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1000 BCE
Hebrew Law denies Deaf Right
The Torah protected the deaf from being cursed by other. Does not allow the Deaf to participate fully in the rituals of the Temple. Special laws concerning marriage and property were established for deaf-mutes Property Rights were denied to Deaf-mutes Deaf-mutes were not allowed to be witnesses in the courts. -
Period: 426 BCE to 237 BCE
Philosophy of Innate Intelligence/Plato
All intelligence was present at birth. All people are born with perfect abstracts, ideas and language in their minds and required only time to demonstrate their intelligence. Without speech, there was no outward sign of intelligence, so Deaf people must not be capable of ideas or language -
355 BCE
Ancient Greeks Deny Deaf Education Aristotle
Deaf people were not educated. Without hearing, people could not learn. Those born deaf become senseless and incapable of reason
Greek = perfect language Can’t speak Greek = Barbarians Deaf = barbarian -
Period: 345 BCE to 550 BCE
Early Christians see Deafness as Sin/ St. Augustine
Tells early Christians that deaf children are a sign of God’s anger at the sins of their parents -
Period: 476 to May 11, 1453
Middle Ages
Deaf are committed to asylums because of speech and behavior … thought to be possessed by demons
“People born deaf could not have faith, could not be saved and were barred from churches”
Must be able to “hear” the word of God – Punishment from God -
Jan 1, 1500
First Attempts at Educating the Deaf/ Geronimo Cardamon of Padua
First physician to recognize the ability of the deaf to reason. Teaches his deaf son using a code of symbols. Believes the Deaf can be taught written language Pedro Ponce de Leon, a Benedictine Monk Invents signs to circumvent “vow of silence”. To communicate necessary information, the monks develop their own form of sign language. Successfully teaches speech to people deaf since birth He taught deaf sons of the Spanish nobility in order that they might inherit property -
Juan Pablo Bonet
An advocate of early sign language. Wrote the first well-known book of manual alphabetic signs for the deaf in 1620. -
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Martha's Vineyard
Settled by 200 immigrants from Kent County England, an area known as “the Weald”.Carried dominant and recessive genes for deafness.By the mid-1700’s a sign language for deaf AND hearing (not ASL) had developed on the island Nearly all inhabitants signed and town meetings were in sign language Deaf islanders married, had families, worked, voted, held public office and were equal
The birth rate for deaf children =1 in 155 on the island. -
Oral Education/Samuel Heinicke
Samuel Heinicke
German oral teacher of the deaf The first oral school for the deaf in the world in Germany Heinicke teaches pupils speech by having them feel his throat while he speaks his orally based educational techniques are called “the German Method.” -
French Sign Language Est.
Charles Michel De' L'Eppe
A French priest, and “father of Sign Language and Deaf Education”
Established the first free public school for the deaf in France. Worked to develop a bridge between the deaf and hearing worlds through a system of standardized signs and finger spelling. Founded a shelter for the deaf in Paris and a school for deaf children in Truffaut, FranceEstablished the first free public school for the deaf in 1771 -
Deaf Education Spreads around the world
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England
Thomas Braidwood opened first school for the deaf in England -
Germany
Arnoldi, a German pastor, believed education of the deaf should begin as early as four years -
Rome
Abba Silvestri opened first school for the deaf in Italy in Rome -
First American Deaf School Founded
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet American interested in deaf education
Travels to Europe Gallaudet return to American and found the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut Originally name Connecticut Asylum for the Education & Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons Many teachers of the deaf train in Hartford.Sign-based deaf schools begin to flourish in New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky Alice Cogswell, Gallaudet’s inspiration to teach the deaf, the first to graduate from the American School. -
New York School for the Deaf Est.
