered them. This was a technique developed by Samuel Gridley Howe, Perkin’s first director. For instance, on April 5^th,1887, there was a breakthrough moment in which Helen discovered that “ everything had a name” during which one of Helen’s hands was being exposed to water while Sullivan spelled W-A-T-E-R on the other hand!  Below is Hellen’s reflection of the experience:

“Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something is forgotten—a thrill of returning thought, and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! …Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought. As we returned to the house every object which I touched seemed to quiver with life.”

       A year later, Sullivan took Helen to the Perkins School in Boston where Helen learned to read Braille and use a special typewriter for the blind. Helen’s success and perseverance began to get attention in the press and she was even invited to meet President Grover Cleveland in the Whitehouse. Helen's education blossomed as she went to New York to attend the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf for two years to improve her speaking abilities in 1894 and then went to the Cambridge School for Young Ladies in 1896. After, she was accepted into Radcliffe College where she graduated cum laude in 1904. However, it is important and inspiring to note that even before graduation, Helen published two books, The Story of My Life (1902) and Optimism (1903). These books were the catalyst that jumpstarted Helen’s carrier as a lecturer and writer.  Since then, Helen has written dozens of articles and books and becoming an advocate for the blind, women’s suffrage, and ultimately was the co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union. Helen Keller never married or had any children and she died on June 1^st, 1968.

https://www.perkins.org/history/people/helen-keller?gclid=CjwKCAjwz6_8BRBkEiwA3p02Vf_I1k54VhZJRWeye6VIH9WhbboPwozajPbr5J4irDx6ujKHzKtdsRoCb0IQAvD_BwE

https://www.afb.org/about-afb/history/helen-keller/biography-and-chronology/chronology

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/helen-keller#:~:text=Undeterred%20by%20deafness%20and%20blindness,the%20American%20Civil%20Liberties%20Union.

On Friday, October 9^th, 2020, Netflix released an original TV reality series – Deaf U. The series consists of eight-episodes, each episode around 20 minutes long. The show’s executive producer Nyle DiMarco is actually an American model, actor, and deaf activist who gained his original following from the 2003-2018 series, America’s Next Top Model where DiMarco one season 22 competition and from Dancing with the Stars, which he also one. It is important to know that DiMarco is also deaf and despite the challenges he has faced, he has been a major contributor in the spearhead effort towards deaf activism. Interestingly enough, I remember when DiMarco was on America’s Next Top Model, and during his time on air, he did express the difficulties of being the only Deaf person on a show where all other models were hearing. Although I have wanted to learn ASL since I was young, DiMarco proved to be major catalysts in my learning of the language and his work is often someone I look for in inspiration towards learning the language and learning about the culture.

       The show follows a group of students at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Three of the students are young men and three are young women, both groups from different races, classes, and sexualities. Additionally, For those who do not know about Gallaudet, Gallaudet is a federally chartered private university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, although hearing students do attend the university. This reality TV show is similar to that seen on other platforms such as MTV and the American Broadcasting Company. The college students being followed share their stories ranging from topics of sex, dating, love, family drama, and friend drama. However, what is so unique about this show is that these issues are inspected and shown through that of a deaf perspective. The show does address the difficulties and experiences of deaf people living in a hearing world; however, the show’s normalcy in the topic and exhibition of everyday life is to show the hearing communities that deaf communities are not too different from our own. As noted in idiewire.com’s article, Deaf U lifts “ the veil and dispel notions about the deaf community that can often extend to all disabled communities out there.”

       From this show, you will not only begin to normalize the deaf community, but you may also begin to see some sides of the deaf community that you may never have thought of. For example, the show reveals that, in this situation, there is a bit of a hierarchy in the deaf community where deafness is revered depending on your upbringing (hearing vs non-hearing communities) and how many members of your family and generations have been deaf. The purpose of showing all lights of the Deaf community is not to create the generalization as to that the community is awful or good, but rather show hearing audience members that this is a community like all others-filled with some good people and some bad people. This step sets a serious step in the right direction towards the representation of the deaf community and I can not wait until more series and moves like such are released.

https://www.indiewire.com/2020/10/deaf-u-review-netflix-1234590049/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/deaf-u-ep-nyle-dimarco-netflix-series-is-no-after-school-special

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/deaf-u-ep-nyle-dimarco-netflix-series-is-no-after-school-special

Hello again! I hope everyone is doing well. These past two weeks have been amazing for my ASL journey. Reba and I have been able to hold conversations much longer than previously before and we are also practicing new vocabulary words and modifiers. Also, the amount of fingerspelling I have to do is much less than previously before and I can read Reba’s finger much faster than before. Reba also provided me with the opportunity to attend her American sign language course on Tuesday evenings for the school of continuing studies from 6:00 through 7:00. Faith,  another member of the ASL SDLP program, was also at the meeting! Primarily, I served as a translator for Reba as she taught the new students to question words, colors, where they were from, names, and practiced greetings and fingerspelling with them. All in all, there were about 9 students.

       I did not realize the difficulty of teaching more than one person sign language at a time! Gosh, it is very difficult!  Much of the language requires the speaker to point to another person when asking a question or addressing the said person. However, on zoom, that part of the language cannot be expressed in a group meeting. If Reba points her finger at the computer screen, the question or addressing could be towards anyone of the members. I have been thinking about different ways to combat the issues I had noticed while teaching sign to a large group through zoom and I think one way that might be helpful is to have the professor sign the initials of whoever they are addressing beforehand. That way, specific individuals will know when they are being asked or told information. Additionally, I noticed that Reba often got very close to the camera, had it positioned in an unpractical position, and would constantly ask if she could be seen. I expressed this concern to Mary Catherine Raymond as she is a student in the course and she has been traveling to Reba’s home and helping figure out the best ways to teach such a language through the internet.  

       All in all, I am fairly happy with the rate and way in which my singing language abilities are developing. I can understand a lot more than at the start of the semester and Reba actually shared a deaf news source for me to watch and learn from. The news source is called https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdANpi-iksc&feature=youtu.be  and is approximate 7 minutes long. The news anchor covers topics around the world in a summary ranging across all topics. It was really neat to watch someone sign for a larger audience, but at the normal playback speed, I did have trouble understanding the signer. It wasn’t until I slowed the speed down to .75 x playback speed that I was able to understand more of the signs signed. I am excited to watch more of those sign videos, but in the meantime, the reality TV show Deaf U has been both entertaining and educational in learning how other individuals to sign and which signs are colloquial and which are not.

Howdy, Howdy, Howdy! I hope all my fellow readers have had an amazing two weeks. These past two weeks, we started examining the difference in signs in terms of directional verbs. In this, I mean Reba, and I started discussing the differences in the signs of, for example, “receive”. If I were to receive something from someone, the sign for such a gesture is different that if I were to give something to someone else in which they received something. Just to be clear, clear, and receive are different signs. However, when referring to receive, depending on who is the receiver will change the sign. The change in the sign is subtle though. At first glance, one might even say the sign is the same, but once Reba slowed down the sign, it became much clearer. The receiver of the received item will dictate where the sign starts either motioning away or towards the body. Another example of such directional verbs is the sign for “invitation”. Reba and I had a 10 minutes discussion in which I was trying to understand the difference between the sign of “I was invited to a Christmas party by you” and “I invited you to a Christmas party”. The difference in the verb “invite” once again is modified based on the starting and ending point of the sign. Although I do understand that ASL is a complex language and different from that of English, I am continuously baffled at the subtle complexities of the language. Much of my past learning has been pure terminology strengthening and expansions. However, as I begin to progress towards the development and creation of phrases and sentences, it becomes ever more evident the complexities of the language. I find myself, when signing, speaking English, and then translating into ASL. This is a bad habit on multiple accounts as 1) English and ASL are not the same. In fact, ASL originates from French sign language which originates from French. Thus, my grammar and sentence structure have somewhat deviated from the proper terminology. 2) ASL lacks small transition words such as “a”, “the”, “as” and etc. When I think of my thoughts in English and translate them to ASL, in addition to having to remember the sentence structure as well as the correct sign, I also have to eliminate my usage of said transition words. 3) All of this thinking when I am signing interferes with my ability to express my signs in my face. Due to the fact that ASL does not have vocal tones, expression, meaning, and intensity are greatly indicated by the speed and expressiveness of one’s signs as well as their facial expressions. As I work hard and think about the language, I know my “thinking face” often inhabits my expression, altering my expression and meaning. Of course, when learning a new language, there will be difficulties. Regardless, I do hope to improve and fall out of these bad habits soon. I know it may take time, as well as a greater amount of emersion.

