Clayton Valli made an impact in Canada by working at the Ernest C. Durey school for the deaf in Milton, Ontario. He gave teacher training workshops in ASL poetry for the Ontario ASL Curriculum Team.
He taught in the Linguistics Department at Gallaudet University.
Two scholarships are named in his memory at Gallaudet University.
One of the scholarships is the Clayton Valli Endowed Scholarship Fund for Ph.D. in Linguistics
The End
Clayton Valli was the first person to earn a doctorate in Linguistics and ASL poetry.
In his poems often used nature imagery as metaphors for the deaf experience.
Clayton Valli helped pioneer the worldwide movement to develop an "ASL as a first language" curriculum for deaf children,
And he helped legitimize American Sign Language.
He gave workshops and presentations across the United States to raise awareness and appreciation for the meter and rhythm movement in ASL poetry.
His poems were made using hand shapes, movement space, repetition, and facial expression.