Eighty percent of deaf youth worldwide don’t have access to education, and only 2 percent are taught in sign language. When he was in elementary school, one of the most isolating parts of Chris Soukup’s school day was when announcements crackled over the school intercom. Soukup couldn’t hear them. He also couldn’t hear the rustling of papers or the shrieking of students before lunchtime. It was lonely being the only deaf student at Christ the King Elementary in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the 1980s. Soukup, now CEO of the nonprofit Communication Service for the Deaf, had an unusual education: He attended a mainstream school with hearing students but signed and spoke at home. His father was also deaf, and his mother taught classes to people who aspired to teach deaf students. She wanted to provide Soukup with access to every kind of education, so American Sign Language (ASL) was his first language. While it may seem like this should be the norm, research suggests that Soukup’s early familiarity with ASL was far from typical. In fact, it’s estimated that 80 percent of the roughly 32 million deaf children around the world lack access to education altogether, according to the World Federation of the Deaf. | 