When I travel to different parts of the world, and even to different parts of the United States, I know that I could encounter someone who speaks a language other than English. However, if I were to travel to either England or Australia, where the main language is in fact English, I would expect to be able to understand the local people. I would still be able to read the restaurant menus and I could still ask someone for directions. However, if I were deaf, this would not be the case. In England, British Sign Language is typically practiced and in America, American Sign Langue is typically practiced. The difference between the two languages is not subtle, but rather completely different. Sure, some signs may overlap between the two languages, just as the word for baguette between French and English. In fact, most countries have different signing system. Some countries even have multiple systems, but some countries have the same systems but call them different names. One example of such a sign system exists in India and Pakistan.

       From my research, I also found that like spoken languages, sign languages have different language families. The sign language that has originated from old British sign language is called the Banzsl family tree. Interestingly enough,  American sign language is actually part of the French sign language family tree along with French sign language and Dutch sign langue. According to Wikipedia, there are over three hundred sing languages used around the world, and possibly even more. These languages typically develop through creolization, the process by which different cultural elements are combined and blend together to form a new culture/language and some just develop from nothing. Some forms of sign language development in education institutes and some develop in village communities where the deaf population is large. Those sign languages that develop within a community may possibly be only understood by the members of those communities as the language was formed in that one location. Sign language is constructed between individuals or a population and may not necessarily be standardized across a large area like a country. People develop their own signs in response to new things.

This is present in American sign language, especially for terminology in specific fields. I remember I was describing the difference between a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell to Reba and after spelling out the two science words - prokaryotic and eukaryotic – we created a new sign for each term. However, the term was only known between us and is not known by anyone else. It appears that sign languages are flexible and adapt to the development of new words much more freely than any other language I have studied.

       I understand that sign language is different from spoken language and that each sign language has a different grammar. However, I do wonder why each country does not have a more established and concrete sign language. Is it due to the fact that the number of deaf people in the country is not large enough? Does no one want to take the task and create a standardized curriculum? Is it simply better to let the language form on its own and not intervene?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sign_languages

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2164167/why-there-no-universal-sign-language-and-how

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/13107/7-things-you-should-know-about-sign-language#:~:text=Different%20countries%20have%20different%20sign%20languages.&text=This%20question%20would%20make%20sense,people%20interacting%20with%20each%20other.

Welcome back! I hope my readers had a wonderful weekend and are staying safe during this time. These past two weeks of ASL have been fun and productive, as usual, J. Reba and I have been able to have a full conversation with little to no use of fingerspelling. We have talked about family dynamics, vocations,  past history, homes and etc. This past Tuesday, we spent a fair amount of time learning about time and how to sign months, minutes, hours, years in both a future and past regard as well as being able to indicate numerical value. I believe the hardest part about time right now for me is remembering the difference in signs between the time measurements. Each sign is so similar in shape that I have to considerably think about which sign for which unit of time. I know that with practice, I will become more familiar with the units, but it is frustrating to not have a strong grasp on something so important. I also find it interesting how different languages end up expressing time, especially the months. In English, months are given names- January, February,  March, etc. In mandarin,  months are described in terms of the numerical value plus the word for moon (月). For example, the word for January would be one month. December would be for twelve months. I soon discovered during this lesson that months, at least in ASL, are expressed through the fingerspelling of the English month, but the word is abridged. For example, January is Jan and December is Dec.

       On another note,  I was walking outside this past weekend when I bumped into four individuals who were all signing! After I was able to calm myself, I tried to translate what the group members were signing, but they were extremely fast. I was able to understand a few words such as turnover and people, but I could not understand the majority of the story. Although it was a bit disheartening as I have been studying ASL for some time now and still could not translate as much as I would have hoped, I am once again inspired to learn ASL and I am willing to work hard for it. I rarely encounter any deaf people and when I do, I wish I could at least say “hi” and show them in their language that I am an ally. I have been considering what I would like to do after graduation and then I will most likely take a gap year of some sort before P.A. school. However, besides work, I was thinking about what else I could do in my spare time and I have been looking into some ASL interpreter programs! I do not want to have worked on ASL for two semesters (three semesters after graduation) and suddenly drop the language. I would like to continue it!

       Also… great news! An ASL original series is coming to Netflix! The series is called Deaf U and will be released in  November. From what I have gathered, the series follows several Gallaudet University Students as they go through college. The show is a reality TV show which I have never gotten into, but because of the show’s nature, I am beyond excited for the premier.

