*FACEPALM* Are you really that naive? Anyone can start up blogs, Twitter accounts, and Facebook webpages. Just because the blogger, Sarah Terras, claims that the refusal to hire D/deaf and hard-of-hearing employees are rooted in the fact that there are interpreter expenses, difficulty with communication, and the "telephone culture" doesn't mean it is necessarily true for all employers. Nor does it mean that Terras is a qualified source of factual information. Terras is exaggerating here. Did you notice that she didn't even cite empirical studies, hard statistics or actual research? With that said, her fundamental arguments are based on personal opinions only and therefore remain invalid as is.
I am profoundly deaf and yet I have worked in an all-hearing company for the past year and half. Interpreters are provided for conferences or full department meetings, yes, but other than that I do just fine day in and day out. I communicate with my supervisor and my co-workers through text, e-mail, instant message, the use of pen and paper, the Notes app on the iPhone, the laptop, and the whiteboard with color markers. Some of my co-workers even took the time to learn signs just to interact with me. My supervisor even had me train the management on awareness of the Deaf culture shortly after I joined the team. I'll be damned if that isn't an employer who is open to the Deaf culture.
And may I add, that most of my professional history has been with hearing employers--all except one (an all-deaf corporation) were hearing. Employer discrimination in this case comes from the lack of awareness on the Deaf culture and the Deaf community and the lack of knowledge on accurate information, yes, but it is not as bleak or widespread as Terras claims.
