Deaf advocate Glenna Cooper shares her personal journey as a Deaf child of hearing parents who were told to avoid teaching their daughter sign language. Glenna shares insight into Deaf culture, including why it's not considered rude to tell someone their new hairstyle isn't flattering. You'll also learn about a cutting edge movement in interpretation that pairs Deaf with hearing interpreters.
Glenna Cooper is Assistant Professor and Department Chair for American Sign Language Education, English As Second Language, and World Language at Tulsa Community College. She was one of a few Deaf nationally certified instructors to provide Deaf Culture training to emergency responders in 40 states. Although she is Deaf, ASL was not her first language. Instead, she learned to speak and lipread English first which presented many challenges.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at