National ASL Day

On April 15th every year, we celebrate American Sign Language (ASL)!

Today is also when American School for the Deaf (ASD) in West Hartford, CT was founded, in the year 1817. Formerly named Connecticut Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb is the first permanent school for the deaf in the United States. There was originally another school for the deaf that opened in Virginia but that was short-lived.

At ASD, there were many signs being used - French Sign Language, Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language and Native American Signs. The combination of all three became American Sign Language!

I’m very fortunate that ASL was created so that I could have access to information and have the ability to communicate. I grew up learning how to speak and lipread first which is known as the oralism method. Alexander Graham Bell (yes, the same guy who invented telephone) was the one who encouraged oralism and tried to dissolve sign language. I wrote a whole blog about the nonfiction book which explains the history of AGB and the deaf community here.

Almost 4 years old, I learned ASL when my family relocated from New Jersey to New York. My parents couldn’t find a program that focused on oralism so I was introduced to total communication (talk, lipread AND sign language).

To this day, sign language will always be the primary language which I feel the most confident using and I feel able to express more this way. I’m grateful that we’re celebrating the beautiful American Sign Language today on April 15th!

I love seeing ASL getting more recognition in the media. Many commercials have sign language! It’s a huge difference from my childhood years when seeing sign language was a rare opportunity. If you are interested in learning ASL, please seek out a deaf educator. It is highly recommended that you learn from someone within the deaf community, from someone who has the best knowledge of the culture. You can find more information here.

Happy signing!