Full Linguistic Citizenship: Why ASL is Essential for Access in Every Area of Life

This post builds upon the powerful argument presented by Julie Rems-Smario, Ed.D., asserting that American Sign Language (ASL) users are not 'limited English proficient,' but are full linguistic citizens whose rights demand access to their native language. This distinction is critical because the misclassification of ASL users as ‘limited English proficient’ often dictates the inadequate and inappropriate communication solutions offered by institutions, preventing the fundamental right to full, native-language access that true linguistic citizens demand.

The stakes of this linguistic battle are repeatedly affirmed in court. For instance, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) recently sued the White House again to compel the federal government to provide ASL interpreters for vital press briefings—a fight that highlights the government's own failure at the highest level to provide meaningful access to its ASL-primary citizens and underscores that captions alone are insufficient.

We must take her premise—that ASL is central to our democracy—and expand it. ASL is a fundamental linguistic right that, when denied, creates systemic barriers preventing Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing individuals from achieving equitable outcomes and full participation in all facets of life.

A Barrier to Life: The Crisis of Linguistic Exclusion

We must recognize ASL users as a distinct linguistic community. When ASL interpretation is absent, delayed, or inadequate, the resulting communication gap is not a minor inconvenience—it's a crisis. It impedes informed consent, limits economic opportunity, and denies educational parity.

The systemic denial of meaningful ASL access effectively levies an invisible tax on Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing individuals across all vital sectors, including:

Healthcare: Informed Consent and Life-Saving Information

Healthcare inaccessibility pose significant challenges for Deaf ASL users. This is compounded by a high rate of health illiteracy: a 2015 study by Dr. Michael McKee and his colleagues found that 48% of Deaf ASL users had inadequate health literacy and were 6.9 times more likely than hearing participants to have inadequate health literacy.

In the absence of qualified, certified ASL interpreters, healthcare interactions often exacerbate these issues and become perilous:

• Risk to Life: Miscommunications about symptoms, medical history, or prescription instructions can lead to severe medical errors or even death.
• Violation of Rights: The practice of relying on written notes, lip-reading, or rudimentary gestures is not just inadequate; it is a clear violation of the patient's right to effective communication and equity of care.
• Denial of Autonomy: True informed consent is impossible if a patient cannot fully understand the risks, benefits, and alternatives of a procedure in their native, nuanced language.

The LEP framework is often institutionalized in healthcare, leading to the use of inappropriate communication methods (like written notes or asking patients to lipread) that assume the patient's primary struggle is with accessing English, not with the auditory/visual modality itself.

Employment: Economic Opportunity and Career Advancement

The systemic lack of equitable communication access creates significant career barriers and fuels employment disparities for Deaf and hard of hearing individuals. These issues are starkly highlighted by the persistent employment and income gaps compared to hearing individuals. For example, recent data from the National Deaf Center indicates that the employment rate for Deaf people is approximately 54%, compared to 70% for hearing people, and Deaf individuals often earn 13–14% less annually than their hearing counterparts.

When equitable communication access is absent or delayed (often due to factors like decentralized processes or the unavailability of qualified interpreters), this results in systemic obstacles to workplace participation and economic stability:

• Hiring Barriers: From the initial job interview to ongoing training sessions, the failure to provide timely and qualified ASL interpretation acts as an immediate and unjust filter, regardless of the Deaf applicant's qualifications.
• Career Stagnation: Inaccessible workplace meetings, professional development seminars, and casual communication sideline Deaf employees from crucial context and decision-making, which limits their ability to rise into management or leadership roles.

Education: The Foundation of Future Success

For Deaf and hard of hearing students, quality communication access is the non-negotiable foundation of all future success. The inability to ensure this quality creates a crisis of educational equity:

• Failure of Mainstreaming: Many Deaf and hard of hearing students are placed in general education classes. Yet, many educators and school personnel often lack the necessary specialized training or resources to effectively support their needs, rendering the classroom inaccessible and isolating. This failure is compounded when students are treated as having a minor language deficit rather than given their fundamental right to curriculum access via their native, visual language, ASL.
• Interpreter Qualification: Reliance on non-qualified or inadequately trained interpreters in schools is a critical breakdown in communication access. This means Deaf and hard of hearing students miss complex academic content, effectively denying them access to the curriculum, peer interaction, and counseling.
• Barriers to Higher Education: Without consistent, high-quality interpreting services throughout their academic career, Deaf and hard of hearing students face systemic obstacles that limit their ability to successfully pursue specialized careers and post-secondary education.

The Solution: Systemic Change Driven by "Nothing About Us Without Us"

ASL access isn't an extra; it's essential civic and social infrastructure. Currently, broken access systems impose a constant “tax” on Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing individuals—the exhausting, tangible cost of endlessly advocating for their right to communication access.

The solution moves beyond simply providing qualified interpreters and committing to transforming ASL access from a reactive consumer chore rooted in the inappropriate "LEP" concept into an integrated, equitable right built on three pillars:

• Center Deaf Perspectives: Engage the Deaf and hard of hearing community through B/ERGs and Advisory Councils to inform strategic changes, including policy and procedures.
• Zero-Tolerance for Access Failures. Shift the burden of access to the provider to eliminate the Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Tax and alleviate consumer stress. This requires providers to streamline the accommodation process, ensure comprehensive services (including ASL interpreters), and implement mandatory staff training to prevent access failures.
• Enforce Accountability and Rigorous Standards: Linguistic equity demands consequences for failure, requiring rigorous accountability for access services. This means mandating certified, subject-matter qualified ASL interpreters and holding agencies accountable for quality results, ensuring zero tolerance for access failures.

The fight for full linguistic citizenship is not a niche issue; it is a fundamental test of our commitment to equity, justice, and democracy itself. ASL is the key to unlocking the full potential of a vibrant community, and it is the civic duty of all institutions—in healthcare, employment, and education—to recognize, respect, and provide it without hesitation or delay. Linguistic equity is not a favor; it is a right. Let us work together to dismantle the systemic barriers and make "Full Linguistic Citizenship" a reality, ensuring that the burden of access is finally lifted from the shoulders of the Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing community.