Milan Conference

Milan Conference was an international conference of deaf educators in 1880. After deliberations in September 6 to 11, 1880, the conference declared that oral education was superior to manual education and passed a resolution banning the use of sign language in school. Since its passage in 1880, schools in European countries and the United States switched to using speech therapy without sign language as a method of education for the deaf.

Background
Alexander Graham Bell and Edward Miner Gallaudet had been debating over the effectiveness of oral-only education and an education that utilizes sign language as a means of visual communication, culminating in the Milan Conference in 1880 that passed eight resolutions on deaf education.

Oppositions
The United States and Britain were the only countries who opposed the use of only oralism, but were unsuccessful. Edward Miner Gallaudet and Rev. Thomas Gallaudet were among the protesters who fought against the oralist method. Since failing to overturn the Milan resolutions, Gallaudet ensured that the United States would not be completely converted to oralism-only, which included allowing high school students in institutes for the deaf to use sign language and maintaining Gallaudet College (now Gallaudet University) as a university that permits full usage of sign language.

The National Association of the Deaf was also formed in response to the Milan Conference and was dedicated toward preserving American Sign Language.