American sign language
Background of ASL
Roles of gestures and home signs
Many supported the use of ASL and wanted to spread their knowledge of sign language to other cultures
Clerc and Gallaudet established the first deaf school
ASL is made up of old French language, native American sign language
Linguists- study human language and communication
Laurent Clerc and Thomas Gallaudet were the first deaf-hearing team in deaf education
Gestures- using your body language to communicate
the dialogue taught by teachers at the school for the deaf in Connecticut begin to spread to other deaf schools where other children would pick on home signs and gestures
Home signs- home signs were used by deaf children with hearing parents who couldn't sign, as talked about on page 62 these signs are created within a home setting
deaf children created their own gestures/home signs to communicate with their hearing household
Sign language facts
There is approximately 136 sign languages to date
ASL is said to be the most used sign language and is expressed by movement of the hands and face
Countries like the United Kingdom use their own sign language BSL ( british sign language)
more than 500,000 deaf americans use ASL
ASL is used in not only the U.S but internationally sign language may differ depending on where in the world its used
ASL for hearing people
Currently 45 states acknowledge the ASL language
Hearing students struggle with learning the facial expressions and eye contact that goes along with learning ASL
ASL is taught to people with disabilities like autism and down syndrome
The number of ASL programs have been increasing greatly throughout the years as individuals spread more awareness
ASL learners include teachers, nurses, social workers and interpreters