Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Chapter 4 - Coggle Diagram
Chapter 4
Deaf ? Hard of Hearing? Hearing Impaired?
Deaf people cannot hear many sounds.
Deafness is like watching television with the sound turned off.You Cannot hear what people are saying. You might be confused about what is happening on the screen.
Some people who cannot hear do not use speech. They prefer to communicate in sign language and writing.
Hearing aids are often helpful for hard of hearing people.
Being hard of hearing is like watching television with the sound turned low, so that you can barely hear
Hearing impaired is a word used to describe all people with hearing problems. Deaf people are hearing impaired and hard of hearing people are also hearing impaired.
“Hearing impaired” was the “politically correct term” during the 1970s and was used to describe everyone with any degree of hearing loss, ranging from a mild loss of acuity to profound deafness.
During the eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century, “semi- mute” was used to describe deaf people who were born hearing but lost hearing during infancy.
THE VANISHING “DEAF CLUB”
Consequently, clubs in those days were established to provide culture and social opportunities for deaf people with similar backgrounds.
Club activities included monthly business meetings, with annual elections for officers and building committees. Functions included parties, special celebrations, banquets, sports, and card games.
The most popular attraction during the 1960s through 1980s was captioned films. With open captions or subtitles, Deaf viewers were able to enjoy full-length Hol- lywood films, such as Shane, Gone with the Wind, or Lawrence of Arabia, pre- sented through 16mm projectors.
Friends often paid surprise visits to homes of deaf families—those with several deaf family members — and stayed hours and hours to socialize.
First Baptist church denounced the club- goers, saying they were sinners in the eyes of God.
In many states, there are Deaf individuals who gather for scrapbooking activities, Red Hat Society activities, and other hobby-related activities.
RELIGION
Michaels convinced the Southern Baptist Convention that an estimated 45,000 deaf people had no access to Baptist religious services, and he was appointed the first missionary to deaf people.
Several denominations, such as Lutheran, Methodist, Latter Day Saints, Baptist, and Catholic, eventually provided services for deaf people, although their efforts varied. During the middle years of the twentieth century, itinerant ministers who traveled to various communities served deaf churchgoers.
The interpreters were often untrained, yet they considered them- selves God’s devoted saviors rescuing the unfortunates from the devil.
The Episcopal Church, in 1884, was the first church to have ordained a deaf person, Henry Syle, as a priest. Henry Syle (1846–1890) was born of a missionary in China, but poor health forced his move to America where he lived with his aunt in Alexandria, Virginia. He lost his hearing due to scarlet fever at the age of six.
The Community and the Deaf Community
Participation in the Deaf community is usually by those who consider themselves deaf and are accepted by the community. Knowledge and use of ASL is another factor but not necessarily required.
The Deaf community can be defined as a group of deaf and hard of hearing individuals who share a common language, common experiences and values, and a common way of interacting with each other and with hearing people.
However, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Deaf clubs lost their standing as the centers of the adult deaf community.
They had their own offices and formed what Padden and Humphries refer to as the middle class.
The middle class members possessed similar interests as others in their professions, so they were less likely to attend deaf club functions. In addition, deaf persons no longer had to go to deaf clubs for consultation on personal or business matters.
DIVERSITY IN DEAF CULTURE
Diverse factors include age, economic class, race, ethnic background, geographic origin, religious background, gender, abilities, hearing status,
vision status, language, personal and family influences, education, and cultural influences.
Deaf people cherish and are proud of their identities. African American, Hispanic/Latino American, Asian American, and Native American cultures are major cultures within the Deaf community.
Deaf culture traits include women; gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered people; hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and late-deafened people; and even senior citizens.
Children of color know much about the history, values, and culture of European Americans, but lack knowledge of their own culture. This is also true of Deaf culture.
UTOPIA AND DEAF PEOPLE
Writer John James Flournoy (1810–1879), a graduate of the American Asylum for the Deaf in Connecticut, suggested in the 1850s the creation of a community where only deaf people could reside. He proposed to Congress that land be set aside in the western territories for deaf people.
Clerc said he had suggested that some of the land in Alabama be given to the American School for the Deaf by the federal government be used as “headquarters” for the deaf and dumb. He had no intention of supporting a separate deaf state
DEAF IDENTITY
Most Deaf people consider hearing loss as nothing negative, except for perhaps some minor inconveniences established by the majority. Furthermore, personal identity and language choice made by a Deaf person cannot be separated.
The deaf child’s feelings and perceptions, most of which are formed at home, can have a significant impact on educational performance and achievement.
Recognition of Deaf Culture
More and more deaf people become empowered in pursuing education and therefore became more qualified for professional roles that were more challenging than the then-standby occupations of printing for men and keypunching for women.
With this increased self-actualization, the emphasis was not to look at hearing loss as a deficiency or pathological condition but as defining a cultural entity.