Timeline of Deaf History, Laws, & Advancements

  • Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf

    Milan Conference promotes oralism and bans sign language use in schools
    (deafhistory.eu)
  • National Association for the Deaf

    National Association for the Deaf
    The National Association for the Deaf (NAD) is organized for the defense of Deaf individuals' civil rights
    (nad.org)
  • Stokoe's Analysis

    Stokoe's Analysis
    Stokoe analyzes the structure of American Sign Language (Spencer 2016)
  • Period: to

    Research of language development

    Brown's research on stages of acquisition marks the start of the research boom on language development (Spencer 2016)
  • Hearing and Development

    Downs and Sterritt promotes the effect of hearing experience on later development (Spencer 2016)
  • Language and Emotion

    Meadow and Schlesinger publish Sound and Sign: Childhood Deafness and Mental Health, a book about the relationships between language and social-emotional development (Spencer 2016)
  • Total Communication

    Total Communication
    Holcomb coins the term "total communication" to support the use of whatever communication method is best based on the individual (ERIC Digest #559)
  • Joint Committee on Infant Hearing

    The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing advises early hearing screening for children with increased risk factors, such as family history and birth trauma
    (Spencer 2016)
  • Educational Inclusion

    The "US Education for All Handicapped Children" passes for increased inclusion in public schools
    (Spencer 2016)
  • Audism

    Audism
    Tom Humphries coins the term "audism" to describe discrimination due to one's ability to hear
    (Spencer 2016)
  • Hearing Aid Improvements

    Hearing Aid Improvements
    Technology improvements lead to hybrid hearing aid models utilizing digital processors for individualized tuning
    (Spencer 2016)
  • Early Intervention

    US legislation introduces expectation for intervention services for identified disabilities to be provided from birth (Spencer 2016)
  • CI Approval for Kids

    The US FDA approves Cochlear Implant surgery for children ages 2 to 17 (Spencer 2016)
  • deaf vs. Deaf

    deaf vs. Deaf
    Padden and Humphries define "deaf" and "Deaf" in Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture
    (nad.org)
  • ADA

    The American's with Disabilities Act passes to prohibit discrimination due to a disability
    (ada.gov)
  • Research on Newborn Hearing Screenings

    White and Utah team publish first large scale study investigating newborn hearing screenings
    (TedTalk: White, 2012)
  • Early Detection

    The US CDC and Joint Committee on Infant Hearing promotes the identification of hearing loss by 3 months of age and implementing intervention by 6 months of age (Spencer 2016) https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hearingloss/documents/hearing-factsheet-508.pdf