Sunday, September 13:

       Hello and welcome back! Week three is completed and I can confidently exclaim that these past two weeks were really successful with my ASL carrier. For three out of the four of my classes, Reba and I were reviewing a lot of the material that we covered last semester including days of the week, time, numbers, colors, animals, typical breakfast foods, countries, class subjects, people, common verbs and adjectives, emotions, and several other subjects. Surprisingly, I remembered much more than expected making the conversation between the two of us much lighter and seemingly smooth. Regardless, I do find it interesting how some signs, such as the word “night” (as in the time of day), are much more difficult for me to remember than other signs. For the most part, many of the signs are institutive after guidance and teaching -an airplane looks like an airplane made with your hands, the weather is simulated by moving your hands and fingers in specific patterns to mimic specific weather patterns, and etc. As I previously mentioned, however, some words, despite the practicality and sense to the sign, some continuously slip my mind when conversing in ASL. From a neurological perspective, I wonder why some words are so much more easily lost than others?

       Regardless, the most exciting thing regarding the past two weeks was my opportunity to act as a sign language translator. When I first began learning sign language, every other class with Reba, a sign interpreter would also be present, to help me establish an initial foundation for the language and a generalized understanding of basic words and fingerspelling. This was especially helpful in the first few weeks of ASL because I could ask questions deeper than surface-level regarding grammatical structure, plural and singular forms, cause and effect, history, and other aspects of the culture that are difficult for a beginner to understand. Furthermore, Somyung, a new student of ASL with Reba, had one of her first sessions and I was asked to join as a mediator. Granted, none of the conversations was philosophical or deeply serious in any way, but, it was really cool to be able to exchange information between a hearing and a non-hearing individual. Reba and I both helped Somyung learn the alphabet as well as some common introductions and responses. I know that this opportunity does not present itself often, but it was an incredible opportunity to practice my ability of understanding ASL in real-time and translating it to someone else as well as translating English into ASL. One aspect of the translation that I found interesting was that I proved to be more of a challenge to go from English to ASL than from ASL to English.

       I am excited to see what the next two weeks will hold in our lessons. We are currently still online learning, but Reba and I have gotten into the swing of things. Although I have questions and signs I do ask her to teach me, she has an established learning plan which she has used for dozens upon dozens of other ASL beginners. Thus, I trust her judgment and guidance when it comes to her teachings.

There are many reasons an individual may learn American Sign Language (ASL). They may be interested in picking up a new language. They may want to better communicate with a loved one or friend who is hard of hearing or deaf. They may enjoy the deaf culture and hope to integrate into it. They may even be taking it to full a classroom requirement. The reasons why someone learns ASL are vast and cannot be accounted for in this discussion. However, what I plan to discuss within this paper are the vocational opportunities offered to those who are interested in using their ASL skills to work with the deaf or hard of hearing populations.

            There are many vocations one can pursue if they hope to work with deaf or hard of hearing people. These jobs include but are not limited to, speech-language pathologist, employment counselor, social workers, sign language interpreters, audiologists, and many more. Typically, when I think of a job involving ASL, I often envision the position of a sign language interpreter.  These interpreters are present in a vast number of settings and agencies including school systems, governmental institutions,  social services, hospitals, and even in the entertainment industry. One famous example of an interpreter in the entertainment industry is Amber Galloway Gallego. She was able to interpret the lyrics rapped by Twista Clocks,  one of the world’s fastest rappers, in real-time. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRl2uLh4Ru0&ab_channel=ABC13Houston).

             So, what is an ASL interpreter? According to the National Association  of the Deaf (NAD), a qualified interpreter is someone who is able to “both receptively and expressively, interpret accurately, effectively, and impartially, using any necessary specialized vocabulary.” It is imperative that the interpreter is able to seamlessly translate information between the parties involved without delay or confusion. Of all fields,  medical facilities, higher education facilities, elementary and high schools were the largest employers of ASL interpreters and as of May 2018, translators and interpreters across all fields earned an average salary of $55,230 following the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. However, depending on an interpreters' level of experience and place of work, the salary will vary.

Prospective interpreters are tested on their expressive and receptive signing, voice to sign skills, and sign to voice skills. Once confident, the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. (RID) has a list of Interpreting Training Programs that one can sign up for depending on what field one wants to pursue. However, one of the most prestigious and valued certifications is the RID certification. In some states, this certification is required in order to provide interpreting services of any kind. Regardless, there are three types of RID certifications – Previously Offered RID Certifications, NAD Certifications, and RID Retired Certifications. Currently, the RID only offers the latter two, but the previously offered RID Certifications are still recognized. Within the NAD Certification, there are three levels of NAD III (Generalist), NAD IV (Advanced), and NAD V (Master). Each certification corresponds to a different level of fluency and translational ability with III being average performance and V being superior performance. Holders of these certifications must also comply with all aspects of the RID’s Certification Maintenance Program which includes the completion of professional development courses.

