ERIC Number: EJ743800
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 8
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0302-1475
EISSN: N/A
Comments on "W(h)ither the Deaf Community?"
Moores, Donald F.
Sign Language Studies, v6 n2 p202-209 Win 2006
Responding to Johnston's projections for the future of Australian Sign Language (Auslan), I analyzed school enrollments in American educational programs and found similar trends. There are fewer deaf and hard of hearing children in school now than twenty years ago, with the largest decline, approximately 50 percent, among children with profound hearing losses. Consistent with the Australian data, although to a smaller degree, increasing numbers of children are educated through oral-only means, have cochlear implants, and are placed in integrated settings. Despite these trends, Johnston's concerns for Auslan do not appear to apply to ASL, primarily because the American population, and, by extension, the American Deaf population, is fifteen times greater than that of Australia. Even with reductions in numbers a critical mass will remain. Secondly, the American Deaf community is heavily involved in education, more so than in any other country. The future of ASL and the American Deaf community is strong.
Descriptors: American Sign Language, Enrollment Trends, Assistive Technology, Deafness, Trend Analysis, Rubella, Population Trends, Partial Hearing, Foreign Countries, Classroom Communication, Language Maintenance
Gallaudet University Press. 800 Florida Avenue NE, Denison House, Washington, DC 20002-3695. Tel: 202-651-5488; Fax: 202-651-5489; Web site: http://gupress.gallaudet.edu/SLS.html.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A