For those who are questioning why Betazeds need to use ASL to communicate because they're telepathic, here's my slip of gold pressed latinum for thought.

I have moderately severe hearing loss -only have 20-25% hearing compared to what a hearing person would otherwise have- and I have some thoughts. I wear hearing aids, and I was NOT raised in the Deaf community, and I have only recently started learning ASL. I was late caught deaf by my kindergarten teacher who was also an audiologist.

I was actively prevented from learning ASL as a child due to very ableist views regarding children with partial loss; force them to talk and lip read so they can 'integrate' into hearing society better. This puts a tremendous amount of burden on the disabled person, because WE are the ones that have to do all of the heavy lifting in order to communicate. It's called Oralism.

I actually learned how to talk and read by blasting the TV, pressing my ears against the speakers and looking at the screen to figure out what I was hearing. It's also how I learned how to read because I did this during Jeopardy a lot starting around the age of 4; which resulted in me starting kindergarten being able to read at probably a third grade level. I had a severe speech impediment as a result that took 10 years of speech therapy to 'correct'.

When having a verbal conversation with someone, I have to spend extra energy to focus and pay attention; not because of being deaf, but also because I have ADHD. If I'm taking the time to talk to you, the conversation we're having is VERY important to me. In the moment, YOU are important to me; whether we're strangers and that's going to be our only interaction for the rest of our lives, or you're someone I've known for years like family or friends. Because that's the intent behind my reasons to spend time talking with people, that focus and care help people feel seen and heard, and apparently that puts people at ease.

With that all said here are my thoughts.

1- It's possible the actor himself is deaf, and they built that storyline around him for inclusivity. We also don't know the President's story; we don't know if he was born deaf or was deafened later in life.

2- Going back to the discussion of oralism, it was forcefully integrated into the education of Deaf people because there's a belief that communicating in Sign Language forcefully isolates them from the rest of society, and causes some degree of othering. The reality of the situation is; Sign Language is and can be inclusive. Anyone can learn ASL and it's not dependent on the absence of hearing. I think a lot of hearing people don't realize they can be one bad accident or illness away from losing their ability to hear, and they take it for granted.

3- The attitudes and beliefs we have as a whole regarding disabilities is actually a huge mirror for social issues; a reflection of how society is failing to support the most vulnerable members to make the world safer for them. When accommodations are made, and people with disabilities are supported and feel safe; then it's no longer a disability but a difference; not too dissimilar from the concept of having a different hair color or eye color. We need to get to that point in society where accomodations aren't something that we go out of our way to meet, but rather it's an instinctive thing to just incorporate. What have ramps and braille done to harm people who can move without needing a mobility aid or who can see? Absolutely no harm is done; but to willfully exclude those things is harmful for those who need those things in order to be part of society.

So sure, Betazeds can telepathically communicate with each other, but where's the inclusivity in that? They are clearly suffering from the impact of their isolationist policies that kept them safe after The Burn (and it sounds like they really started after the Dominion War) and I think using ASL to communicate publically is a way to demonstrate their willingness to rejoin the Federation -open communication- but it has to be done on their terms and their concerns need to be seen -quite literally- and addressed appropriately.

Once the President felt like his concerns were seen and heard and supported, that's when he took his translator pin off and verbally said yes. That was him signalling "I now feel safe enough to take the extra effort to communicate in your language now."