Early Deaf History
What did Ancient philosophers believe about deaf people?
They believed deaf people were incapable of learning and were often abandoned.
What inspired Thomas Gallaudet to travel to Europe to learn about deaf education?
An interaction with a deaf neighbor (a young girl named Alice) who he wanted to communicate with.
How does a hearing person get a name sign?
a Deaf person gives them a sign name as they participate in the deaf community.
What is a residential school?
A deaf school where students live on campus, like a boarding school. They may go home on the weekends and during school holidays.
How are hearing aids and cochlear implants different?
Hearing aids are silicone modes worn in and on the ear to amplify sounds.
Cochlear implants require a processor to be surgically placed in the skull and connects to a magnetic receiver outside the skull to stimulate the auditory nerve.
During the Middle Ages what did religious leaders think about deaf people?
Religious leaders at this time believed that deafness was a "curse" or "sign of God's wrath. Many deaf people were sent away to monasteries or asylums
Who is Laurent Clerc?
A prominent Deaf teacher in France who agreed to help Gallaudet open a deaf school in America.
List at least 3 appropriate ways of getting a deaf person's attention.
wave, flash the lights, tap the table, tap them on the shoulder, stomp on the floor
What is a day school?
This a school like AASD. All the students are Deaf and the staff use ASL but the students go home at the end of the day like any other school.
What percentage of deaf children are born to hearing parents?
90%
During the 1700s beliefs about deaf people began to change. In what country was the first dictionary of signs published?
France
What did Gallaudet and Clerc do together in 1817?
Opened the first Deaf school in America.
What is a CODA?
Child of Deaf Adult
(a hearing child who grows up fluent in ASL and part of the Deaf community)
What does it mean if a deaf student is self-contained?
This is when a Deaf child is enrolled in a hearing public school but attends classes in a small group with other Deaf students and a teacher who uses ASL.
List at least 3 possible causes of deafness.
Genetics
Illness
Injury
Side effects of certain medications
BONUS: Name 2 of the main characters in "Switched at Birth"
Daphne (deaf) and Bay (hearing)
What is oralism or the oral method?
The oralist method is a style of teaching deaf children that forces them to lipread and attempt speech. Signing is forbidden.
What is the difference between deaf and Deaf?
"d" is typically used as a medical diagnosis
"D" indicates the person is proud of their Deaf identity
What does it mean if a deaf student is mainstreamed?
This is when a Deaf student is enrolled in a hearing, public school. They often use an interpreter or other accommodations to participate in class.
Is sign language universal?
NO!
Bonus: What is eugenics?
Eugenics is a (discredited) scientific theory that believed people with less desirable traits would cause harm to 'normal' society. People with disabilities or less desirable traits here discouraged or forced to not have children. Eugenicist believed that an ideal race of humans could be created with careful breeding.
Why is Alexander Graham Bell considered a "bad guy" by most people in the Deaf Community?
He supported popularized the use of the Oralist method in America and around the world in the 1880s. This lead to decades of deaf people being denied access to sign language in school.
True or False:
Deaf people are a diverse group. Some may feel comfortable using their voice, while others only use sign.
True
What time period did the use of oralism begin declining?
Around the 1960s linguists studied ASL and found it to be a complex language. Oralism mostly faded out of use around 1960s-1970s.
Why are cochlear implants sometimes controversial in the deaf community?
Cochlear implants require brain surgery and some Deaf people feel this is extreme and their deafness does not need to be "fixed".