https://www.nad.org/resources/american-sign-language/interpreting-american-sign-language/

https://study.com/articles/Be_an_American_Sign_Language_Interpreter_Salary_and_Career_Info.html#:~:text=ASL%20interpreters%20typically%20have%20at,along%20with%20sign%20language%20training.'

https://thebestschools.org/careers/jobs-working-deaf-hard-hearing/

https://rid.org/rid-certification-overview/

https://rid.org/about-rid/about-interpreting/become-an-interpreter/

It is official, Reba and I had our last meeting this past week. Not to reiterate, but I will be missing the ASL course we had together. I have never had a class that was as much fun as hers, and I always find it a gift to find a subject that doesn’t feel like schoolwork, which ASL does.

            The semester has been an incredible one, and, looking back, I am very proud of the accomplishments that we have made. With the topics I have covered with Reba, such as family relationships, numbers, time, quantity, a numerous amount of verbs, sports, meals, games, jobs, tenses, holidays, places, culture, and more, I feel as though I have a strong understanding of the foundation of ASL. Although I do not think I can survive very easily in a deaf community, I do believe I now have the ability to deaf individuals in a way that could establish a basic level of friendship and respect. However, I still want to improve my ASL abilities. I do not want to stop my journey here, thus over the summer, I plan to continue my studies of ASL. I still have the books Reba has lent me, such as the “Signing Naturally textbook”, the application “Sign School” and I have my own American Sign Language Dictionary. I will also be using resources like  udemy.com and italki.com. Udemy will help me build and developed my overall vocabulary, while italki will help me strengthen my communication skills and really solidify the usage of new ASL vocabulary. Learning vocabulary through memorization is a fine way of learning, but being able to actually apply those terms in communication is a completely different skill set. Thus, italki, or any type of conversing, is important in order to solidify my understanding of the new terms and language itself. In addition, I have also been looking into what events are being held in my area for the deaf. As it turns out, there is a deaf school around 20 minutes from my house! This must mean that there is a sufficient deaf population, at least within that area. So, I have been keeping tabs as to any community events that may be occurring either to support the deaf or even to interact with the community. Although I am nowhere near the appropriate level to do so, I would love to be able to help take care of children while also practicing my ASL. Whether that means I work at a deaf summer camp, or just help an individual family out and act as a sitter for a deaf child, I don’t have a preference. But, if I could kill three birds with one stone, hanging out with kids, earning some money, and practicing my ASL, that would be an incredible opportunity.

            Reflecting upon the program itself, I was very happy with how it was structured. I apricated the time and energy I had to invest in learning the language, and I also enjoyed having to learn about the cultural aspects of the program. I knew very little about ASL before this course, not just the language, but the culture as well! This course has given me the opportunity to expand my understanding of both. Thank you.

            This past semester has been amazingly awesome in regards to my ASL journey. I originally wanted to learn terminology and phrases revolving around emergency medical situations such as anatomical and physiological terminology and symptoms. I wanted this specific skill set because I am an Emergency Medical Technique and if I encountered anyone who was deaf or hard of hearing in the field, I wanted them to be able to communicate their information, symptoms, and the preceding events of the situation to me. However, looking back on this semester, Reba and I barely covered medical terminology. We actually focused on other topics such as numbers, relationships, food, furniture, houses, places, sports, spelling practice, and emotions. Nevertheless, I am not sad or regretful that we did not cover the medical terminology. In fact, I am proud and thankful for the information I have learned, despite the fact that it did not entirely follow my learning plan. I do not think my understanding of ASL would be as strong if we solely focused on medical terminology and phrases.  My understanding of the language would be limited and I do not think I would have a great comprehension of how the language actually functions and its essential components.

            In order to effectively be able to interpret ASL in an emergency situation, I need to have a strong understanding of the basics of the language. I need to improve my ability to read signs and increase my exposure to reading spelled out words. I need to have an understanding of the sentence structure and how to indicate tenses. All of these components were imperative to learn for understanding ASL, and I believe this past semester, I have gained at least some amount of exposure to these concepts. By no means am I an expert, but I do have the confidence to say that I have a strong beginning grasps on these concepts. I do not expect my ASL language journey to end after this semester as I plan to take the Self-directed Language Learning II course in the fall of 2020. During the fall, I will continue to increase my understanding of language’s grammar and increase my vocabulary. Until then, I will be using italki.com over the summer to practice my conversational skills and I will be using the books Reba has given me, along with

            Reflecting upon this past semester though, my favorite part of the course was interacting and building a relationship with Reba. For the most part, it was just the two of us meeting together at least twice a week and I think I can say after four months, we have become friends. It was really interesting to learn about Reba’s upbringing as she is completely deaf – to hear about her family, her time at Gallaudet University, and her work with ASL champs. I had always been curious about different aspects of deaf culture, deaf interactions, and what it is like to be deaf in a world full of sound, and, although she does not represent the entire deaf community,  Reba showed me a snapshot of her upbringing, experiences and how she handled such things.

