This paper is intended to educate people on deafness as a disability, as an identity, and as a culture. Nearly 5% of the world’s population is profoundly deaf. Majority of these children who are born deaf are born into hearing families. Stigma is often associated with not only the hearing community but the deaf community as well. There are several treatment options but they are not all accepted by the deaf community. Throughout this paper, I will reference the word “deaf” with a lower case d to refer the audio logical disability whereas “Deaf” with a capital D refers to the community and culture. Person first language is also not commonly used when referring to people who are deaf in the Deaf community, therefore, I will often write “deaf people” instead of “a person who is deaf”. In the Deaf community, this is acceptable and is not a form of judgment.
Introduction
Living in a world with no sound whatsoever is a reality to millions of people worldwide, regardless of age, race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Approximately 5% or 360 million people of the world’s population have deafness or hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization. Deafness can be either acquired or congenital depending on several factors, including genetics and health of the individual. Congenital deafness is the loss of hearing present at birth. Being born deaf has many consequences, both positive and negative. According to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, over 50% of congenital deafness is due to hereditary and genetic issues. However, non-genetic factors can cause deafness in an individual at birth as well. Disease and illness while in utero of either the mother or child can cause the child to become deaf...
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... occurrence seen in those who experience deafness, especially if it is congenital. The Deaf community is extremely important to people who identify as deaf or hard of hearing. This culture is accepting of individuals and provides a community for all deaf individuals to join. Although the Deaf community is a safe place for people who identify as deaf, stigma still resides in both the hearing and the deaf world. Stigma towards the cochlear implant within the Deaf community creates disapproval and conflict. They view the implant as a way of “fixing” someone who does not need to be fixed. People who have their hearing may believe the stigma that deaf people are not as smart as people who can talk and hear. Living a successful and independent life is not unimaginable for people who cannot hear. Deafness is a disability but not a hindrance to an individual’s lifestyle.
I learned a lot about Deaf people, ASL, and/or Deaf Culture after reading this book. Deaf people are normal just like anybody else and they should not be treated any differently. Some people treat Deafness as a disease that needs to be cured, but it's not. If a parent comes to learn that their child is deaf they react very crazily and act like their child is dying and that deafness is some fatal disease. Deaf people should be treated just like anyone else and no differently. They are not disabled and can do great things in this world.
...s that “sometime several Hearing people treat us the Deaf people like aliens or weirdos” (Scearce). Many of these issues could be resolved if the root of the problem was addressed and people sought to raise awareness about the deaf community, deaf culture, and the deaf way of life.
Just like members of other minorities, such as Hispanics and African-Americans, Deaf people experience some of the same oppression and hardships. Although the attempts to "fix" members of and obliterate the DEAF-WORLD are not as highly publicized as problems with other minorities, they still exist. Throughout time, hearing people have been trying to destroy the DEAF-WORLD with the eugenics movement, the mainstreaming of Deaf children into public hearing schools, and cochlear implants.
What I found most interesting about Jarashow’s presentation were the two opposing views: Deaf culture versus medical professionals. Within the Deaf culture, they want to preserve their language and identity. The Deaf community wants to flourish and grow and do not view being deaf as a disability or being wrong. Jarashow stated that the medical field labels Deaf people as having a handicap or being disabled because they cannot hear. Those who are Deaf feel as though medical professionals are trying to eliminate them and relate it to eugenics. It is perceived that those in that field are trying to fix those who are Deaf and eliminate them by making them conform to a hearing world. Those within the Deaf community seem to be unhappy with devices such
Stepping into a room filled with both students who were deaf and others who were not, I was instantly met with smiles and hugs. While most people sat cross legged in a circle on the floor, the warm and amiable atmosphere imitated how Deaf culture is founded on a collective mindset and not on a separated
The documentary of “Through Deaf Eyes” has open my eyes to the deaf culture. The movie has made it “click” that deaf people are just that people and individuals like me. Deaf community has its struggles just like everyone else. They struggle with growing into who they are as a person, harmful situations, and feeling a sense of belonging. They just speak a different language like Italians and Hispanics. Communicating with a different language does not make them lesser than a hearing person. When able to learn to communicate, the deaf are able to learn and gain knowledge just like a hearing person. The only difference is they have to learn more and work harder to achieve their goals and gain knowledge, which a hearing person learns just by hearing their surroundings.
