The education of deaf children has evolved markedly, especially since 1950, nowadays a deaf child has the same possibilities of accessing university studies or any job, although until recently, deaf children had no chance of practically almost nothing.
In 1880, in an International Congress on Education of the Deaf held in Italy, something approved that today would be unacceptable for the rest of society, education for deaf children should be exclusively oral and it was forbidden to use sign language. Without a doubt it was a totally wrong decision that has conditioned for many years the intellectual development of very capable people.
The result of this decision was to use sneak sign language, on many occasions even parents accepted this law and expressed themselves with their children orally and if they did not understand them, they received a spanking. Years passed and children and adults had to suffer the isolation of verbal language and sign language, since it was frowned upon to be used. A true ordeal has suffered the deaf child population until finally, in 1951 the newly created World Federation of the Deaf defended with true aplomb the right to use sign language being a mother tongue of the deaf community. Since then the improvements have happened, the integration and access to what was then banned is already a fact.
From Babies and more we celebrate this news, sign language will be declared linguistic heritage and cultural heritage, something that will surely thank the deaf community and a good part of the listeners. The language of the gestures is necessary for the deaf but it is also very important for the listeners, some examples we have with the book The gestures of the baby or in the post where our companion Eliana showed us how important are the signs in sign language To communicate with your baby.
Sign language deserves a place among the different languages of our planet, it is undoubtedly a world heritage site.
