The Deaf Community

jillio said:
Glad that you, and others, understand that I don't change the way I write as a sign of respect for your intelligence and comprehension rather than trying to "dumb things down.".
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We wouldn't want ya to change your style. :D
 
shel90 said:
Should the Deaf community accept hearing people calling deafness defective or that Deaf people need to improve themselves by getting CIs or seeking a cure.? Or that we should assimilate in the hearing world fully>
If so, why?

If not, why not?

For me...NO...because we have the right to be comfortable with our deafness and be respected as contributing citizens to this country. No, we may not live our lives the hearing way but as long as we are contributing to society, why complain about us wanting to stay in the Deaf community and using ASL as our language?
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Getting back to the orginial thread topic, it seems we have established that the acquistion of language is not related in any way to deafness. One myth ruled out. What other myths of the Hearing world that imply that deafness is defective that we can rule out....Also....it is wrong to hold to 'deaf identity' when the mainstream are saying that deaf people should conform to the hearing world....I would like to know your thoughts more along these lines.
 
No the deaf community should not accept hearing people calling deafness defective. the hearing world is selective over who they accept into their culture, it is only fair that the deaf community also does not accept everyone.

I recently lost a lot of hearing, and am trying to be involved in the deaf community because i find it more accepting. I would not try to enter and become involved in a culture if i did not accept their ways.
 
BecLak said:
Getting back to the orginial thread topic, it seems we have established that the acquistion of language is not related in any way to deafness. One myth ruled out. What other myths of the Hearing world that imply that deafness is defective that we can rule out....Also....it is wrong to hold to 'deaf identity' when the mainstream are saying that deaf people should conform to the hearing world....I would like to know your thoughts more along these lines.
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How about the myth that those deaf who speak well are superior in function and intelligence to those that do not speak well? That is a myth I have heard often.

Just because the mainstream says it doesn't make it so.:giggle: But seriously, the mainstream is making that statement from their own ethnocentric perspective without consideration for the deaf perspective and what would be the best benefit for them. So my answer is, "No, it isn't wrong to hold to the deaf identity any more than it would be wrong to hold to any ethnic or linguisitic minority identity."
 
jillio said:
How about the myth that those deaf who speak well are superior in function and intelligence to those that do not speak well? That is a myth I have heard often.

Just because the mainstream says it doesn't make it so.:giggle: But seriously, the mainstream is making that statement from their own ethnocentric perspective without consideration for the deaf perspective and what would be the best benefit for them. So my answer is, "No, it isn't wrong to hold to the deaf identity any more than it would be wrong to hold to any ethnic or linguisitic minority identity."
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I so agree with you. I cannot understand why it is that the mainstream hold to this view despite the fact we now live in a multi-cultural, globalised world. Isn't it plain and clear that we would be in the same category as any ethnic or linguistic minority and require the same respect for human rights as any other?
 
BecLak said:
I so agree with you. I cannot understand why it is that the mainstream hold to this view despite the fact we now live in a multi-cultural, globalised world. Isn't it plain and clear that we would be in the same category as any ethnic or linguistic minority and require the same respect for human rights as any other?
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Well said! :)
 
BecLak said:
I so agree with you. I cannot understand why it is that the mainstream hold to this view despite the fact we now live in a multi-cultural, globalised world. Isn't it plain and clear that we would be in the same category as any ethnic or linguistic minority and require the same respect for human rights as any other?
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It certainly seems clear to me. I think the problem lies in the fact that many still see deafness from a medicalized perspective. That view has been increased with all the hoopla over the CI.
 
jillio said:
It certainly seems clear to me. I think the problem lies in the fact that many still see deafness from a medicalized perspective. That view has been increased with all the hoopla over the CI.
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Jillio, you have brought up a very good point there. I will be analyzing this one for a while. :hmm:
 
What a nice thoughtful discussion without any arguments lately. NICE! :)
 
jillio said:
It certainly seems clear to me. I think the problem lies in the fact that many still see deafness from a medicalized perspective. That view has been increased with all the hoopla over the CI.
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Is there a great deal of difference in how the CI has impacted the perspective vs. how the hearing aid affected the perspective of deafness as a medical issue?
 
