About Me

Alan Schwarz has lived in San Leandro most of his life. Although deaf, hearing impaired, hard of hearing (any of these words is appropriate for him, but hearing impaired is not considered appropriate for Deaf people who use American Sign Language) from a young age, he did not attend the California School for the Deaf in Fremont.

He was interested in sign language and dabbled in it using a book that taught Signed Exact English. He eventually attended Chabot College during high school to learn sign language. The textbook used was A Basic Course in American Sign Language. It was there that he got his first exposure to the difference between different sign languages, including Pidgin. Eager to learn more, he began attending California State University, Hayward (now East Bay) after graduating from high school.

The textbook was Signing Naturally; the course was taught by the internationally renowned teacher, Kenneth Mikos.

Mr. Schwarz has wavered in his viewpoint on American Sign Language. He has identified as Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing impaired at various points of his life, and even during a typical day.