Noise is everywhere. In the classroom where the teacher lectures the class or on the highway during rush hour where everyone is blasting music on the radio and revving their engines. We hear everything, and we don’t even notice. Take a second, listen. Do you hear it? The AC humming, or the sound of your own breathing. We don’t realize how lucky we are to hear these things. The sound of laughter or the sound of your favorite song on the radio.
There are over 11 million people in the United States that are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing. American Sign Language, or ASL, is a visual language using movements of the hands and face. It is the language used by millions of people in the United States many of which who don’t have trouble hearing at all.
American sign language is one of the only ways for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate with others around them It has been proved that those who use ASL have enhanced social skills and form better relationships with people. By using sign language, people who can’t hear the language that most people speak can have a voice. Sign language helps develop communication skills in those hard of hearing that are crucial for the rest of their lives.
Teacher Morgan Anderson is one of the American Sign Language Club sponsors at Blackman High School. The American Sign Language club teaches students the basics of sign language. In the club students learn how to sign simple phrases to each other and even get to learn to sign their favorite songs on occasion.
When asked why learning sign language is important, Anderson states, “The deaf community is very underrepresented and suffers a high abuse rate.”
Deaf children speak a different language than most of us. They can’t understand the words that come out of our mouths and read lips as easily at such a young age.
Stated in a study on the high abuse rates for deaf children by the Rochester Institute of Technology, “Seventy-seven percent of deaf and hard-of-hearing respondents indicated experiencing some form of child maltreatment, compared with 49 percent among hearing respondents.”
The high abuse rate is caused by the communication barrier between the hard of hearing child and their parents. Because of the communication barrier between a deaf child and their parent, it can cause problems in their family. This also causes depression, PTSD and anxiety in people who are deaf or hard of hearing because of the maltreatment from their youth.
With ASL being a great way for a parent to connect to their child, it can help resolve many problems. Learning basic ASL does have its perks. You can talk to a huge community of people! It is a very useful tool to have.
“It’s super fun! It’s useful for little ones. It’s a way to reach an unreached community,” says Anderson.
Even at our school you can branch out a try to learn this cool language. We have a sign language club! They meet every Monday after school till 4:30 pm.
ASL is a way to try a new language, reach a new community, and help make new friends. What a wonderful way to meet new people and learn something new!
