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LARS WALLIN ign language studies, and some other factors that I will mention later, have had a positive impact on deaf people in Sweden during the past twenty years. Life as a deaf person has become very good there, and I do not exaggerate if I say that Sweden has become a model society for deaf people in many countries all over the world. The decision as to whether this is true or not is yours to make after I have told you about our deaf community-what we have achieved, and how we got there. Sweden Today I would first like to enumerate what we in the deaf community have achieved for ourselves, and what we now have access to in Swedish society. •:. 1969-Free interpreter services are recognized as a right of deaf people. •:. 1969-Deaf people's own "folk high school," where the interpreter training program is located, becomes a reality. •:. 1981-The first official recognition of Swedish Sign Language is stated in Government Bi1l1980/81: 100, Supplement 12. A declaration by Parliament on its decision states: "The commission on integration points out that the profoundly deaf, to function among themselves and in society, have to be bilingual. Bilingualism for their part, according to the commission, means that they have to be fluent in their visual/gestural Sign Language and be fluent in the language that society surrounds them with: Swedish." .:. 1983-A new Special School Curriculum for schools for deaf and hard of hearing students is issued. It states that deaf pupils will study not only (written) A revised version of this paper, which was originally presented at The Deaf Way, was later presented at the International Congress on Sign Language Research and Application, March 23-25, 1990 in Hamburg. That version has been printed in Sign Language Research and Application, edited by Siegmund Prillwitz and Tomas Vollhaber, 1990, Hamburg, Germany: SIGNUM-Press. Translated into English by Anna-Lena Nilsson. The Study of Sign Language in Society: Part Two Swedish but also Swedish Sign Language, and that both languages will be used as languages of instruction in schools for deaf and hard of hearing students . It also states that pupils should be ensured an opportunity to develop as bilingual individuals. •:. 1989-A decision is made requiring that applicants to the School of Education for training teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students have previous knowledge of Swedish Sign Language. There are now deaf board members at all schools for deaf students, deaf representatives within various public institutions, free TIYs and sign language interpreter services, sign language courses for hearing people, sign language as an academic subject -both at basic and graduate levels, our own video production unit, newscasts and other programs in sign language on national television, production of materials for sign language instruction, and a professional theater group of deaf actors. Many institutions require that their staff know Swedish Sign Language. These include blocks of housing for deaf senior citizens, nursery schools for deaf children, various institutions that care for deaf people with psychological or other problems, and, of course, schools for deaf students. Looking at some areas that specifically concern deaf people and sign language, deaf people now work as teachers in schools for deaf students, in nursery schools, and in universities; sign language teachers; principals; psychologists; social workers; TV producers ; actors; advisors on questions relating to deaf clubs and their study programs; youth recreation leaders; nursing assistants for the care of mentally retarded individuals , the elderly population, and deaf people with various types of other problems; consultants in matters regarding deaf and blind people; researchers; and development assistance workers. The Swedish National Association of the Deaf (SDR) initiates and takes an active role in discussions on topics that concern deaf children and their families, schools for deaf and hard of hearing students (on subjects related both to compulsory schooling as well as further studies at all levels), training of teachers for deaf students, audiological centers and their staffs, psychological and social issues concerning deaf people, the development of media and technology; and questions concerning developing countries. The SDR now receives committee reports for consideration, and the group can no longer be ignored by society. Many local deaf clubs not only arrange the traditional kind of meetings and cultural activities for their members, but work politically as well. The Three Cornerstones of Our Work The deaf community would never have come as far as it has if it had not been for the...

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