The New York School for the Deaf is a private school for the deaf in White Plains, New York, just north of New York City, United States. Founder: Reverend John Standford -
Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
3rd oldest school of its kind. founder, David G. Seixas (1788–1864), was a Philadelphia crockery maker-dealer who became concerned with the plight of impoverished deaf children that he observed on the city's streets. The current school building is listed by the National Register of Historic Places, and two former campuses are similarly recognized. -
Kentucky School for the Deaf
The Kentucky School for the Deaf, located in Danville, Kentucky, United States, is a school that provides education to deaf and hard-of-hearing children from elementary through high school levels. -
Ohio School for the Deaf
Ohio School for the Deaf is a school located in Columbus, Ohio. It is run by the Ohio Department of Education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students across Ohio. -
Virginia School for the Deaf
The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, located in Staunton, Virginia, United States, is an institution for educating deaf and blind children, first established in 1839 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. -
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Golden Age of Deaf Education
“Golden Age of Deaf Education” – American Sign Language flourishes. Approximately 40% of all teachers are Deaf -
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More Deaf Schools
More then 30 schools for the Deaf were set. by Deaf and hearing teachers from the American School for the Deaf and Gallaudet -
Deaf State is Proposed
John Flournoy
Former pupil of the Connecticut school
Proposed to Congress that there be a deaf state with land set aside in the western territories for the creation of a deaf state
Deaf could control their schools and establish their own government
For the deaf community to flourish unrestrained by prejudice and the often restrictive good intentions of hearing society -
Gallaudet College Opens (National College for the Deaf and Dumb)
Abraham Lincoln
Signs the charter for the Washington, D.C. based college for the deaf National College for the Deaf and Dumb is the only accredited facility for the deaf in the U.S. to offer college degrees The first president of Gallaudet is Edward Miner Gallaudet, son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. The dedication of the Gallaudet family is honored when the college changes its name to Gallaudet College in 1893 Today, Gallaudet remains a leader in higher education for the Deaf -
Alexander Graham Bell promotes Deaf Education
Telephone inventor who began his career as a deaf educator Mother was hard of hearing. Father promoted a teaching method for the deaf called “visible speech” -
Bell's Deaf School
In Boston, a school opens and concentrates on oral methods of instruction. The school receives heavy opposition from deaf schools using manual sign language.
Bell eventually gives up administering deaf education and focuses on a contraption that mechanizes speech
Armed with wealth and recognition, he goes on to found the Volta Bureau to promote oral- based education for deaf children. -
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Deaf Players make changes in Baseball and Football
In 1901, baseball’s American League gets its first grand slam thanks to William “Dummy” Hoy, a deaf player.
Umpire hand signals are developed so that Hoy can see a strike call from the outfield.
In the 1920s, Gallaudet University’s football team keeps its plays a secret by hiding signed instructions in a
huddle formation. Soon, other teams are huddling up too, and a football tradition is born. -
Helen Keller
Helen is born in Tuscambia, Alabama. She is taught at home by her friend and teacher Annie Sullivan and later at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, Mass. Helen graduated from Radcliffe College. She – lost both her hearing and sight at 19 months. -
The Conference of Milan Endorses Oral Education
The international gathering of deaf educators pronounces oral education methods superior to manual communications systems. The only country opposing the vote for oral-based education is the U.S, had manual education has made great strides. 10 years, the popularity of manual education for the deaf declines sharply Seventy-five percent of teachers using the manual method have retired by 1890. -
Women are admitted to the National Deaf-Mute College (now Gallaudet)
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Electric Hearing Aid Invented
While early hearing aids are not easy to use (most weigh several pounds and must be placed on a desk), the carbon-based microphones, powered by large three- and six-volt batteries, give hearing-impaired people truly amplified sound for the first time. Alexander Graham Bell reportedly develops an earphone for amplifying sound, but he never pursues a patent. -
National Deaf-Mute College became Gallaudet College
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Deaf Employment Skyrockets
While deaf people are not allowed to serve in the U.S. military during World War I and World War II, wartime labor shortages provide many new job opportunities for deaf people.
Many take manufacturing jobs. New Deaf communities flourish such as the one based around the Goodyear plant in Akron, Ohio, flourish. -
Rise of Oralism
Oralism in America is at its zenith. Only 15% of teachers are Deaf -
Bernard Bragg
a deaf actor and mime, stars in “The Silent Man”, a TV program in California. Bragg, a graduate of the Fanwood School for the Deaf in White Plains, New York was a co-founder of the National Theater of the Deaf and has toured America with his one-man show -
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World War Two creates a need for labor
ASL is a Language
World War Two creates a need for labor. Deaf men and women are hired in record numbers to work in defense industries. Many relocate to work in factories in California, Ohio, New York and Washington, DC. Many employers note the abilities of Deaf workers for the first time. -
First Linguistic book and defense of ASL as a language
by William Stoke -
Oral Deaf Education Labeled 'Failure'
Congress issues the Babbidge Report on oral deaf education and concludes that it has been a “dismal failure.” Many in the deaf community applaud this report, and view it as a clear acknowledgment of the superiority of manual communication and education.
Deaf Theater Takes Shape -
Phone for Deaf invented
Robert Weitbrecht, who is deaf, invents the teletypewriter (TTY), which enables deaf people to use phone lines to call each other and type out their conversations. -
National Theater of the Deaf is est.
Accomplished Broadway set designer David Hays founded the NTD in 1967. Hays took charge as the artistic director and utilized the Eugene O’Neill Memorial Theatre in Waterford Connecticut (Baldwin, 1993). The NTD was established to provide an arena for deaf actors to become professionals and share their art with all audiences. Both deaf and voice actors create productions utilizing American Sign Language and the spoken word. -
Bilingual Education Act (P.L. 89-10) is passed
ASL is not included because it is not recognized as a language -
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Signed English, Seeing Essential English and SEE II methods
are developed in order to create a manual code for English that can be used to supplement the Oral method. These sign systems are to be used simultaneously with speech to promote the development of English skills. -
Total Communication Leads to Mainstreaming
Development of other sign systems
Two historically divergent education methods converge, at least in theory, as Total Communication, a combination of manual and speech-based instruction for the deaf is developed and promoted.
Formulated in the early 1960’s by a mother dissatisfied with oral-based attempts to teach her deaf daughter, the Total Communication system gains grassroots support and becomes the foundation for a new approach to deaf education within public school systems. -
Program Captioning Introduced
“The French Chef” the country’s first nationally broadcast captioned program. It airs on PBS. By 1980 Close Captioning is developed and the first show broadcast. Close Captioning hides the text from view unless the user has a decoding device. By 1993, the FCC requires that all newly manufactured televisions have the decoding chip. -
Disabled Gain Right to Equal Access
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 includes a section requiring that the disabled be given access and equal opportunity to use the resources of organizations that receive federal funds or that are under federal contracts.This opens many doors for wheelchair-bound and blind individuals, and also requires that accommodations such as TTY phones and interpreters be provided for the deaf. -
Public Law 94-142
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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is passed
is passed requiring handicapped children in the U.S. be provided with free and appropriate education, allowing many to be mainstreamed into regular public schools, where they receive special instruction but interact with the general school population. Mainstreaming is accepted as current educational philosophy. Number of Deaf teachers drops to its lowest point – 11%. -
The Signs of Language Klima and Beluga
First Linguistic research on ASL -
Silent Network- A Deaf Cable Channel
Broadcasting in 1981 with only 2 million homes. By 1990, 14 million homes have access to the program. The network operated 24-hours a day, seven days a week. -
Cochlear Implants Approved
The cochlear implant is approved for clinical trials in people 18 and older. The implant bypasses the bones of the inner ear, placing electrodes directly into the cochlea, where sound waves are absorbed and interpreted by the auditory nerve. The cochlear implant stirs controversy among the Deaf -
Deaf Mosaic begins broadcasting from Gallaudet University Television Studios in Washington, DC.
