Deaf history

To name the most famous, Helen Keller and Douglas Tilden were both deaf and contributed great works to culture.

In the United States, they recount the story of Laurent Clerc, a Deaf educator, and Thomas H. Gallaudet, an American educator, coming to the United States from France in 1816 to help found the first permanent school for deaf children in the country.

The use of sign language is central to the Deaf peoples as a cultural identity and attempts to limit its use are viewed as an attack.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities are closely drawn together due to their culture and use of Sign Language.

Athletics open up a path to achievement where many others are shut out by prejudice due to the level playing field of certain sports.

Athletics also create many networking opportunities for Deaf people across the United States to expand their social circles, due to the increased mobility that results from out-of-state competitions, because the deaf population is considerably small at the local scale.

In athletics, they can find solidarity where they are able to comfortably communicate with one another without barriers, embrace values and social norms natural for them and distinct from those in the hearing community, and allow for Deaf people to participate as coaches, athletes, and participants.