"Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language (ABSL) has arisen in the last 70 years in an isolated endogamous community with a high incidence of nonsyndromic, genetically recessive, profound pre-lingual neurosensory deafness... Within the past three generations, ≈150 individuals with congenital deafness have been born into the community... the deaf members of the community and a significant fraction of its hearing members communicate by means of a sign language. Siblings and children of deaf individuals and other members of a household (which may include a large extended family) often become fluent signers."

"Deaf and hearing infants are exposed to signing from birth, within the family environment, with additional (deaf and hearing) adult models in the community... the number of inhabitants [of the Al-Sayyid Bedouin community] is estimated to be over 4500, with nearly 130 deaf individuals"

(Sandler et al. 2005)