The well-being of deaf people has improved tremendously through the centuries, especially in the twentieth century. Education gave deaf children the tools to use what they learned, and the opportunity to associate with their peers gave them the tools to function in society. Through research and empowerment, deaf people have broken down the barriers of what they perceived to be a misleading picture of helpless souls who were deprived of the advantages of a productive life.
The future of deaf individuals may be enhanced by a deeper understanding of the exciting venture into deaf people’s visual properties through a major research project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2) project started in 2007 to gain a greater understanding of the biological, cognitive, linguistic, socio-cultural, and pedagogical conditions that may influence language and knowledge acquisition through the visual modality. VL2, located at Gallaudet University, is one of six NSF Science of Learning Centers across the nation and is the only research center focusing on learning through vision.
Through its research projects and six ongoing programs, the project will explore further how deaf people acquire visual language and learn to read. VL2 will challenge current theories on learning through hearing for language acquisition and literacy development. The center hopes that findings on visual learning will benefit both deaf and hearing learners. Needless to say, understanding of teaching and learning of ASL will also be enhanced. It is confident that whatever the VL2 research reveals, ASL will remain as a linguistically-based language, way beyond “formation of signs.”
Deaf people’s lives continue to make headway at a rapid rate. A main consequence has been trying to keep up with the changes in technology. As an example, Line 21 closed captioning and the law requiring built-in decoders in TV sets, mandated with the adoption of the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990, was believed to be the answer to Deaf people’s need for information. However, gaps were created with the new generation of TVs, such as high definition TV, and with Internet-based film streaming and cell phone video capabilities.
Thanks to a strong push from individuals and especially from organizations such as the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), Congress passed the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act in 2010. The law makes it possible to receive captioned television on the Internet, provides for closed caption buttons on TV remote controls and makes available communications equipment for deaf-blind individuals.
The year 2010 marked the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A celebration was held at White House on July 26, the anniversary of President George H. W. Bush’s signing the bill into law. Guests included representatives from national disability advocacy organizations and several federal agencies. President Obama signed an executive order at the event to improve enforcing the ADA and to make the federal government a model employer.
Recognition of deaf filmmakers was boosted through a four-day WORLDDEAF Cinema Festival held in October 2010 at Gallaudet University. More than 170 films were submitted by 132 filmmakers from 30 countries. Over 250 attendees witnessed the Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to Marlee Matlin. Other notable professionals attending were Shoshannah Stern, upcoming actor Russell Harvard, and longtime Hollywood producer Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.
More recently, Marlee Matlin was part of a high-rating television show that got people talking at the water cooler. She made it to the very final episode of Celebrity Apprentice’s fourth series and survived the dreaded words, “You’re fired,” out of entrepreneur Don Trump’s mouth. Incidentally Trump learned how to sign these words. Matlin also proved her mettle by challenging other renowned cast members, and raised a season-high amount of $1.05 million for Starkey Hearing Foundation.
Matlin then appeared on another popular show, Switched at Birth, shown on the ABC Family channel. The first season in 2011 unveiled outstanding newcomers Katie LeClerc and Sean Berdy. Both represented the faces of typical teenagers who happened to be Deaf. Berdy was born Deaf and grew up in a Deaf family. For his boisterous acting, Berdy was dubbed the Deaf James Dean. The hit drama had been renewed for a second season at the time of this book’s printing.
On the federal level, 1989 Gallaudet University graduate Greg Hilbok was appointed to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Office of Disability Rights (DRO). As an attorney who came from a Deaf family he had been with the DRO office since 2001, and his appointment marked the first time a Deaf person managed the FCC rulemaking body on telecommunications access for persons with disabilities.
Last, but not least, a major event in July 2010 took place at the International Congress on Education of the Deaf (ICED) in Vancouver, Canada. “A New Era: Deaf Participation and Collaboration” formally rejected the 130-year-old resolution made at the 1880 Milan ICED that banned sign language in education. Nine resolutions included Deaf people’s rights “...to treat sign languages as equal to spoken languages, to involve the deaf community in supporting parents of deaf babies, and to refer families with deaf children to deaf schools and organizations....”1 The document was enthusiastically supported by 750 Deaf and hearing participants in the audience.
In view of the continuous changes in technology and population diversity, the question of how these changes will affect Deaf culture in the future remains. Will Deaf culture morph into a different image, requiring a different set of cultural characteristics, or fade away into oblivion? Communication technology, captioning, cochlear implants, and remote interpreting may pave the way for increased independence in Deaf people’s lives. Will this result in a lesser need for bonding among people of similar interests and likes? In visualizing the future, the authors possess confidence that we will continue to witness barrier-breaking actions performed by the younger generations of Deaf people who are now equipped to meet the demands of their and other people’s lives. With increased independence, will there be less need for bonding among people of similar interests and likes?
This book has been, hopefully, an enjoyable and eye-opening journey through the history, culture, and language of deaf people. Once again, the information in this book only scratches the surface of the vast Deaf community and history. To delve further into this wonderfully intricate community, enroll in ASL courses, immerse yourself in ASL with fluent deaf signers, and learn all you can through books, Web sites and other resources.
The authors hope that you have found our heritage, language, and culture educational, entertaining, and enlightening.