Did you know that there is a language where people speak only with their hands? American Sign Language (ASL) was first created in the 19th century thanks to French sign language carrying over into the United States. The creator of American Sign Language is a man named Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who was an American educator in the 18th century. Gallaudet established a school for ASL which was the start to this new language. ASL has always interested me, so I did some digging to find out more about it.

Over centuries of development this language has hit many milestones. One of many milestones is the development of the first ASL dictionary, which was made by William Stokoe in the 1960s. Throughout the 19th and 20th century schools from all over the country started teaching ASL such as New York Institution for the Deaf, and the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.

The deaf community has grown immensely and so has ASL. Just like the spoken English language, it changes with each new generation of users. A major milestone that affected the ASL community is the ADA pass, American Disabilities Act which was a legal right that protects all deaf people and gives them access to an ASL interpreter whenever they need. Over time ASL has been frequently used.

Social media has allowed ASL users to reach other deaf users who may relate or even help out people that want to learn sign language. American Sign Language is not only for people who
are deaf or hard of hearing, but it is also for non verbal speakers. Research tells that ASL helps nonverbal people with autism, some may say it helps non verbal people to begin being  verbal. Sign Language is very easy and quick to learn because it is visually based, which is why many parents opt to teach their children sign language before they are old enough to speak verbally.

In conclusion the history of American Sign Language has grown and has impacted humanity positively. American Sign Language is accessible to all people and has been gaining more attraction as the day goes by, a major impact of that has been thanks to social media and influencers.