Lucy Oppenheimer and ASL

A brief history of the Deaf and the experiences of Lucy Oppenheimer, New Roads’ very own Deaf ASL teacher.

For those of you who are in ASL you know that our new ASL teacher is Deaf. For those who have walked into Davinci and been confused, now you know why no one was talking. Lucy Oppenheimer, the new ASL teacher is second generation Deaf, meaning that she has been Deaf her entire life, and her parents were Deaf before her. ASL was her first language. 

She grew up going to a Deaf school in Indianapolis, where she would stay through the week and return home for the weekend. All of the students and most of the teachers were Deaf, but all of them could sign. In America, deaf schools go back to 1818 and before, 1818 being the beginning of getting more deaf schools in America. These schools are very similar to any other boarding school but except for the fact that they communicate in sign language. Even in the 1800s they offered sports like football (American style), and training in trades.  They also made incredible strides for desegregation, one school in 1920 having both black and white students, although they were still separated.

Before the dawn of the cell-phone deaf communication. For close quarters communication, pen and paper were very useful. You could write back and forth with anyone who could read. But for longer distances things were different. “ You have to use an old-fashioned phone called a TTY; teletypewriter, which they call our TDD telecommunication device for the deaf…“ says Oppenheimer. 

For long distance communication such as phone calls you would use a TTY also known as a TDD which is similar to texting on a computer, but would allow you to either see the text on a screen in later versions, or print out the message in older versions. These are still in use today but there are also modes on some cell-phones for this too. 

A TTY “Super Print 4425” (Photograph: Ultratec)

 “Before with technology,  for Deaf people, it was very limited…It would be frustrating, it was hard to use,” said Oppenheimer. Many other technologies have helped make the world more accessible for the hearing impaired or deaf. One of these accommodations was captions which first started appearing in talking motion pictures in the 70s, but weren't mandatory until 2012.

There were also vast improvements in both accessibility and representation in theater. From interpreters on the side of the stage that would sign to the audience to deaf theater where everyone on stage is signing. “As a kid, I think it was like in the 70s when we first started to get captioning and it was so exciting... to have that technology and be able to watch movies and like even just in the movie theatre," said Oppenheimer. More opportunities are presenting themselves for Deaf consumers and performers too, as there are now devices that can provide live captions for the Deaf. 

Although it has become more well known and accessible to everyone, deaf theater is not new. The first deaf theater performance on Broadway was in 1942, and that was only the beginning of deaf Broadway. In 1966 The National Theater of the Deaf (NTD)  was established which created more opportunities for deaf performers off and on Broadway.

Learning ASL is very rewarding and can be very fun. Having a Deaf teacher certainly makes it more interesting and it is quite the immersive experience. Mrs. Oppenheimer is an excellent teacher who loves what she does, which is quite apparent when taking her class. Describing her passion, Oppenheimer said “It's just been a passion of mine for teaching, and then I met my husband, and he's hearing… He didn't know any sign language when I met him. (I) just sat and went out on a first date with him. We would write back and forth to communicate first, and then later, I taught him sign language, and now he knows how to sign… my whole life I wanted to teach.” 

Learning ASL and communicating with the Deaf is a very important skill to have. 1 in 7 Americans have hearing loss and more are at risk. This isn’t something to be afraid of, rather it needs to be something addressed.  Whether it’s learning ASL or finding other ways to communicate, acknowledge the Deaf members of your communities and reach out.