ASL has found spaces in North American campuses in the past decade. However, these spaces are typically in hearing based spaces where hearing students are learning ASL. These classes are typically available to hearing non-signing students, which does not solve issues of institutional audism and is just another example of how hearing students are benefitted in universities. 

ASL accessability in North American Institutions 

Institutional Audism refers to the privledges given to hearing individuals in post-secondary classrooms regarding participation. 

Gettysburg College

Audism is defined in the text as a hegemonic belief that "one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or to behave in the manner of one who hears"

Audism

Johnson, S. J., & Beck, S. (2022). Navigating borderlands: Deaf and hearing experiences in post-secondary education. In T. Titchkosky, E. Gold, E. Cagulada, & M. DeWelles (Eds.), DisAppearing: Encounters in disability studies (pp. 44–53). Canadian Scholars.

Disappearing: encounters in disability studies

- By constructing the CI user as "abled" and the HA user as "disabled," the discourse reinforces the Medical Model of Disability.
- Disability is framed as a consumer choice between prostheses (choosing the "right" device) rather than a social or political issue.
- Ultimately, the formulation of CI satisfaction perpetuates audism by valuing human variation only as a deviation from "imagined perfection".

Reproducing Audism

The CAD defines audism as the direct, indirect, or systemic discrimination against deaf people. 

Canadian Association of the Deaf definition of Audism

Individual Audism refers to the negative assumptions about deaf person regarding their participation in spaces. 

Individual Audism Definition 

Institutional Audism 

CODA or a Child of a Deaf adult refers to hearing individuals raised by deaf adults. CODAS are typically bilingual in a spoken language and sign language which creates a unique experience and way to interact in the world.

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