Aghash Yogarajah speaks Tamil at home. At school, he speaks English — and American Sign Language.

The 14-year-old, who was born hard of hearing, learned how to sign the alphabet and some simple words when he was 10, but now he’s learning to sign more fully as part of a unique for-credit class at Northern Secondary School.

The high school, which runs the Toronto District School Board’s deaf and hard of hearing program, offers two such language classes — not only for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, but for any student who is interested.

“I wanted to communicate with deaf people, so I needed more signing,” said Aghash. “I always sit in the front to understand the teacher more.”

“It’s so fun,” he added. “I love the school so much. I get to talk with deaf people and hearing people.”





The course is a sign of success at Northern. The school has run a deaf and hard of hearing program for 50 years and has taught American Sign Language as a course for about 15 years. But this marks the first year ASL has had its own course code, duly granted by the Ministry of Education.

“That’s a great step on the ministry’s part, to recognize ASL as a language,” said Principal Ron Felsen.

In May, the school, on Mount Pleasant Rd., just north of Eglinton, will host a party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Northern’s special program with a reunion of students, alumni and teachers.

The hard of hearing program has 45 students at present, who take classes within the program as well as earning mainstream course credits, sometimes with support from sign-language interpreters or education assistants.

The special program has seven teachers, one of them deaf and a few hard of hearing. The school also employs five full-time interpreters, who are also on hand for students who participate in after-hours clubs and sports at the school.

American Sign Language evolved into a full course after beginning as a lunch-hour club at Northern 20 years ago.

“It’s such an amazing program,” said Aghash, who plans to be a scientist or doctor when he’s older. “The teachers are very helpful, and it is very useful.”

The course was adapted from curriculum used in provincial deaf schools, added teacher Eric Larocque, through a sign-language interpreter.

Larocque, who runs the deaf and hard of hearing program, teaches deaf culture, deaf history, and the grammar and syntax of signing.

“Hearing students take the American Sign Language course — a lot of hearing students,” he said. “They see deaf or hard-of-hearing students in the school and become interested in that.

“It’s a bridge of communication.”

Jensen Holmes Boyd, a Grade 12 student, has played football for two years at the school, and is taking the sign language course with a teammate so they can better communicate with two deaf players.

“This has helped better my communication with both of them … through football, I learned that, technique-wise, it is better for me to try to explain through sign language,” he said.

“I should be able to communicate with all team members, no matter what.”

His favourite sign is the one for football. “You put your hands together in the middle, and link all your fingers together and it looks like a football ... I thought that was very cool.”

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Amir Ghasemi, 19, was born deaf but has cochlear implants, giving him some hearing. He moved to Canada a few years ago from Iran, and says he was “stuck.”

“I did not learn sign until I started learning ASL here,” he said, instead relying on lip-reading.

“This is definitely better and I’m a lot happier. I feel like I’ve learned a lot; I feel I can understand and everything is clear,” he said through a sign-language interpreter.

With so much signing going on in the school, principal Felsen felt he needed to learn it, too, so he taught himself last summer using online resources.

“I want to be able to walk up to kids and speak with them,” he said. “I am now at the point I can do that. I can meet with Eric and we don’t need an interpreter.”