What is the third most commonly used language in the United States? You probably were correct in guessing English and Spanish as number one and two but many are stumped at what is number three.
The answer: American Sign Language. ASL is used by nearly a half-million people in the United States and Canada and 70 million people worldwide, yet it has often been overlooked when providing accommodations. Slowly, that seems to be changing.
The movie CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) has won numerous accolades and raised awareness of the challenges of being deaf in a hearing world. Barbie enlightened countless children with its Sign Language Barbie that aims to teach basic signs to those who play with the doll. And some parks have started to include signage that helps others communicate with a few universal ASL words.
Think of what you can do to help those who communicate through ASL feel a sense of belonging in your organization. Can you learn some basic signs? Provide interpreter services for key services? Include closed-captioning on your audio materials?
Many organizations have heightened their responsiveness to clients who speak other languages. Don’t leave out ASL in your efforts.
