Ben Jarashow Journey Into The Deaf World Analysis

In Ben Jarashow’s Journey Into the Deaf World, he explained Deaf culture and how it feels to be deaf within the world of those who hear. People who are born deaf have a loss of what is commonly viewed as the most important sense, hearing. This leaves them with four senses instead of five; most important sense now being sight followed by touch. In return, this means that a language must be developed that is based heavily on sight. In the United States, it was not until 1960 that American Sign Language (ASL) was recognized as its own language.
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

cochlear implants and other mechanisms to help them hear. They feel as though this is a threat to their culture. Those within the medical field seem to not recognize Deaf culture as an actual culture and way of being.
Another point that I found interesting was that Deaf children are not taught sign language, but a hearing child will be taught ASL as soon as possible.

While the benefits for the hearing are great, there are better benefits for those who are Deaf. Jarashow stated that it was essentially frowned upon if a Deaf child was using sign instead of trying to use what ability they had to hear. This seems counterproductive and if they emphasized more on teaching Deaf children ASL, there would be better outcomes for them in the future. Instead of focusing on trying to make everyone the same, they should focus on giving these children the best opportunity possible despite their

differences.
This presentation helped me understand more about the Deaf community and their wants and needs. It is interesting that the medical field is trying to give the Deaf community a sense of hearing yet take their language and give it to those who can hear, while keeping it away from the culture who created it. It seems they have little to no disregard to how the Deaf community feels. It took me by surprise that the deaf community does not like the attempts made by those who can hear to help them hear. As someone who is going into the medical field, I will carry what I learned with me in practice and try to help out where and when I can.