The Deaf Community is a multitude of communities where people who are deaf and know ASL (American Sign Language) can live together, but do they get the amount of support from other communities that they need?
Deafness itself has historically been viewed as a physical impairment, similar to blindness, and both cognitive and motor impairments. Though today, deafness is considered a trait, not a disability. The debilitating effects of deafness can be helped through hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive listening devices, and through the ability of speech (and visually reading others lips). Any traits that group members share can be perceived as positive by people in that group. So if deafness is seen as a disability, then people who are deaf carry the stigma of “lacking” a typical human characteristic. Although people in the Deaf Community say they are bound together by deafness, they also say that being deaf is a distinctive perspective on the world. The so called “curing” of deafness is seen by the Deaf Community as a way of
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As of December 2012, approximately 324,200 cochlear implants have been implanted worldwide. In the United States, roughly 58,000 devices have been implanted in adults, and 38,999 in children. (December 15, 2016. Quick statistics about hearing)
How are deaf individuals treated by everyday “normal” individuals? While some of those who are hearing do their best to understand the Deaf Community and learn ASL, most people who interact with deaf people, particularly kids, try to teach them how to speak. They don’t realise that it’s hard to speak a language that they’ve never heard. Also, lip-reading is seen as a savior to deaf people in the eyes of the hearing. But as deaf people cannot hear, they do not know how words are pronounced, and most words are mouthed the same, so honestly it’s just a guess as to what that person is
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.
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.
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
Deaf people can do anything they want; they just have to follow their dreams. Many people admire or are fans of some famous Deaf people like Marlee Matlin, Nyle DiMarco, and other Deaf names. Marlee is great actress and author, and she is a very brave woman. Her family did not know official sign language but had “home” sign language instead. Nyle DiMarco was a two-time reality show winner from the two shows, America’s Next Top Model Cycle 22 and Dancing with the Stars Season 22. He loves to do activities that are involved in the Deaf community, as well as helping Deaf children; Deaf people can “do” life too. Do not listen to the people who always tell you, “You can’t, you can’t, you can’t!” It is very annoying, do not listen to them! It is wrong to judge other people because only God can judge people and God knows what their future holds, not the naysayers. Remember it is very important to bring an interpreter to a job interview. Everyone can be strong; we are human just the same. They are Deaf Power! “The opportunity to communicate in sign language, one of the most beautiful languages in the world, is an advantage that Deaf people enjoy. It’s a language that combines several elements at once with a simple hand movement and facial expression: meaning, affect, time and duration. It’s just so beautiful that printed or spoken words can’t begin to describe it” – Marlee
The hearing world has not made much effort to learn more about the Deaf culture until recently, but the majority of the hearing population still does not have sufficient knowledge to get along with the Deaf people. However, there are some people who are interested in the Deaf people and their culture that want to understand enough to get along with the Deaf. Usually, they have many questions but they avoid asking the Deaf in fear of offending them. For example: How do Deaf people feel when a hearing person approaches them in public using sign language, Why do some Deaf people not like the I love you sign, Is it unethical for a hearing person to publish a book of restricted ASL signs, and Who owns ASL? There are books to answer those questions (specifically For Hearing People Only),
In my past experiences with the Deaf I have come to realize how appreciative the Deaf are. They know that in the hearing world they are known as disabled. Few of us hearing people will put forth the effort to understand them. But, when we do they love it and that is what gives me such passion for sign language. I have had several Deaf come into my work to place orders and almost every time they have an order written out and just hand it to me, thinking I am just another one of those people who sees them as disabled. But they are not disabled. Matter of fact most Deaf are happy being deaf. Sign Language is an art and should be cherished, just as the deaf should be cherished and never looked down upon. They have their own world and are happy. Just because there world is smaller than ours doesn't mean that they should be looked down upon. One of my favorite memories since I took up sign language was when I had a deaf customer come in and hand me a paper to do his order and I was able to hand it back to him, granted he looked at me like I was crazy for a second, until I signed to him “How are you doing today?” The smile he gave me made my passion for the deaf community grow even more and so did being able to take his order without that piece of paper. He was so happy that I took the time. A HEARING PERSON took the time, to learn his
Over that time and the time spent here with the DSZ I have to say I have learned so many things about the Deaf community. How most individual that joins the communities are here for friends and family, to have and build connections with other individuals, to share their interests and experiences, as well as to just have a good time. Most individuals I have meet in the community have great pride in being Deaf, and don't see themselves as disabled. I have also found that the Deaf/Deafblind community is very diverse, including not only those individuals who are Deaf/Deafblind but also there hearing family members and friends, Interpreters, and others such as Deaf Studies or ASL students. At this point I would have to say nothing really surprised me yet, this may be do to the fact that I am open to all things and know that the community is always
