Something spectacular is about to happen this March here in the Lehigh Valley. The Young at Art Expo, that will be happening in the Lehigh Valley, is looking for deaf interpreters to have the successful inclusion of the hearing impaired. This is a huge step for this expo as it is used to promote all sorts of camps that deal with the arts throughout the summer. This will be the fifth annual event and it will be promoting camps and schools such as the Community School of Music, The Baum School of Art, The Civic Theatre of Allentown, Lehigh Valley Martial Arts, and many more.
During this event, there will be a booth sponsored by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing TaskForce. They will be introducing children and adults to the form of communication known as sign-language and will be teaching them simple words to sign. This is to make the public aware that even the hard of hearing can partake in all the events that are offered, and that communication is not difficult.
This is a fantastic cause and movement. For too long have the hearing impaired felt left out and placed on the back burner. Now, people are doing something about it and movements like these are popping up everywhere.
I believe learning sign language is learning a second language which is similar to those learning English as a Second Language. We all have to start somewhere and this is a brilliant idea. The younger the children start learning another language the better communication skills they will have as they grow up. This works the same way for ESL children. We need to push for more ESL learning throughout schools and make everyone aware and accepting of the pursuit of inclusion! What this Expo is showing that with the hearing impaired, and hopefully many other events and schools will follow suit.
I love your comment that you believe learning sign language is learning a second language which is similar to those learning ESL. I never really thought it about in those terms but it isn't entirely different. There are barriers everywhere but it's important to push through the barriers that exist. I also like how you tied this into the inequity of ESL. It would be amazing if schools started an initiative such as this one, even if they don't have students that are deaf and hard of hearing.
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