which ended production in 1995, won Emmy awards for the producers and hosts Mary Lou Novitisky and Gil Eastman -
Deaf Actress Wins Oscar
Marlee Matlin becomes the first deaf actress to win an Academy Award, for her role in the movie “Children of a Lesser God.” -
Congressional Report published
Toward Equality: Education of the Deaf
Report recommends that ASL be used as a primary medium of language instruction with English as a second language. Also recommends that ASL be included in the Bilingual Education Act. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) investigates the possibility of adding ASL and Deaf children to the Bilingual Education Act, but again it is not approved because of the status of hearing parents and questions regarding ASL as a foreign language -
'Deaf President Now' protest held
Students and faculty at Gallaudet University protest the selection of another hearing president. The ‘Deaf President Now’ protest continues for one week, with multiple rallies, press conferences and marches.After eight days of student protests, I. King Jordan is named the first deaf president of Gallaudet University
Congress recommends that ASL be used as the primary language for the Deaf, with English as a second language. -
"Signing Naturally"
The curriculum published, written and produced by Deaf authors Ella Mae Lentz and Ken Mikos -
"Unlocking the Curriculum"
Published by the Gallaudet University Linguistics Department
This proposes a return to ASL as the first method of instruction for Deaf children. It refutes the Manually Coded English approaches, using speech and sign. -
Americans with Disabilities Act Passed
Discriminatory practices and obstacles to accessibility for the handicapped are both outlawed The law has a huge impact on the wheel chair dependent, and also requires greater communications, education, and employment opportunities for the deaf. In keeping with the ADA, caption decoder chips are required in television sets larger than 13″. -
Deaf Schools Termed 'Restrictive'
The 1972 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is re-adopted and amended to recommend that disabled students should attend schools with the “least restrictive environment.”
Residential deaf schools are struck a blow as they become labeled the “most restrictive environment.”
Enrollment plunges, and some schools close their doors. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is passed
giving all disabled students the right to attend neighborhood schools in a “least restrictive environment.” Residential schools for the Deaf are labeled “most restrictive environment.” Policy of assimilation into society is the goal of IDEA. Residential schools for the Deaf in some states are forced to close because of decreasing enrollment, but number of Deaf teachers rise slightly (to 16%) as more teaching opportunities in the public schools and the desire for Deaf role models increase. -
First Deaf Miss America Crowned
Heather Whitestone, an orally educated deaf woman from Birmingham, Alabama, wins the coveted crown. Her attempt to calm the storm by stressing individual differences and “it (speech) worked for me, but it does not work for all deaf children” does not entirely end the controversy. The question is often asked, “Is she an appropriate deaf role model for deaf children and for the general public?” -
Use of cochlear implants increases
Nucleus 22 device and SPEAK speech processing system (developed at the University of Melbourne, Australia) are the latest technological advances in implantation.• 12,000 candidates have been implanted at a cost of approximately $40,000. Adults and Children severely to profoundly Deaf, age two and above are considered candidates. Many parents opt for cochlear implants and mainstreamed education as an educational plan for their Deaf children.sig -
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released new captioning rules for the broadcast and cable television industry.
These new rules now require 100% of cable television to be captioned within eight years, and require real-time captioning for many local news programs.The FCC has revised its rule to require that 100% of new programming must be captioned, beginning Jan. 1, 2006 -
Deaf contestant competed on reality tv show "Survivor"
Christy Smith, Athletic Deaf Woman and alumnus of Gallaudet University competed on reality TV show “Survivor” -
Deanne Bray
F.B.Eye on the Pax channel.Bray grew up deaf since birth (May 14, 1971) and uses one hearing aid.Bray was involved with deaf theater (Deaf West Theatre). -
Curtis Pride
Born in the Washington, DC metro area, deaf at birth from rubella. He grew up oral. -
Dancing with the Stars
Marlee Matlin competes in “Dancing With The Stars” -
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Switched at Birth
American television series that premiered on ABC Family on June 6, 2011. The one-hour scripted drama revolves around two teenagers who were switched at birth and grew up in very different environments. The series’ debut was the highest-rated show debut for ABC Family to date. According to ABC Family, it is “the first mainstream television series to have multiple deaf and hard-of-hearing series regulars and scenes shot entirely in ASL. -
Switched at Birth ASL only
The show aired an entire episode using only ASL with captions for the audience unfamiliar with sign language Switched at Birth airs an entire episode using only ASL with captions for the audience unfamiliar with sign language The episode is inspired by the historic 1988 “Deaf President Now” protest at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. in which students alumni and staff barricaded and occupied the campus until their demand for a deaf university president was heard and met -
Deaf Runner up in America's Next Top Model
Nyle DiMarco is an American model, actor, and deaf activist. In 2015, DiMarco was the second male winner and the first deaf winner of The CW's America's Next Top Model Cycle 22. -
Dancing with the Stars
Nyle Dimarco won Dancing with the Stars -
National Association of the Deaf conducted census of Deaf American
counted 13.4 million hearing and 1.8 million deaf Americans.
