In your interview for the AskHistorians tumblr you allude briefly to the founding of Gaulladet resulting from acts of abuse committed by a man I presume to have been a teacher of the deaf. Could you elaborate a bit about this incident?

I'm interested in the existence of Gaulladet as an institute of higher learning for Deaf adults--was this at all controversial at the time? How were Deaf people viewed, in terms of intelligence and general ability? I ask this because I have an uncle who was born in likely the late 30s or early 40s with a (presumably significant*) hearing impairment and was deemed stupid and thus not educated past first grade. Based on his experience, I had thought the view of Deaf people as unintelligent was widespread relatively recently.

*/ His hearing was never tested as a child and he has a "deaf accent", but was later almost fully deafened as an adult working in forestry (chainsaws with no ear protection).

Do you know about sign language linguistic relationships? I'm curious if LSQ (langue des signes de Québec) is also related to LSF (langue des signes française) as I understand ASL (American Sign Language) to be. Are there other linguistic "family trees" of sign languages?

Finally, I'm from London, Ontario, and am thus familiar with the "sign writing" research at Robard's. Have there been other attempts to write down sign language? Using characters unique to it, rather than borrowed from a spoken language?

Thanks for doing this. I am wondering about the history of jokes and stories that the hearing impaired tell and told. Do you know anything about what stories were once told and if/how they changed over time?

I've been told by a deaf person that they did not want to speak to me because of their disgust at my hearing aids. I know there is also a lot of tension over cochlear implants and the idea of genetic modification. Deaf people dont see deafness as needing to be fixed. Where does this cultural exclusiveness come from?

Hey there!

As someone who is hearing-impaired and uses hearing aids, I've always wondered what type of devices were used before modern hearing aids? Do we have evidence of early modern hearing aids?

I've got another one! What is the history of ASL? Who came up with it and who formulated the signs? Is there is Academie of ASL that sets which signs mean what?

hi! So glad you're doing this AMA! My question is: I know there's a lot of contention between the Deaf community and the larger disability community. Was there ever a point historically where Deaf people did consider themselves disabled? What about Deaf people who were also blind or had other conditions?

Where did the line between "hard of hearing" and deaf historically fall and how has it shifted over time?

Hoping you can answer this, but if not, no worries.

How long has the distinction between Deaf and deaf been widely understood/implemented/accepted among the community?

So if modern ASL dates really only to the early 19th century, what were deaf folks doing to communicate for all the centuries before that?

This is very trivial, but are there any interesting name signs in ASL for historical figures? I know name signs are used for friends and family but I wonder if there are any historical figures that are talked about enough to merit a sign.

1. Do you anything about any historical or contemporary indigenous sign languages in North America? Were there any distinct Deaf cultures in pre-colonial US or Canada? How far back do our sources go?

2. I've been told that in Martha's Vineyard most hearing people would know sign language, and that deaf people were not really marginalized. How true is this? Was there a Deaf culture in Martha's Vineyard, separate from the mainstream hearing culture?

3. Where can I learn more about MVSL? Did it develop from LSF, BSL, or emerge independently like Nicaraguan Sign Language?

what is deaf studies?

So, I think you've mentioned this before, but:

To what degree can deaf history be treated as a subset of the emerging field of disability studies, and to what degree can deaf history be treated that a linguistic minority?

I've seen you make several references in your posts to the idea of the deaf community as a linguistic minority, but since most deaf individuals historically are raised by non-deaf parents and only learn sign at school, this makes them almost the polar opposite of most other conceptions of what defines the existence of a linguistic minority.

Who would be on your list as significant/influential deaf people throughout history? People on the level of Pasteur, Curie, Einstein, etc? As a hard of hearing person, I rarely hear/read about people like that.

Thanks for doing an AMA!

I'm interested in the development of American Sign Language, but I'm afraid I won't ask the question properly. Really, I'm interested in the origin and formalization of sign language, how the rules and signs were agreed upon, and what debate (if any) there was surrounding a more uniform sign language. I hope that makes sense.

Also, if you have time, can you talk a little about some of the aspects of deaf culture that those of the outside may not witness or know about? Jokes, slang, norms of behavior, etc.?

Thanks again!

Can you tell us about the development of the Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language, especially in how its origins differ from other sign language families.

Okay, I'm a college student and I'm trying to write a paper. I am almost positive that cochlear implants are only possible because of the research done on deaf children sometime in maybe the 18th or 19th centuries. I need some sources so I can write about this, but I can barely find anything that supports my idea! Am I totally on the wrong track? Am I looking in the wrong place? oAo

I'm a lad with partial hearing, and I gotta say thanks for doing this AMA. I don't have any questions, but hot damn diggidy I'm learning some interesting stuff.

Thanks! :D

have deaf people historically stonger arms and hands due to sign language and having to try commicute with their bodies?