There is a difference between the way those that are deaf define themselves within their own culture. If society was more educated on this fact the society of Deaf culture may make a breakthrough and eliminate its label as a “disability”. Those who are deaf refer to themselves as part of
90% of all deaf children are born to hearing parents who never thought much about the deaf community (Bat-Chava). That is why in mainstream society, the quality of being deaf is seen as a disability rather than something to be praised. The common view of deafness is that it is simply a person who cannot hear and “is deficient in some way because he or she may not be able to communicate by ‘speaking’ or ‘hearing”, we capitalize on what a deaf person cannot do rather than what they can (“Understanding Deaf Culture”). Carla A. Halpern says:
In the following chapters, there is an extensive amount of knowledge to learn about how Deaf culture is involved in our modern world. The pages assigned give us an outlook of how Deaf people are treated in our daily life, and how we should learn from it. Its gives a clear line between what are myths and what are facts, to those who are curious about the Deaf community or have specific questions. This book has definitely taught me new things that I could put to good use in the near future. In specific chapters, my mind really opened up to new ideas and made me think hard about questions, like “why don’t some Deaf people trust hearing people,” or “do we need another ‘Deaf president now’ revolution?” I realized many new things in the course of reading this book, and have recommended this to my family.
Deaf and hearing impaired individuals are know longer an out cast group. They now have there own deaf community. Deaf individuals do not consider themselves having an impairment, handicap, or any type of disability. They believe that through the use of sign language, other communication skills, and technology that there deafness is the way they are supposed to be. Many people who have perfect hearing can not understand deaf people and why they embrace there deafness instead of trying to receive hearing and get rid of there handicap. However not all deaf people have th...
National Institute of Health. (2011). National Institute on Deafness and other communication disorders: Improving the lives of people who have communication disorders. National Institute on
I briefly interviewed a male in his late teens, asking if he knew who Nyle DiMarco is. His response was, “I heard of him, but I do not exactly know who he is or what he does for a living.” I responded that Nyle DiMarco is a model, actor, and activist, who won first place in Dancing with the Stars and America’s Next Top Model. He started his own foundation, called LEAD-K, preparing children who are deaf for kindergarten through language acquisition. I then asked him, how do you feel knowing a deaf man was able to become a model, actor, and activist. To which he said, “Being deaf should not affect anyone in any way because they are capable of doing anything, except for hearing” (Anonymous, personal communication, November 8, 2017). This should also be seen positively because he is a major influence in the deaf community as
Skelton, Tracey and Gill Valentine. “‘It Feels like Being Is Normal’: An Exploration into the Complexities of Defining D/deafness and Young D/deaf People’s Identities.” Canadian Geographer. 47.4 (2003): 451-465. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
In mainstream American society, we tend to approach deafness as a defect. Helen Keller is alleged to have said, "Blindness cuts people off from things; deafness cuts people off from people." (rnib.org) This seems a very accurate description of what Keller's world must have been. We as hearing people tend to pity deaf people, or, if they succeed in the hearing world, admire them for overcoming a severe handicap. We tend to look at signing as an inferior substitute for "real" communication. We assume that all deaf people will try to lip-read and we applaud deaf people who use their voices to show us how far they have come from the grips of their disability. Given this climate, many hearing people are surprised, as I was at first, to learn of the existence of Deaf culture. To me deafness is not a defect but a source of connection. Imagine yourself deaf, growing up with a beautiful language, visual literature, humor, and theater. Imagine taking pride in your identity without any desire to become a member of the majority culture. For many deaf people, their community is a comforting relief from the isolation and condescension of the hearing world. However the Deaf community is far more than a support group for people who share a physical characteristic. Members of the Deaf community may have hearing levels that range from profoundly deaf to slightly hard-of-hearing. But no members of the Deaf community are "hearing impaired." Inside this community, deaf people become Deaf, proudly capitalizing their culture. Hearing people suddenly find that they are handicapped: "Deaf-impaired."
Provided with the viewpoints on both the medical model and social model of disability, it is clear that these two concepts differ in terms of the definition of disability as well as the attitude of society towards people with disabilities. It is evident that people with disabilities veer towards the social model rather than the medical model. It is essential to acknowledge that Deafness is categorised as a medical disability within the individual as well as a societal disability, as society is not equipped enough to deal with the communication barriers that stem from hearing impairments.