National Deaf History Month

Posted On Wednesday March 20, 2024

Contributor: Inclusion. Diversity. Equity. Advocacy (I.D.E.A) Committee

Deaf History Month celebrates the history of Deaf culture and the many achievements made by individuals who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing. National Deaf History Month takes place from March 13 to April 15 to mark three significant dates in deaf education history:

April 15, 1817 – The nation’s first public school for the deaf was opened.
April 8, 1964 – Gallaudet University, the first and only university in which all programs and services are designed for Deaf and hard of hearing students, was opened.
March 13, 1988 – Gallaudet University appointed its first Deaf president.

To learn more about The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Board’s decision to designate April 1-30th as National Deaf History Month, please click THIS LINK.

A Few Interesting Facts: Did you know that ….

Deafness is a spectrum. The Deaf community has its own culture, one that values information sharing, eye contact, and physical connections. ASL, or American Sign Language, is a separate language from English with its own structure, grammar, and speech rules. It is not just a way to interpret spoken English. Most countries have their own sign language. Many advocate for sign language to be a child’s first language.

2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a detectable level of hearing loss in one or both ears
Deafness is the third most common disability in the world
Some people are profoundly deaf and can hear nothing while others may only have partial hearing loss or hearing loss in only one ear
There is no universal sign language. Different countries use different sign languages! In the United States, we use American Sign Language (ASL).

Listed below are some ways to support hearing impaired individuals

Captions and Speech to Text Features. Providing captions for your audio media, from video lessons to tiktok videos makes it more accessible to everyone. In fact, most of YouTube’s captions are used by hearing individuals.

Visual Aides. There are many ways to provide visual aides. Providing a poster, powerpoint slide, or print out are just a few examples. When speaking to a group in public, ensuring you are facing your audience is another.

Sign Language Interpreters. Many public events have begun including sign language interpreters, including concerts. Amber Galloway Gallego has done some great work advocating for interpreters at music events to interpret sounds in new ways.

In celebration of National Deaf History Month, we highlight several role models whose stories illustrate the power of activism, education, and perseverance despite disability.

Haben Girma is the first Deaf-blind graduate of Harvard Law. She was inspired to become a disability rights advocate after trying to get accommodations in her undergrad cafeteria. She is now a lawyer based in California.

Linda Bove is best known for her role as Linda the Librarian on Sesame Street, bringing American Sign Language to American children. She also founded the DeafWest Theater in Los Angeles and has been involved in the Non-Traditional Casting Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing diversity in theater.

Chella Man is an actor, artist, producer, Youtuber, and activist. He played a superhero named Jericho on Titans, based on DC’s superheroes and most of his independent work is focused on his experiences as a transgender, deaf, genderqueer, and Jewish person of color.

Vint Cerf suffered from a hearing impairment at an early age. Vint is known as “The Father of the Internet.” He has won the U.S. National Medal of Technology, the ACM Alan M. Turing award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush.

Resources for promoting Deaf History Month:

Deaf History Month 2023

Dates of National Deaf History Month

Based on the feedback from The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), Deaf Culture and History Section (DCHS) and various stakeholders, including from organizations that represent marginalized communities within the Deaf Community, the NAD Board has chosen April 1-30 as the National Deaf History Month (NDHM).

Resources for Teachers: National Deaf History Month

FREE learning activities to promote deaf awareness in school

Resources for promoting Deaf Awareness

Challenges that still exist for the deaf

Videos:

How sign language can bring music to life (13:17)

Deaf advocate Glenna Cooper shares her personal journey (16:22)