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This location within the United States had a high prevalence of people who were hard of hearing and later were considered to be deaf. In some areas, 1/4 of people in this area were deaf. Martha's Sign Language was created for people in this area to communicate with one another. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/asl/deaf-history-timeline
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The National Association for the Deaf (NAD) takes pride in advocating for deaf or hard of hearing individuals, promoting the use of sign language, and using sign language to make important legal decisions. The link below shows discusses how the objectives of NAD have remained the same since the 1800's. https://www.nad.org/about-us/
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The first school for the deaf was established by a French man and and American citizen who was determined to bring American Sign Language to people in the United States. French Sign Language and the mode of communication from Martha's Vineyard was combined to create this new and updated language called, American Sign Language. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/asl/deaf-history-timeline
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The Gallaudet University was founded, specifically for deaf students (and today is still the only liberal arts university with this recognition). https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/asl/deaf-history-timeline
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With the intention of making long distance communication more accessible, Robert Weitbrecht who was a deaf scientist, invented the teletypewriter. This device allowed people in the deaf community to communicate through the use of video tools and equipment. https://www.nad.org/resources/technology/telephone-and-relay-services/tty-and-tty-relay-services/#:~:text=Robert%20Weitbrecht%2C%20a%20deaf%20scientist,other%20directly%20using%20these%20devices.
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The completed version of the ASL dictionary was completed by William Stokoe, (language expert) who proved to the general public that ASL was in fact, a full, complex language. He proved that ASL follows grammatical rules and structures too. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/asl/deaf-history-timeline
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"People with disabilities cannot "solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance..." (The Right to Language, 2013). This is applicable to the people in the deaf community because interpreters or other accommodations were made , so people who are deaf could have access to language in schools in US schools.
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The United States law that mandates that students with a disability are provided a free, appropriate public education is IDEA. IDEA also opened up many doors for people in the deaf community, (and others with disabilities) so that they can receive accommodations and modifications to meet their individual learning needs. IDEA was later updated in 2004.
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The National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Program recommended that newborns should be screened for hearing loss before leaving the hospital. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A358056849/AONE?u=buffalostate&sid=AONE&xid=ad808894
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The Affordable Care Act helped to make health insurance more affordable to people, including those utilizing hearing aids or other medical devices. https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act/
