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355 BCE
Ancient Greeks Deny Deaf Education
Deaf people were not educated. Without hearing, people could not learn. Those born deaf become senseless and incapable of reason • Greek = perfect language • Can’t speak Greek = Barbarians • Deaf = barbarian -
550
Early Christians see Deafness as Sin
St. Augustine • Tells early Christians that deaf children are a sign of God’s anger at the sins of their parents Dark and Middle Ages • Deaf are committed to asylums because of speech and behavior … thought to be possessed by demons -
1500
First Attempts at Educating the Deaf
Geronimo Cardano of Padua, Italy
• First physician to recognize the ability of the deaf to reason.
• Teaches his deaf son using a code of symbols. Believes the Deaf can be taught written language Pedro Ponce de Leon, a Benedictine Monk
• To communicate necessary information, the monks develop their own form of sign language.
• Successfully teaches speech to people deaf since birth
• He taught deaf sons of the Spanish nobility in order that they might inherit property -
Juan Pablo Bonet
• An advocate of early sign language. Wrote the first well-known book of manual alphabetic signs for the deaf in 1620. -
Oral Education
• German oral teacher of the deaf • The first oral school for the deaf in the world in Germany – Heinicke teaches pupils speech by having them feel his throat while he speaks – his orally based educational techniques are called “the German Method.” -
French Sign Language Established
Charles Michel De L’Eppe
• Established the first free public school for the deaf in France.
• Worked to develop a bridge between the deaf and hearing worlds through a system of standardized signs and finger spelling.
• Established the first free public school for the deaf in 1771
• Wrote “The Instruction of Deaf and Mute Persons Using Methodological Signs”, first book to advocate the use of natural signs -
Period: to
Golden Age of Deaf Education
– American Sign Language flourishes. Approximately 40% of all teachers are Deaf