The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory

A central goal of The Boys of Riverside is to demonstrate the importance of sign language education in both Deaf and hearing communities. Citing, historical and scientific research, Fuller argues that sign language education is superior to oralism for Deaf infants and young children, and makes the case that hearing children and adults should also be exposed to sign language. Fuller uses the example of Cubs head coach Keith Adams to show that “profound deafness requires immediate action on the part of parents.” (45) He asserts that enrolling Deaf children in sign language education will assure normal language acquisition. He points to scientific studies showing that “without language a child can suffer substantial damage to their cognition and their social lives,” calling learning sign language “urgent” for Deaf children (45). Fuller notes that, “in the extreme, language deprivation can cause severe mental handicaps” (47). In these passages, the repeated use of modifiers like “immediate,” “substantial,” “urgent,” and “severe” reflect Fuller’s belief in the necessity of early sign language education for infants and young children.

While advocating for the importance of sign language education, Fuller also argues against oralism, an educational philosophy that stresses lip-reading over signing.