Valley Center of the Deaf

It’s hard to believe that the American School for the Deaf was founded in 1817. This seems like a long time in most respects, but when you consider all that it’s accomplished in that time, it seems almost short.ASD is the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the United States, located in West Hartford, Connecticut. It was founded by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, Laurent Clerk, and Mason Fitch Cogswell. Gallaudet was a reverend and a deaf-education pioneer whose son Edward founded the first college for the deafGallaudet University. Clerc was a deaf teacher who had taught at Paris’s Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris. Cogswell was a nationally-famous surgeon who used his influence to help these men found the school, inspired by his daughter Alice’s loss of hearing.The initial class consisted of seven students, including Cogswell’s daughter. Although this was only a portion of the 84 known deaf children in New England at the time, the school helped to show that deaf students could thrive in the right environment.Over the years, the ASD became a beacon for deaf educationa role it still provides today. The school started a summer camp, Isola Bella, in 1964, which takes place on an island on Lake Washining. The camp emphasizes “learning through experience,” and uses physical fitness, social interactions, and individual skills development to help each camper find their own special niche. In addition to deaf students, the camp is also open to children with deaf parents or siblings.One of the school’s main principles is meeting the communication needs of every student. This means that sign language, speech, and lipreading are all accepted and encouraged. This applies to both regular classes and the Isola Bella camp.In addition to Isola Bella, ASD also became home to the National Theatre of the Deaf starting in 2004. This touring company combines American Sign Language with spoken word, and has won a Tony Award for Theatrical Excellence. Company alumni or collaborators include Phyllis Frelich, Linda Bove, Colleen Dewhurst, Sir Michael Redgrave, Chita Rivera, and Meryl Streep.