Audism question

stormpraiser91

stormpraiser91

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okay, so what exactly is audism? I know what autism is, because I have it, but I'm not totally clear on the definition of audism. could somone who's deaf/hard of hearing explain it please?
 
Simply put, audism is the act of oppressing a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person based on their deafness. It can be a subconscious or conscious act.
 
stormpraiser91 said:
okay, so what exactly is audism? I know what autism is, because I have it, but I'm not totally clear on the definition of audism. could somone who's deaf/hard of hearing explain it please?
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some one else might have a better definition. But I will take a crack at it.

Audism is a spoken language centric view. Wanting all deaf people to speak. Wanting all deaf to use English (or insert your native hearing language here). At it's extremes there is a refusal to allow ASL or anything Deaf related. It is a way of thinking to the exclusion of how a deaf individual might experience something. It is a way of believing that a deaf/Deaf individual is not a full person (because they need to be taken care of). :ty:
 
It is a way of thinking to the exclusion of how a deaf individual might experience something.
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Stole that from Cheetah's post, but that is how I often experience.
 
There are a number of threads on AD that look at audism is greater detail. People don't always agree on what is or isn't audism. I'm a little confused myself tbh. My understanding atm is that it's a belief, conscious and/or unconscious, that hearing is superior. Therefore using oral language is better than using sign language. That to not be able to hear means living an impoverished life because they can't hear certain sounds. It's a belief that Deaf people are better off fitting in with hearing people and doing things the way hearing people do things (such as using voice to communicate). Because the sense of hearing is so intimately woven into the lives of hearing people, they are only able to imagine its absence as a grievous loss. There's nothing wrong with hearing people enjoying their hearing, but the problems occur when the value they place on hearing is imposed onto Deaf people. Audism in its extreme form believes people who can't hear properly are defective human beings.
 
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AJWSmith said:
There are a number of threads on AD that look at audism is greater detail. People don't always agree on what is or isn't audism. I'm a little confused myself tbh. My understanding atm is that it's a belief, conscious and/or unconscious, that hearing is superior. Therefore using oral language is better than using sign language. That to not be able to hear means living an impoverished life because they can't hear certain sounds. It's a belief that Deaf people are better off fitting in with hearing people and doing things the way hearing people do things (such as using voice to communicate). Because the sense of hearing is so intimately woven into the lives of hearing people, they are only able to imagine its absence as a grievous loss. There's nothing wrong with hearing people enjoying their hearing, but the problems occur when the value they place on hearing is imposed onto Deaf people. Audism in its extreme form believes people who can't hear properly are defective human beings.
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AWSmith,couldn't have described it any better - excellent post. Btw, you confused? Nah, you're not! :)
 
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In UK we don't have word for it as far I know do with like Audism.

UK'er said:
It's disability discrimination here in UK.
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That is more of general thing, covers all types of disability like giving job to others cos of that person because if disability, etc.
 
I've heard alot about audism but still cannot fully wrap my head around it. I read on an anti-audism site that a hearing audiologist is an audist and they gave the reasons why which I forget but at the time I read it, it made perfect sense.

However do you agree? I do since they do try to "fix" the hearing loss. Am I going in the right direction here? :)
 
Jaspheth said:
I've heard alot about audism but still cannot fully wrap my head around it. I read on an anti-audism site that a hearing audiologist is an audist and they gave the reasons why which I forget but at the time I read it, it made perfect sense.

However do you agree? I do since they do try to "fix" the hearing loss. Am I going in the right direction here? :)
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Hmmm...not really. I'm deaf and happy being deaf but I do appreciate having hearing aids and audiologists provide them as well as ear molds, audiograms, etc. My audiologist is great and she answers all of my questions but doesn't push anything on me. Years ago, she asked what I thought of CIs and when I told her I've given it some thought and chose not to opt for it, she said ok and never brought it up again. Yes, her job is to provide services and prostheses for those dealing with hearing loss but most of her clients are elderly or late-deafened who miss having hearing and would like help with getting what maximum hearing they can recover through devices. I don't see anything wrong with that nor do I view it as audist. Audism is not just a belief, it's also the carriage of that belief. My audiologist's intent is to provide goods, services and information to those who asked for them and she does a very good job.
 
DeafCaroline said:
Hmmm...not really. I'm deaf and happy being deaf but I do appreciate having hearing aids and audiologists provide them as well as ear molds, audiograms, etc. My audiologist is great and she answers all of my questions but doesn't push anything on me. Years ago, she asked what I thought of CIs and when I told her I've given it some thought and chose not to opt for it, she said ok and never brought it up again. Yes, her job is to provide services and prostheses for those dealing with hearing loss but most of her clients are elderly or late-deafened who miss having hearing and would like help with getting what maximum hearing they can recover through devices. I don't see anything wrong with that nor do I view it as audist. Audism is not just a belief, it's also the carriage of that belief. My audiologist's intent is to provide goods, services and information to those who asked for them and she does a very good job.
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I must have been reading one of the extreme audisim sites. I'll have to find it.
 
I think a lot of times the medical perspective seen in the audi.'s office is an audist thing -
 
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