FRISCO, Texas- The gift of hearing, a privilege many take for granted, something that some may never fully experience.

A significant number of people worldwide are affected by loss of hearing, from partial to full-on hearing loss. ASL is one of the ways these people can stay connected to society. 

ASL stands for American Sign Language, a language consisting of hand signals conjoined together to form words and sentences, used by many across the US as well as in some other countries.

In an article published by the US National Institutes of Health, they estimated that in the US roughly 10,0000 people were hard of hearing, and nearly 1,000,000 people are functionally deaf.

Here at Centennial, the ASL club is supporting people in these communities by providing a space for students to learn ASL and they inform students on how to support the deaf community.

Junior Emily Kelly, President of the ASL club, Sophomore Alexander Fair, Vice President, and Senior Caylee Jackson, another Vice President of the club, took over the ASL club this school year.

“ASL Club was founded in 2022, by two seniors who are now freshmen in college. I decided to continue the organization to teach people about deaf culture,” Kelly said.

The club was formed with one goal in mind.

“It was formed to help spread deaf culture and deaf awareness, spread knowledge about ASL, and open up opportunities for people who aren’t in the class to learn about the language,” Kelly said.

There are 1.5 billion people around the world who have hearing loss according to the WHO (World Health Organization), which is roughly 20% of the global population.

Fair described her motivations for joining the ASL club.

“Last year I took ASL 1 and I thought it was really interesting to learn about deaf culture and learn about all the different signs,” Fair said.

Besides being an interesting language used by many with hearing impairment to communicate with each other and their non-hearing-impaired counterparts, it’s also important for forming connections with people who wouldn’t be heard by others.

“ASL is a language that’s used a lot, there are a lot of people around that need someone to sign with,” Fair said.

People thinking of going into professions where a foreign language is required can also benefit massively from learning ASL.

“It’s a worldwide language, it benefits language learners who go into a field where they need to know another language and gives the added benefit of being able to communicate with those in the deaf community as well,” Kelly said.

Not only is the ASL club a place to learn, but it’s also a place that’s big on community.

“The best part about the ASL club is the community we’re building, the activities, and the positive environment that we want to create, “adding, “We want to create a club not too big on schedules where you can come and go freely,” Kelly said.

If you’re interested in learning ASL, more about the deaf community, or how you can support the deaf community, be sure to join the ASL club for their first meeting during advisory, on October 31, 2023, in AA 200. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, you can reach out to the club sponsor Mrs. Gillespy, or one of the club officers (Emily Kelly, Alexander Fair, and Caylee Jackson).