Saturday, September 29, 2007 -- This powerfully emotional speech by Gary Malkowski, released on the occasion of the first International Day of
Signed Languages (Sept. 29, 2007), is available for viewing on the
Internet below of the link to:
http://www.omegait.net/slr-canada/en/index.php?menu=home
In the speech, Mr. Malkowski advocates for the equal treatment of deaf
and hearing children, in that deaf children also possess the right to
experience maximum exposure to natural language, especially during the
critical cognitive window of opportunity when they are very young--and
for deaf children this means being allowed to be exposed to and use a
natural sign language (either ASL or LSQ in Canada.)
Mr. Malkowski makes the strong point that use of natural sign languages
does *not* inhibit later acquisition of written language. He calls on
the deaf community and its allies to join forces to do what is right in
promoting the use of natural signed languages. |
Memphis
Deaf Community
