Atlantic Cape Professor Marks Deaf History Month With Presentation

MAYS LANDING, NJ — Atlantic Cape Community College American Sign Language Professor Anthony DeFranco led a March 24 discussion and presentation on Deaf history in America from 1817 to the present at the Innovation Center in Mays Landing. The event was presented by Atlantic Cape’s Center for Student Success and drew more than a dozen staff, faculty and students, according to the college.

DeFranco, who has been an Atlantic Cape ASL professor since December 2023, said he wanted to honor Deaf History Month, promote awareness and help build inclusion for Deaf students in the college community. During the event, an ASL interpreter helped DeFranco answer questions from members of the speaking audience.

Growing up deaf and autistic shaped DeFranco’s understanding of the barriers some students face, he said.

“As a deaf person I also grew up with autism and I had trouble making new friends with other children, especially with hearing children, in my mainstream school program because they didn’t understand any sign language or they refused to learn it. I ended up being bullied by them for miscommunication and my autistic behaviors,” said DeFranco. “My hearing mother offered a sign language class for some of the hearing children, especially in my town growing up. She would sign and teach people about myself as a Deaf person and my ability to communicate by using sign language.”

DeFranco attended the Summit Speech School in Summit until he was 3 years old, then transferred to Lake Drive School in Mountain Lakes, where he was taught using both Signed English and Spoken English. He later attended the school’s mainstream program from seventh grade through high school, where ASL interpreters were provided. He said he first learned ASL at Bergen Community College in Paramus while taking an ASL I class taught by a Deaf professor.

“I used Signed English until I first learned ASL at Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ when I took an ASL I class taught by a Deaf professor, who inspired me to become an ASL professor,” said DeFranco, who graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Deaf Studies from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.

National Deaf History Month is celebrated annually in April to recognize Deaf culture, history and achievements. According to the college, April was chosen to mark the April 15, 1817 opening of the American School for the Deaf, the first permanent school for the Deaf in the United States, and the April 8, 1864 founding of Gallaudet University. The college also noted that before a 2022 update by the National Association of the Deaf, the observance ran from March 13 to April 15.

“This is about the Deaf community, their culture and understanding their history, which shaped their community today. It is part of building awareness and acceptance toward the Deaf community because Deaf people want hearing people to understand who they are,” said DeFranco, who currently teaches ASL I and II on the Mays Landing campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays.