The American School for the Deaf (ASD), originally ''The American Asylum, At Hartford, For The Education And Instruction Of The Deaf'', is the oldest permanent school for the

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and the first school for children with disabilities anywhere in the western hemisphere. It was founded April 15, 1817, in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially ...

, by

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851) was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America, and he be ...

, Dr. Mason Cogswell, and

Laurent Clerc Louis Laurent Marie Clerc (; 26 December 1785 – 18 July 1869) was a French teacher called "The Apostle of the Deaf in America" and was regarded as the most renowned deaf person in American Deaf History. He was taught by Abbé Sicard and dea ...

and became a state-supported school later that year.

History

The first deaf school in the United States was short-lived: established in 1815 by Col. William Bolling of

Goochland, Virginia Goochland is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Goochland County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 861. The community is also known as Goochland Courthouse or by an alternative spelling, Go ...

, in nearby Cobbs, with John Braidwood (tutor of Bolling's two deaf children) as teacher, it closed in the fall of 1816. During the winter of 1818–1819, the American School for the Deaf became the first school of primary and secondary education to receive aid from the federal government when it was granted $300,000. As a result of its pivotal role in American deaf history, it also hosts a museum containing numerous rare and old items. While it is situated on a campus, the ASD has a small enrollment — in its history, the ASD has graduated approximately 6000 graduates. The impetus behind its founding was the fact that

Alice Cogswell Alice Cogswell (August 31, 1805 – December 30, 1830) was the inspiration to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet for the creation of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. Cogswell and Gallaudet At the age of two, Cogswell became il ...

, the daughter of a wealthy local surgeon (

Mason Fitch Cogswell Mason Fitch Cogswell (28 September 1761 – 17 December 1830) was a United States physician. Biography Cogswell was born on 28 September 1761 in Canterbury, Connecticut, the third son of the Reverend James Cogswell and Alice Fitch. His mother di ...

), was deafened in childhood by

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

at a time when the British schools were an unacceptable substitute for a local school. Dr. Cogswell prevailed upon the young Gallaudet (who had recently graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

's School of Divinity and had begun studying at

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andove ...

). Gallaudet met young Alice in Hartford, where he was recovering from a chronic illness. Cogswell and nine other citizens decided that the known 84 deaf children in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

needed appropriate facilities. However, competent teachers could not be found, so they sent Gallaudet in 1815 on a tour of Europe, where

deaf education Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and othe ...

was a much more developed art. After being rebuffed by the Braidwoods, Gallaudet turned to the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

ian French schoolteachers of the famous school for the Deaf in Paris, where he successfully recruited Laurent Clerc. On the strength of Clerc's reputation, the ASD was incorporated as the "Connecticut Asylum for the Education of Deaf and Dumb Persons," as it was originally known, in May 1816. When it opened in 1817, there were seven students enrolled: Alice Cogswell, George Loring, Wilson Whiton, Abigail Dillingham, Otis Waters, John Brewster, and Nancy Orr. The original name of the school was: The Connecticut Asylum (at Hartford) for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons. John Brewster Jr., was a 51-year-old itinerant portrait painter. Gallaudet was principal until 1830. His son followed in his legacy, establishing Gallaudet University, which followed the ASD's lead and taught students primarily in

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

(derived from the methodical signs and Parisian sign language of the French Institute for the Deaf). In 2021, the ASD launched its "Online Academy" for students ages 12–16, which is the first virtual enrollment option offered by the school. The program is intended to provide services to students in other parts of the U.S. as well as international students. It also enrolls

homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

students and hearing students who want to learn American Sign Language.

File:American School for the Deaf - Sculptured Panel from Original Gallaudet Monument (1854) - January 2016.JPG, Panel from original Gallaudet monument (1854) depicting

teaching children the manual alphabet. File:American School for the Deaf - Gallaudet Memorial (1925) close up of hands - March 2016.jpg,

and

signing the letter A. File:American School for the Deaf - Laurent Clerc Memorial - February 2016.JPG,

memorial; the name "Clerc" is spelled out in sign language at the base of the monument.

Athletics

The school is part of NEPSAC * Fall: Soccer and Volleyball * Winter: Basketball and Cheerleader * Spring: Track and field and Softball

Camp Isola Bella

Isola Bella is ASD's summer camp for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children located in northwestern Connecticut near

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

on an island on Lake Washining. It was established in 1964, after a will of the island from ASD trustees Ferrari and Muriel Ward. There are two sessions, session 1 for ages 8–12 and session 2 for 13–18.

National Theater of the Deaf

In 2004, America's

National Theatre of the Deaf The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) is a Connecticut-based theatre company founded in 1967, and is the oldest theatre company in the United States with a continuous history of domestic and international touring, as well as producing original wo ...

(NTD) moved its corporate headquarters to the campus of the American School for the Deaf.

Notable alumni

Edmund Booth Edmund Booth (1810 – 1905) was a journalist, writer, and leader in the American deaf community. Booth was born August 24, 1810, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He became partly deaf and blind in one eye at the age of four from an attack of m ...

helped establish the

Iowa School for the Deaf Iowa School for the Deaf is a pre-K to 12th grade school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students located in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It serves students who live in Iowa and Nebraska. History The founders of Iowa School for the Deaf were Edmund Boot ...

. *

John Flournoy John Jacobus Flournoy (1808–1879), a graduate of the American School for the Deaf, is best remembered as an advocate for a deaf state and for his resistance to black abolition in the United States. Living near Athens, Georgia throughout his life. ...

helped establish the

Georgia School for the Deaf Georgia School for the Deaf (GSD) is a public residential school for the deaf. GSD provides comprehensive education and services to deaf and hard-of-hearing students between the ages of three and twenty-two. Located in Cave Spring, Georgia, Unite ...

. *

Florence Lewis May Florence Lewis May (December 9, 1899 - September 6, 1988) was an American art historian and curator. May was the Curator of Textiles Emeritus at the Hispanic Society of America for the entire length of her career. Career Born in Fairfield to Edw ...

(1916), art historian *

John Brewster, Jr John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

painter and at age 51 the oldest student of the school's first class. *

, inspiration for the school's founding *

Julia Brace Julia Brace (June 13, 1807 – August 12, 1884) was a deafblind woman who enrolled at the American School for the Deaf, in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1825 and remained there as an employee after her graduation. Biography Julia Brace was born to a ...

* John Burton Hotchkiss, first deaf professor at Gallaudet University

References

External links