Did you know that the first school for the Deaf in the US was established in 1817 in Hartford, CT? September is back to school time, and it’s also Deaf Awareness Month. I grew up in Rochester, NY, which happens to have a large Deaf community. My first Deaf friend was an 11 year old boy named Jesse who went to the Rochester School for the Deaf. When we met, I was 16 and a counselor at the overnight camp where Jesse was the only Deaf camper. He had one hearing friend there who knew sign but it almost didn’t matter – he was so confident, so rooted in his Deaf identity, so grounded in his sense of self – at age 11 – that he thrived. I spent time with Jesse at camp and began to learn American Sign Language (ASL). But I was shy, and after camp it took me a few years to feel confident enough to sign with others and get involved in the Deaf community.
What I didn’t realize at the time, is that most deaf children are born to hearing parents. And most of those parents don’t learn ASL. And that many kids who are deaf are not just encouraged to speak, but they’re discouraged from signing, even not allowed to learn sign at all. Also, many of those kids don’t meet others like them until adulthood, or maybe when they go to college. The National Technical Institute for the Deaf is in Rochester, and one of my friends told me that’s where he finally felt free. He was one of 9 children, 6 of whom were deaf, but their parents didn’t sign and they grew up ‘oral.’ At NTID, taking off his hearing aids and just signing was liberating for him. That’s where he became aware of what he called his ‘roots’. That’s where he was exposed to Deaf culture, where he learned about the history of ASL and Deaf education. That’s where his new language and Deaf identity developed and solidified.
I was a hearing 16 year old and had the opportunity to meet someone Deaf and to learn ASL. Jesse was fortunate to have had parents who supported his journey as a Deaf child; not only did he sign at school, but they also signed at home. In my work, I’ve met many teens who attended residential schools for the Deaf and dreaded their weekends at home because no one signed. I know too many Deaf adults who tell a similar story. I say this without judgement knowing that many parents are led astray by professionals who have only a medical ‘issue’ on their minds, but I can’t imagine my parents not learning to communicate with me in a way that would help me thrive. I cannot imagine choosing not to learn whatever it would take to help my own children thrive. In fact, my children – both hearing – were using signs at 6 months old. They were able to have full conversations with me in ASL between 12 – 15 months. It was such a relief for them to be able to make their needs known, express feelings, describe something, share a memory or make a choice. Every child should have that opportunity. Every child born deaf NEEDS that opportunity. It’s much more challenging for a deaf child to be oral than for a hearing parent to learn to sign.
At Baby Fingers, we aim to spread awareness and make language accessible as Deaf children develop their own identity. We provide opportunities for parents of Deaf children to learn ASL and to connect with our Deaf mentors as well as their local Deaf community. We support and collaborate with Deaf artists and Deaf owned businesses. We bring together Deaf and hearing teachers, students, families. At Baby Fingers, Deaf and hearing children learn and play together, they become friends and they navigate language together, they break boundaries and smash stigmas. Deaf and hearing adults learn ASL side by side in our immersion classes as well; there’s no time too soon or too late to learn and to develop your identity.