A News Release from the National Association of the Deaf

Release Date: February 1, 2008

Contact:

Anita B. Farb

Director, Communications and Operations

National Association of the Deaf

Email: www.nad.org/contactus

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NAD Board of Directors Approves New ASL Position Statement

Silver Spring, MD -- The Board of Directors of the National Association

of the Deaf (NAD) approved a new position statement on American Sign

Language (ASL) at its January 2008 meeting in Santa Fe, NM.

The NAD reaffirmed its stance that acquisition of language from birth is

a human right for every person, and that deaf infants and children

should be given the opportunity to acquire and develop proficiency in

ASL as early as possible. ASL is recognized as the sign language of the

American deaf community.

"This ASL position statement now brings us full circle and draws upon

the original values of our founders," said Bobbie Beth Scoggins, NAD

President.  "Since 1880, the NAD has worked tirelessly to preserve,

protect, and promote ASL as human right. The NAD also strongly believes

in the right of deaf children to achieve linguistic fluency in both ASL

and English so that they can become fully participating, contributing,

and productive members of American society."

To view the full position statement in ASL and English, visit

www.nad.org/ASLposition.

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

Position Statement

National Association of the Deaf

"As long as we have deaf people on earth, we will have signs."

George Veditz, Preservation of Sign Language, 1913

In 1880, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) was established by deaf

leaders who believed in the right of the American deaf community to use sign

language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to have its

interests represented at the national level. These beliefs remain true to

this day, with American Sign Language (ASL) as a core value.

The NAD reaffirms its position that acquisition of language from birth is a

human right for every person, and that deaf infants and children should be

given the opportunity to acquire and develop proficiency in ASL as early as

possible.  This position is also in line with the stance of the World

Federation of the Deaf and the United Nations on human rights, including the

recognition of sign languages.

ASL as a Language

ASL is the recognized sign language of the deaf community in the United

States of America. As is the case with standardized spoken, written, and

signed languages worldwide, ASL conforms to linguistic principles (e.g.,

semantics, syntax, morphology, phonology, and pragmatics).  The complex

visual-spatial linguistic structure of ASL is distinct from English, a

linear, sequential language based on auditory processes.

As with other languages, native fluency in ASL is achieved through exposure

and interaction early in life. Learning of ASL as an additional language can

also begin at any time and continue over the course of a lifetime.

ASL and Early Development

The earliest years of a child's life are the most critical for language

acquisition, a time when the foundation is formed for cognitive and literacy

development. Babies are born with the innate ability to acquire languages

accessible to them and used by their families and care providers. Language

competency is essential for cognitive, social, emotional, and psychological

development. The NAD takes the position that as a fully accessible visual

language, ASL should be made available to every deaf infant, in addition to

any assistive technologies that may be used to take advantage of the deaf

infant's access to the language(s) used by their families and care

providers.

The NAD supports maximizing language proficiency in deaf infants through the

implementation of a dual language approach; that is, incorporating early

acquisition and learning of ASL and English. Furthermore, the NAD is

strongly committed to ensuring that parents of newly identified deaf infants

and children receive accurate information about the benefits of acquiring

and developing proficiency in both languages.

ASL in the Home and at School

Preparing deaf children to achieve optimal linguistic fluency in both ASL

and English enables them to later engage in meaningful adult discourse as

fully participating, contributing, and productive members of American

society.

The NAD urges parents of deaf infants and children to learn about the

benefits of the dual language approach (ASL and English) and the rich

heritage of the American deaf community.  The NAD also urges its affiliates

and individual members to welcome deaf children and their families into the

deaf community, to work with these families in becoming familiar with the

lives and successes of deaf persons, to assist them in learning ASL, and to

serve as a resource and source of support.

Educational programs serving deaf students nationwide are increasingly

adopting a dual language approach to educating deaf children, based on

similar linguistic principles and practices for other world languages which

promote learning more than one language as early as feasible. Language and

cultural competencies also contribute to healthy development of identity and

self-esteem in deaf children, including fluid movement between the deaf and

hearing communities.

Programs serving deaf infants and children and their families should provide

ASL immersion opportunities for families of newly identified deaf infants

and children.  Specifically, the NAD takes the position that these programs

should involve interaction and discourse with ASL-fluent members of the

American deaf community, including parents of deaf children. Early

intervention, pre-school, elementary and secondary education personnel

should have the requisite ASL and English competencies.

The NAD reiterates its position that acquisition of language from birth is a

human right for every person, and that deaf infants and children should be

given the opportunity to acquire and develop proficiency in American Sign

Language (ASL) as early as possible.

Approved January 2008 by the NAD Board of Directors

SEARCH NAD.ORG

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About the NAD

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) was established in 1880 by

deaf leaders on the belief in the right of the American deaf community

to use sign language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to

have its interests represented at the national level. These beliefs

remain true to this day, with American Sign Language as a core value. As

a nonprofit federation, the mission of the NAD is to promote, protect,

and preserve the civil, human, and linguistic rights of deaf Americans.

The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering the breadth of a

lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early

intervention, education, employment, health care, technology,

telecommunications, youth leadership, and more.  For more information,

please visit www.nad.org (http://www.nad.org).