The historical demography of the Martha's Vineyard signing community.
Justin M Power, Richard P Meier
PMID 38287681WHAT IT FOUND
Historical records suggest the Martha’s Vineyard signing community formed around 1785 in Chilmark, not earlier.
Deaf islanders then connected quickly to Hartford’s school for the deaf, and ASL contact likely changed the local sign language.
Key findings
01The signing community likely began in Chilmark after Benjamin Mayhew’s 1785 birth, not with earlier dispersed deaf islanders.
02After 1825, 25 island-born deaf individuals attended the American School for the Deaf.
03By 1850, most deaf islanders had attended the American School for the Deaf and used emergent ASL.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The paper reports no clinical outcomes, so it cannot show that any treatment or communication approach helps patients. Many historical records are incomplete; for many deaf islanders, cause of deafness is unknown. Full methods and sources are described in supplementary materials rather than in the article text. Estimates of hearing signers are broad and depend on assumptions from modern village sign language communities. The authors disagree with prior counts and conclusions, such as the size of the deaf population and marriage rates, because earlier data are not reported in a way that resolves differences.
Declared interests
The paper names the University of Texas at Austin and the National Science Foundation as funders. It does not report author conflicts of interest in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that any communication treatment works. The paper reports historical demographic patterns, not clinical outcomes.