The Historical and Social Context of the Philadelphia ASL Community

Abstract

The focus of this article is the experiences of Deaf Philadelphians vis-à-vis language policy and practice at PSD. We delineate the official and unofficial communication philosophies and pedagogies from the school's inception to present day, providing a framework for understanding the trajectory of linguistic freedom and restriction of its students. We couple these administrative perspectives with crucial input from older Philadelphia Deaf community members who acceded to and resisted the oralist policies against sign language use before, during, and after their time at PSD.