Start American Sign Language Blog

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Here's what's new at Start ASL...

May 20, 2013

William Stokoe

My favorite person from Deaf history is William Stokoe, because he proved in his dissertation that ASL is a genuine language with unique syntax and grammar.

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May 14, 2013

Lou Ferrigno

Lou has been an inspiration to many deaf, he played the Hulk in the original series, he also appeared in I love you, Man and appeared as himself in The

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May 06, 2013

Shaun McLaughlin

A deaf father who refused to force his deaf child to wear a bad model cochlear implant and thus lost custody. He understood how it was to be forced to

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Apr 19, 2013

My Favorite Person from Deaf History

Without a doubt, Helen Keller is my absolute favorite person from Deaf History. My third grade teacher read the story of Helen Keller to us and showed

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Apr 11, 2013

Joseph Henry Sharp

Joseph Henry Sharp was one of the founding members of the Taos Society of Artists, a group that produced some of the most significant artwork in American

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Apr 09, 2013

William "Dummy" Hoy

I was born hard of hearing and I have heard of a few famous deaf people on and off in my life such as Helen Keller, Beethoven, Alexander Graham Bell, Heather

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Apr 01, 2013

"Father of ASL Linguistics"

After reading this article, I decided to look into the life of William Stokoe because the work he did for Gallaudet as well as the development of American

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Mar 30, 2013

A greater sense of life: Helen Keller

Several people come to mind when considering who has most impacted me from the Deaf community and history. Evelyn Glennie, for example, has contributed

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Mar 30, 2013

Challenging Society: Alice Cogswell

Despite a short life, Alice Cogswell led a life well-lived. I admire her greatly because she did not allow society to tell her that being deaf in the 1820's

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Mar 27, 2013

Learning ASL

I am a college student, almost finished with my 2nd semester of ASL. I absolutely love it. In fact I had just watched Through Deaf Eyes this week, for

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Mar 25, 2013

A Negative Impact on Hard of Hearing Kids in a Hearing World!

I am hard of hearing in a hearing world. I lost 80% of my hearing by age 4 due to many untreated ear infections and cannot hear at all in my right ear

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Mar 20, 2013

Helen Keller

Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama on June 27, 1880. Her father was Arthur H Keller and her teacher was Anne Sullivan. Helen Keller at 19 months

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Mar 12, 2013

Contemporary Deaf Performers: Focusing on Joel Barish

I have read a lot about the oppression of the Deaf, but I really appreciate people who have embraced Deaf culture and have a passion for studying the social

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Feb 27, 2013

Alexander Graham Bell

I know that Alexander Graham Bell is a very controversial figure in Deaf culture, understandably. I can also see how his invention isolated an already

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Feb 22, 2013

Marlee Matlin

If you haven't seen What the bleep do we know stop reading this and go watch it right now. This incredible movie, staring Marlee Matlin may not be Children

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Feb 20, 2013

Any people of color here? If not, I choose William Hoy

William Hoy was a very bright man. After completing his high school education, he set up a shoe repair shop and played baseball on the weekends. He was

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Feb 16, 2013

ASL with babies works!

I purchased a book about ASL before my boy was born. I started reading it when he was a month old and it encouraged me to sign to get into the habit. So

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Feb 13, 2013

Robin Trask, Interpreter, Cincinnati, Ohio

I can be contacted by email at robintrask@yahoo.com, by phone at 513-919-9273 or by mail, 1048 Ironstone Dr., Cincinnati, Ohio 45240. I began learning

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Feb 05, 2013

My Ancestor

My favorite significant role in the history of sign language has to be my ancestor Helen Keller. She comes from my dad's side of my family tree. It wasn't

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Jan 28, 2013

Fingerspelling Hangman

Most teachers already know this one. In fact, I am sure I learned it when I was a newbie student myself. 1. Set up the board, powerpoint, overhead,

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