American Sign Language is the fourth most used language in the United States. Estimates say that anywhere between 500,000 and 2,000,000 people use ASL on a regular basis, and we see evidence of this popping up more and more across our social media sites. For example, a little girl named Shaylee was trending on Facebook because of her story about being and going to DisneyWorld.

But recently, a new Facebook video has cropped up and the deaf community is excited about it. In Malaysia, Starbucks is opening a new store primarily run by deaf employees. They will have ten deaf 'partners' and three hearing 'partners,' but the hearing employees will know sign language. This is an attempt to be more inclusive to the deaf community in Malaysia and many hope that this mindset will soon spread to the United States. We've seen the public approval of when Starbucks baristas accept orders in sign language, thanks to a video that circulated several months ago, I'm sure the approval of a deaf Starbucks would be incredible.

While this isn't the first business to offer such services (for example: Signs in Canada), they are one of the first, if not the first chain to work so closely with the deaf community and reach out to those with different needs. I've learned through my ASL and parks and recreation classes that inclusion is a key factor in involving and working with everyone. These restaurants are a great example of this. It's not just allowing people in the deaf community to be at ease when ordering food or drinks, but it also allows for education of the deaf culture and language.

However, with progressive and worthy movements there is always back lash. There are some who wonder why we don't continue as we always have; they clearly have functioned well enough from the beginning right? However, it's just as if you grew up speaking another language. You may know a language, but your native language is more comfortable. That is how it is for most deaf people. Not to mention that many hearing people don't give them the ability to try and communicate normally--they know how to talk to us, most of the time the problem is us.

Other people are concerned about jobs and deaf people having jobs in other shops. Many people feel like they should be spread across all of the local stores. While I don't have a problem with deaf employees at other shops because I love interacting with them in any environment, I also understand the want to have an environment all of your own. For example, it's more comforting to be in a choir room if you're singing, just as it's more comfortable to be in a signing-friendly coffee shop if you're deaf.

There are many people who might question why deaf people should have a coffee shop designed for their ease and accessibility, I think that it's one step in the right direction for inclusion and unity within the community. I really appreciate what Starbucks is doing and hope to take part in it soon, hopefully on U.S. soil.