 By the age of 27 Berthier had become one of the more senior professors at the school.In late 1837 Berthier petitioned the French government for permission to create the "Société Centrale des Sourds-muets", which was officially founded the following year as the first organisation to represent the interests of the deaf community.The organisation aimed to bring together "all the deaf spread across the globe... to put speaking and deaf men of intelligence and heart in rapport with each other, no matter the distance, no matter the difference in language, culture and laws," and offered deaf workers a practical avenue to support each other through "mutual aid" and a way to organize and attend adult education classes.