*✧Chubs✧⁠*

what I see most often is one character who can’t speak using ASL and everyone else just… keeps talking. No. No!! You don’t do that!!! Not in real life!!! I mean you can, sure, but it’s rude and also makes it more difficult to communicate! ASL and English are two different languages that are not interchangeable. Switching between those languages constantly is hard, and in a realistic scenario if you tried this it’d just lead to the signer being ignored because talking in a language you know is easier.

it’s also so weird because all these inaccurate fanfics where characters use ASL and not a d/Deaf person in sight? Like. The main group who uses ASL in the real world. The group who ASL is literally made for. Where are they? Where are they in your stories?? It’s not that hard to write a d/Deaf person. They just can’t hear very well. You don’t even have to make it a big plot point just at least put it there, c’mon. (“they’re not deaf in canon!!” bro they aren’t gay either)

and it’s ALSO inaccurate to nonverbal people! Do many nonverbal people use ASL? Yes! But just as many use things like AAC devices to communicate, or can hardly communicate even with them. A nonverbal character is great, but it’s even better to show the breadth of the experience. I wouldn’t be complaining about this if I saw fics where characters actually had AAC devices they used, but if there are any I certainly haven’t found them! It doesn’t even have to be big, you don’t even have to change quotes, just put in the description that they typed it out or something!!

Hell, this isn’t even touching on all the other ableism surrounding these things. Like why do I only ever see fully nonverbal or d/Deaf people, why not semiverbal or hard of hearing?? Why does it seem like when people bring it up it’s always an acquired thing instead of from birth??