First and foremost, sign language is used in the Deaf community, by the hard of hearing, the deaf/blind, and interpreters for the deaf. In addition, it is used by parents, family, friends, and service providers for the deaf and the Deaf community, who support the use of signing as a way to communicate.

The use of sign language has also expanded into many various settings that are not related to the deaf population. An example of this is the application of sign language in educational settings. Educational applications can range from enhancement of language in young children to assisting communication within the highly diverse special-needs population. (However, it must be noted that the use of this type of basic sign language does not and cannot compare to the pure ASL used within the Deaf community.)

Whatever your reasons are for learning and using sign language, the result will be a positive experience and an additional life skill. Perhaps you will find your occupation or special interest mentioned in the sections that follow. Perhaps you are simply fascinated with this visual language. Following is a look at the occupations and special interests that often require skill in sign language.

Special-Needs Educators

Special-needs educators apply visual signs to stimulate, ease, and assist communication. Within the challenged population, the signs adopted for use are often modified or simplified. Using modified signs accommodates the diverse challenges of special-needs children and adults alike. Each year, the number of special-needs educators who adopt visual signs for use within a classroom setting increases. Special-needs job trainers and various service providers who are involved with independent living programs are also using signs as a means of supporting communication and providing information.

Regular Educators

As each year passes, more educators in high schools and colleges support the acceptance of ASL as a second language. Courses in American Sign Language are now being taught for academic credit in world, foreign, and modern language programs.

Educators working within regular educational systems are witnessing the enrichment that ASL brings to the lives of their students. Today, you will see ASL students in upper grades of high schools go into the lower grades and share their knowledge. They stage fun-filled demonstrations in sign language to the delight of the younger students. You will also find college students applying their signing skills in community service projects, in school programs for children, in their places of worship, on their jobs, and in the practicum. These students often become the greatly needed interpreters or service providers for the deaf, the Deaf community, and the hard of hearing.

This refreshing new fascination with ASL as a second language has piqued the interest of teachers and paraprofessionals. School systems are now starting to offer basic ASL courses for their staff as well. The goal is to bring this language into the classroom to enhance language and communication skills. As a result, teachers and support staff are also reaping the benefits that come from the acceptance of ASL as a second language in educational systems.

Children of Deaf Adults

Today, there is a higher probability that students whose parents are deaf will be enrolling into a public school system. These students are known as “CODAs” within the Deaf community. CODA, or Children of Deaf Adults, are bilingual and bicultural as a result of the Deaf environment in which they grow up. Yet at the same time, these children also live, socialize, and attend schools in the hearing world. The acronym KODA, or Kids of Deaf Adults, represents the younger portion of this population.

The use of sign language in this type of situation would have a double purpose. First, ASL would likely be the primary method of communication for members of the Deaf community who are parents. Therefore, signing would be required for effective communication between the parents and school personnel. Deaf parents are generally pleased to learn that a school has staff members who can sign, even if their signing skills are basic. Basic signing skills can serve as a bridge until an interpreter arrives for meetings or teacher conferences. These simple signing skills can also provide helpful information in the event there is an emergency involving the child. It is important to remember that the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, mandates that an interpreter be provided to ensure that deaf parents receive equal access to communication.

The second application of sign language would be for the ease and comfort of the KODA student into a classroom setting. In all probability, ASL will be the student's first language. Signing, to some degree, may be necessary to support spoken language and facilitate the first year of school for the young bilingual student of Deaf parents.

Early Educators and Providers

Early educators and providers are using sign language to enhance language acquisition and build cognitive skills. Through the efforts of these educators and providers, young children are able to experience the fun that comes from learning signed vocabulary. Excitement fills the air as young children learn signs through a variety of games, signed stories, and singing and signing songs. At the same time, these providers are also instilling children with an awareness and sensitivity toward children who have verbal, mental, and physical challenges. They are able to teach children that signing is simply another way of communicating and that it is okay to be different.

Public Employees

Police officers, firefighters, and first responders have also gained an interest in sign language. Many have completed courses in ASL or are presently enrolled in a program of ASL studies. This, in turn, is improving access to communication for the deaf, the Deaf community and the hard of hearing when the need arises for services provided by public employees. In addition, this interest has benefited all involved by promoting positive attitudes and awareness toward the deaf.

Medical Personnel

Medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, hospital staff, medical centers, and physicians'offices are quickly realizing the advantages of knowing basic sign language. In the medical community, it is becoming more common for doctors, hospitals, and medical centers to be visited by deaf adults.

A very large percentage of these deaf adults are part of what is known as the “Rubella Bulge” of the 1960s. Also called the German Measles Epidemic, the Rubella Bulge created an enormous surge in incidences of deafness. Of those pregnant women who contracted German measles, or rubella, an extraordinarily high number had infants who were born with birth defects. These defects ranged from deafness, heart conditions, and blindness to complicated multiple birth defects. Between 1963 and 1965 alone, over 30,000 Rubella babies were born. The estimated rate of hearing loss was 73 percent.

Today, this portion of the Deaf population ranges in age from the mid-thirties to early fifties. They are now starting to experience their share of medical concerns and problems. Members of various medical communities are learning basic signs. The goal is to help ease frustrations experienced by deaf patients in communicating some of their basic medical needs.

Presently, sign language classes boast a high enrollment of medical personnel. If the medical profession is your interest or future line of work, you will be pleased to know that in this book there is an entire chapter dedicated to the medical field. (See Chapter 16.)

Service Providers

Service providers working in the following areas are exposed daily to a large percentage of the public. The probability of encountering a deaf or hard-of-hearing person who is seeking services from any of these areas increases with every passing year:

• Federal, state, and town agencies

• Postal services, banks, transportation

• Restaurants, retailers, hotels, theaters

• Libraries, parks, museums

• Ministries, churches, synagogues

The enormous increase in the deafened population that resulted from the German Measles Epidemic has and will have far-reaching effects on service providers. Today, the population of the Rubella Bulge is thriving. They are now adults and are members of Deaf communities, who have spread out all across the country. Many are married, have children, pay taxes, own cars, and support homes. They live their daily lives no differently than the average American. This also means they are consumers of products and services in all areas. The chances of anyone meeting, providing services to, or employing members of this Deaf community continuously increase.