            If I had to find one part of the course that I thought could use improvement or I could change, I would try to recruit at least one other student to take the course with me. The one-on-one interaction with Reba was great, but I do wish I had a fellow classmate who I could connect with on-campus and practice our ASL together.

            The most impactful article/piece of literature we had read this year for me was during the first week, the article “How to Successfully Learn a  New Language This Year.” After reading the article, I was not shocked by any of the information, but it was somewhat of a waking call for how I should be approaching not only my ASL journey but also my Mandarin Language journey. I need to practice speaking with others and be specific about the goals I have for my languages. Simply just making flashcards and memorizing vocabulary is helpful to an extent, but it is through interactions and conversation that my language skills really solidify and my vocabulary usage transfer from short-term to long term memory. If I were to have another student on campus who was taking an ASL course with me, the two of us could really strengthen our understanding and usage of the language in a setting outside of the classroom and we could practice through fun, adventures modalities, such as playing bored games, going to the dining hall, or simply just walking around campus.

            I have absolutely loved learning ASL this past semester and I look forward to continuing to improve my signing skills.

            One portion of deaf culture that I have heard about in the past, but know very little information on, are deaf clubs. Deaf clubs were originally established during the 1920s through the 1950s to bring Deaf people together. During this time, being deaf was still considered a disability that was to be “normalized” within the hearing society, thus little effort from communities, companies, and the government was made to encourage social gathering of Deaf individuals. In addition, Deaf people often worked in jobs where no other Deaf people worked. Thus, being Deaf seemed to be a sentence of social isolation. That is, at least, before Deaf clubs.

            In a world of hearing, Deaf clubs provided the Deaf with a place to fulfill their social needs. They were safe, unique spaces where Deaf individuals could go and communicate with other individuals through sign language. However, these clubs were not limited to just chit-chatting between friends, but these clubs also organized activates to promote a sense of community. They organized sports teams, hired Deaf performers, held film screenings, holiday parties, and beauty pageants, and etc. In addition to this, Deaf club’s also provided the Deaf youth with an adult who often provided guidance, a meeting place for future spouses, and overall a place to seek aid and friendship. Deaf clubs were also extremely important in the development and creation of shared signs, further contributing to the development of Deaf society and culture. In general, the clubs were located close to large cities, which is where deaf schools were commonly located, or near communities with a high Deaf population.

            Interestingly enough, before Deaf clubs became popular for deaf individuals, these clubs were held in rented spaced and frequently changed locations. It was only after they gained popularity and dues were collected from the members that permanent accommodations were obtained.

                        Luckily, by the mid-1960s these viewpoints began to change and the Deaf communities, which were originally viewed as a disabled group, were identified instead as a cultural and linguistic minority. However, also during this time, Deaf Clubs began to decline in popularity. The civil rights movement promoted equal treatment, and as such, more Deaf people began working white-collar jobs for companies that focused on hiring other Deaf people, thus diminishing the need for Deaf clubs. Alongside this, the emerging presence of technology has also been attributed to the decline of Deaf Clubs.  With advances in technology, new devices were invented that specifically mitigated the lifestyle differences between the Deaf and the hearing. Inventions like the TTY in the 1970’s and wider use of Closed Captioning for movies increased the opportunities of entertainment within Deaf society, thus deaf clubs were not as imperative for entertainment services. Furthermore, Deaf people turned towards a more private lifestyle and they lost interest in the traditional group activities that were accompanied by Deaf clubs. Today, there are some Deaf Clubs still in existence, however, the numbers have decreased dramatically. In America, the majority of them are within the Midwest and the south, but their membership is small and only decreasing with time.

Deaf Clubs Today: Do They Still Have a Role to Play? The Cases of Cyprus and Greece https://muse-jhu-edu.newman.richmond.edu/article/425304

https://ifmyhandscouldspeak.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/deaf-clubs/