Teachers are often looked at, by their students, as a second mom or a second dad. Our job as teachers is going to be, not only to teach students academics, but to care for them and make sure they are well rounded. Teachers have to ready students for the future so that they are able to live independent lives as adults. Deaf students tend to struggle with living adult lives more so than their hearing counterparts. As Deaf Education teachers, our duty should be to promote functional living, social-interaction, and self-advocacy skills for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It is especially important for Deaf Education teachers to promote this because the amount of support a deaf child receives at home may be minimal. In a classroom, there may be a student who has deaf parents to guide him/her through life. On the other side of the spectrum, there may be a deaf child of hearing parents whom show no interest in interacting with their deaf child. Those who have deaf parents are more likely to develop a strong sense of independence because they have their parents as role models. Unfortunately, those with hearing parents may not have much of a support system. There are many cases where hearing parents don’t learn their own child’s language and don’t care to communicate with them. These children may have a low self-esteem and no high hopes for their future. This is why, as teachers, we must show that we care by sharing our knowledge and promoting these skills, so that these students know what the future has to offer.
We live in a society where we need every piece of ourselves to be ideal so we can live a perfect life. There are whole communities that live on this planet that chose to live, work, and play without a piece of themselves, and you won’t hear them complain. Over 5% of the world's population, that’s more than 360 million people, has disabling hearing loss otherwise known as deafness. For many people, the idea of living their lives in total or partial silence is unthinkable. General misinterpretations and fallacies about the Deaf have created both passive and active prejudices against the Deaf.
Deaf culture should be treated how everyone else should be treated, and with total respect. A very good way to grab a deaf person's attention is to do it in a courteous way. Grabbing their arm and shaking it around would not be a way to address them. When a deaf person is learning ways to communicate, they are to focus on the speaker. Lip- reading is also an important technique used in their everyday lives. When speaking with a deaf person, it can be just as normal and interesting as speaking to any other individual. Enjoyment for this culture would be sports such as volleyball, and softball. Sports help their bonding with one another increase, and the communication barriers are dropped. It's a place for expressing how they feel to one another. Competing with other deaf people to them is fun, they love competition. Believe it or not many deaf athletes favor participating in deaf-only
Many people within the Deaf community uses sign language. As each country has its own version of signing, Deaf people vary differently in each part of the world. Though within its own differences, the Deaf community holds similar values through the means of their language and values. Sign language is a complex language and it is a masterpiece created for the Deaf. As sign language is a visual/gestural language and its lack of a writing system, these features pushed the language in the shadows of other spoken languages.
This paper explains the two views of deafness: disability/pathology perspective and cultural/social perspective. It explains how the two perspectives differ from each other and why there are conflicts between them. The paper also explains the author’s personal perspective of deafness.
Deafness ranging from mild, moderate severe and profound is one of the most common congenital disabilities worldwide. Society have this misconception and always refer Deaf people as “deaf and dumb or deaf mute”, due to their inability to communicate normally in our spoken language. Apparently, these terms should never be used as they are outdated and offensive to them. Deaf people are neither dumb nor mute just like the saying “Being Deaf does not make you dumb, just as being hearing, does not make you smart”. Deaf people are as intelligent as hearing people and they actually have functioning vocal cords and some of them even have very good speech. In fact, Deaf people are normal human beings as deafness is an invisible disability and the only exception that set them apart is, they cannot hear just like the quote from I. King Jordan, the first Deaf president of Gallaudet University, “Deaf people can do anything hearing people can do, except hear.”
Imagine a world without sound; the inability to hear a mother’s voice as she speak, the inability to hear the tune to the best song in the world, the inability to hear the laugh of friends and close people, the inability to hear the breeze of the wind and the birds chirping, the inability to hear anything. In many cases this is true, many people are completely deaf, and others have some form of hearing loss; which can range from mild to severe hearing loss. Deafness is something millions of people struggle with around the world, but still they seem to be oppressed in the world.
Then, when I was three years old, I had surgery to get a cochlear implant at the University of Minnesota. A cochlear implant is a small device which bypasses the damaged parts of the ear and directly stimulates the auditory nerve. Signals generated by the implant are sent by the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes t...