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History of the Deaf Community and Culture - Coggle Diagram
History of the Deaf Community and Culture
1) Beginnings of the Deaf Community
It is likely that the Deaf community began to form at residential deaf schools in the 1800s
Once students graduated, they often moved to big cities and became part of close-knit friend groups, most of which graduated from the same school
Groups like these then formed different social clubs for various interests
In some cases, clubhouses were even built and some still stand today
5) Modern Deaf Culture
In the 1980s, the introduction of the TTY made it easier for deaf people to communicate without meeting in person
The internet has made it far easier and as a result, the number of deaf clubs decreased
Today, it is common for groups to meet on a regular basis to sign and chat
The deaf community may include hearing individuals who sign-like interpreters-as well as parents and children of deaf people
Deaf culture was first suggested in William Stokoe's book
The Dictionary of American Sign Language
in 1965
Deaf culture includes a set of learned behaviors, its own language, values, rules of behavior and traditions which establishes it as a true culture
2) National Fraternal Society of the Deaf
In the late 1800s it was extremely troublesome if not impossible for deaf people to get life insurance and for that reason the NFSD was established to give deaf people insurance and social opportunities
In 1951, the NFSD permitted women to buy life insurance
The NFSD along with other Deaf organizations sponsored projects such as food and clothes drives as well as relief programs for catastrophes like 9/11/01
The NFSD officially went out of business in March of 2010 because their ultimate goal of ensuring that deaf people have access to insurance had been fulfilled
3) The World Wars
Before both world wars, factories would not usually hire deaf people. However, during the wars, many jobs were left vacant by soldiers and many deaf people were hired
Employers were reported to have high satisfaction rates for the deaf employees' performance quality
After the war, when factories making supplies for the war closed and soldiers came back to their jobs, many deaf people were laid off
During the war, many deaf Americans were very patriotic and planted vegetable gardens to feed soldiers as well as knitted clothes and blankets for them
Deaf organizations also got involved in war efforts, one example being the NAD creating a fund for the American Red Cross to buy ambulances and defense bonds
4) Post-War Experience
On top of being fired from their jobs after the war, many were also kicked out of their homes
After WWII, there was a large number of deaf peddlers, who rather than beg, would pass out cards explaining that they were deaf and needed work
Some cards even showed the manual alphabet and encouraged readers to learn to communicate with the deaf