Exploring how AAE and ASL influence literacy development in Black Deaf students.

What is it about?

This article reviews how African American English and American Sign Language, including Black ASL, influence literacy development in Black Deaf students, highlighting how deficit-based educational practices marginalize these languages and calling for affirming, equitable literacy instruction.

Why is it important?

This article is important for several reasons—especially within speech-language pathology and education: 1. It Challenges Deficit-Based Models in SLP and Education Historically, AAE and ASL have been framed as problems to remediate rather than assets to build upon. This article directly critiques those models and calls out how they: - Pathologize Black language practices - Contribute to misdiagnosis and inappropriate intervention - Limit literacy access for Black Deaf students This is especially significant in SLP, a field that has long centered white, hearing, monolingual norms as the benchmark for language and literacy. 2. It Centers Black Deaf Learners—A Group Often Overlooked Black Deaf students sit at the intersection of race, language, and disability, yet their experiences are often erased in both Deaf studies and Black education research. This publication intentionally centers their linguistic realities, including: - Multilingualism (AAE, ASL, Black ASL, written English) - Visual and multimodal literacy practices - Community and cultural language transmission 3. It Provides a Framework for Culturally Responsive Literacy Practices By integrating CRT and sociocultural perspectives, the article offers a roadmap for: - Culturally sustaining pedagogy - Inclusive literacy instruction - Policy reform that acknowledges linguistic diversity For practitioners, this means moving beyond surface-level “cultural competence” toward structural and ideological change.