This Tiktoker raises awareness about the deaf community, teaches sign language

An 18-year-old content creator is raising awareness about the deaf community and teaching sign language on TikTok.

Erline Grace Maniquis, who was born deaf, uses her TikTok account (DEAFinitely Beautiful) to educate her followers about the struggles of those with hearing impairment.

According to Kuya Kim's report on "24 Oras Weekend," Sunday, Erline started learning sign language when she was five years old.

Her account currently has over 107,000 followers and 3.5 million likes. She has also several videos that fetched over one million views.

In sign language, people communicate using signs or gestures. Each hand shape, hand movement, sign location, palm orientation, and non-manual signal (NMS) has meaning.

American Sign Language (ASL) is the most well-known sign language in the world. American minister Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet invented ASL.

However, in the Philippines, there's also Filipino Sign Language (FSL).

"We use that, local sign. 'Yon ang easiest way, 'yong walang grammar na sinusundan. Bawat sign, mayroong katumbas na kahulugan," said Alice Maglalang, Department of Education regional trainee for FSL.

In accordance with Republic Act 11106, the FSL was declared as the national sign language of the Philippines.

The Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and all other national and local government agencies involved in the education of the deaf are to use and coordinate on the use of FSL.

A Spanish Benedictine monk was the first one to create a formal sign language for the deaf back in the 16th century.

For the blind, the universally accepted system of writing is Braille.

It has 63 characters that are formed with one to six dots that are embossed on paper. To read the words, the blind run their fingers over the embossed dots.

Braille was invented by Louis Braille while he was studying in Paris in 1824. Louis was also blind.

—Kimberly Tsao/MGP, GMA Integrated News