Most deaf people do not know Sign Language


"The overwhelming majority of people categorized as deaf by the NHS and SIPP are perfectly fluent speakers of English (or another spoken language) and did not experience any difficulty hearing until well into adulthood (e.g., Blanchfield, Dunbar, Feldman, & Gardner, 1999; Mitchell, 2005). As a consequence, most people who are audiologically deaf do not use sign language."

Source: Draft manuscript accepted for publication in Sign Language Studies, Volume 6, Number 3, 2006 How Many People Use ASL in the United States? Why Estimates Need Updating. Ross E. Mitchell, Travas A. Young, Bellamie Bachleda,and Michael A. Karchmer Gallaudet Research Institute Gallaudet University

"Accessible meeting space allows

 everyone to participate." 

(Source: http://www.ada.gov/business/accessiblemtg.htm

"What does it mean for communication to be “effective”? Simply put, “effective communication” means that whatever is written or spoken must be as clear and understandable to people with disabilities as it is for people who do not have disabilities."

(Source: http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap3toolkit.htm)

Examples of Effective communication:   http://www.dartmouth.edu/~accessibility/effcomm/index.html

“Just as with wheelchair access issues, 

advocacy is paramount,” Kasper wrote. 

“Staying at home to avoid problems or 

pretending to understand when we don’t 

will not help us or future generations, and

 joining with others in a cause can be 

rewarding in itself.” (Source:  http://globalaccessibilitynews.com/2011/04/17/hackensack-church-offers-captioning-for-hearing-impaired/)