When was the great rubella epidemic that swelled the deaf population? What was this group called? When did they start college?

Answer:
The rubella (German measles) epidemic of the mid-1960s resulted in the birth of many deaf and multiply-handicapped babies. It was colloquially known as the “rubella bulge,” and doubled the student populations at Gallaudet and NTID from 1984 (when the “bulge babies” started college) through approximately 1988, when they graduated and began entering the workworld. A repeat of this scenario is most unlikely, as there’s now a rubella vaccine. However, NTID’s 2008-2009 enrollment of 1,450 surpassed its 1984 “rubella bulge” peak of 1,358.