GrendelQ said:
Is there a great deal of difference in how the CI has impacted the perspective vs. how the hearing aid affected the perspective of deafness as a medical issue?
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I'd say an easy yes. CI's are pushed for way more than the alternatives. I know this because I seen it from the get-go with my daughter. It was sickening.
 
posts from hell said:
I'd say an easy yes. CI's are pushed for way more than the alternatives. I know this because I seen it from the get-go with my daughter. It was sickening.
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I had to bring up and push the pursuit of a CI, no medical personnel I encountered -- until I actively got a referral to an ENT with experience in CIs -- even brought it up, which is sort of odd, in retrospect.

But I ask, because my dad and mother in law were/are both severely HOH (very late deafened) and over decades, they had never come across anything BUT the medical perspective. Both hated their hearing aids passionately, but considered it a medical necessity, like taking bitter medicine. They had no knowledge that there even was a Deaf culture or another perspective. Both were very surprised/baffled when my husband and I gave very serious consideration to NOT getting CIs for my daughter while we were weighing options.

[updated to note that neither, however, had even heard of CIs before our research began, and I had only heard a brief mention on a radio program, but had no idea what a CI did, for whom it could be useful, or how it worked].
 
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On a related note, prior to very young children getting CIs (before FDA approval for under 2YO in 1990), what was the educational landscape like for children entering primary schools compared to now: bi-bi educational opps, oral / AV opps, mainstream programs, residential programs? I'd love to see how the community has changed in this regard over the past 50 years, how this mix has evolved.

Anybody happen to know? I'll look into it directly, but figure that this group probably has the data at hand or has looked into it, given the level of advocacy.
 
GrendelQ said:
Is there a great deal of difference in how the CI has impacted the perspective vs. how the hearing aid affected the perspective of deafness as a medical issue?
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the difference with CI's is it has now opened up a different way to hear. My ear drum has gone bad so a hearing aid would not help me, but a CI would work for me. CI's have made the medical world more powerful in saying being deaf is a medical complication. Personally i am not going to get a CI. A CI would be the only option for me to be able to have hearing back in my left ear. However, i have decided to not take the medical approach and am embracing the change in life and learning ASL. The doctors can see me as medically wrong as they want, but that is their decision and not mine.
 
I see so many young kids with CI as 1st option. My generation is last generation without having CI as first option. Last 5 years from small number of kids with CI to almost all kids. It is moving very fast.
 
thumbelina said:
the difference with CI's is it has now opened up a different way to hear. My ear drum has gone bad so a hearing aid would not help me, but a CI would work for me. CI's have made the medical world more powerful in saying being deaf is a medical complication. Personally i am not going to get a CI. A CI would be the only option for me to be able to have hearing back in my left ear. However, i have decided to not take the medical approach and am embracing the change in life and learning ASL. The doctors can see me as medically wrong as they want, but that is their decision and not mine.
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Is anything wrong with your cochlea? Are you deaf in both ears? If not, you won't qualify for a CI. You may qualify for a Baha implant based on what you have said but I don't claim to be an expert though.
 
deafskeptic said:
Is anything wrong with your cochlea? Are you deaf in both ears? If not, you won't qualify for a CI. You may qualify for a Baha implant based on what you have said but I don't claim to be an expert though.
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About a month ago I had a high fever and a really bad ear infection. As a result I have lost hearing in my left ear. My right ear is not completely deaf but not functioning at its optimum. There is nothing wrong with the cochlea the ear drum is no longer functioning. I actually really don't want any implants, I have been learning sign language. I have been embracing the change because it has actually made some aspects of my life easier.
 
thumbelina said:
About a month ago I had a high fever and a really bad ear infection. As a result I have lost hearing in my left ear. My right ear is not completely deaf but not functioning at its optimum. There is nothing wrong with the cochlea the ear drum is no longer functioning. I actually really don't want any implants, I have been learning sign language. I have been embracing the change because it has actually made some aspects of my life easier.
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Tympanoplasty can fix eardrums.
 
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