History
When the first deaf schools were established in Belgium, the teachers were directly or indirectly influenced by the methods used at the Paris deaf school (and consequently by French Sign Language); either by following training programs in Paris, or by following training programs in two deaf schools in the Netherlands (Groningen and Sint-Michielsgestel), which were themselves influenced by the Paris school.
However, as with neighboring countries, the education of deaf children was strongly influenced by the resolutions that took place at the Milan Conference in 1880. These resolutions banned the use of signs in the education of deaf children in favour of an oral approach. It has been viewed as a dark day in the history of sign language.
By the beginning of the 20th century there was a Deaf school in every major town in Belgium, and in some towns there were even two: one for boys and one for girls. Most of the schools were residential and pupils only went home during the holidays, and later on also during the weekends. As a result, regional sign language varieties started to develop around every school.
Read more about this topic: Flemish Sign Language
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