Miss-Delectable
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http://www.mb.com.ph/OPED2005110948681.html
LIKE any disabled person, a deaf person is capable of doing almost everything despite being hearing-impaired. The perception that deaf people can not communicate well has long been debunked. Deaf persons do communicate through their own recognized language — sign language. Moreover, through assistive devices, including the ubiquitous mobile phone, deaf persons are also able to convey their messages to the hearing public much more easily.
To enable deaf people to communicate, their disability should be recognized early and the appropriate accommodation and assistance given. For one, sign language, as well as lip-reading skills, would have to be learned through formal instruction. Since the structure of the sign language varies from the languages spoken and comprehended by the hearing population, deaf persons must be assisted in understanding the differences so that they can effectively relay their thoughts to hearing people who are also encouraged to learn sign language.
In our society, the rights of the disabled, specifically deaf persons, have been recognized, protected, and fulfilled, specifically through the law that protects such rights. Proclamation No. 829, issued by former President Corazon C. Aquino in 1991, gives further emphasis to the need for the public to be much more aware of the specific conditions and rights of deaf persons by declaring the second week of November of each year as Deaf Awareness Week.
The commemoration this year is led by the National Council for the Welfare of the Disabled Persons (NCWDP), with the participation of other government agencies, schools that provide opportunities for deaf persons, and non-governmental organizations. It carries the theme "Isang Pintig sa Pinag-isang Tinig (One Heart, One Voice)," to capture the often neglected reality that the deaf and the hearing in our nation do share in the collective desire to pursue the common good and could best pursue such by constantly communicating with one another.
The deaf can and do communicate. Let us listen to them, learn to understand them, use their language, and share in their trials. As a nation, we should allow them to walk with us in treading the path to progress and equality.
LIKE any disabled person, a deaf person is capable of doing almost everything despite being hearing-impaired. The perception that deaf people can not communicate well has long been debunked. Deaf persons do communicate through their own recognized language — sign language. Moreover, through assistive devices, including the ubiquitous mobile phone, deaf persons are also able to convey their messages to the hearing public much more easily.
To enable deaf people to communicate, their disability should be recognized early and the appropriate accommodation and assistance given. For one, sign language, as well as lip-reading skills, would have to be learned through formal instruction. Since the structure of the sign language varies from the languages spoken and comprehended by the hearing population, deaf persons must be assisted in understanding the differences so that they can effectively relay their thoughts to hearing people who are also encouraged to learn sign language.
In our society, the rights of the disabled, specifically deaf persons, have been recognized, protected, and fulfilled, specifically through the law that protects such rights. Proclamation No. 829, issued by former President Corazon C. Aquino in 1991, gives further emphasis to the need for the public to be much more aware of the specific conditions and rights of deaf persons by declaring the second week of November of each year as Deaf Awareness Week.
The commemoration this year is led by the National Council for the Welfare of the Disabled Persons (NCWDP), with the participation of other government agencies, schools that provide opportunities for deaf persons, and non-governmental organizations. It carries the theme "Isang Pintig sa Pinag-isang Tinig (One Heart, One Voice)," to capture the often neglected reality that the deaf and the hearing in our nation do share in the collective desire to pursue the common good and could best pursue such by constantly communicating with one another.
The deaf can and do communicate. Let us listen to them, learn to understand them, use their language, and share in their trials. As a nation, we should allow them to walk with us in treading the path to progress and equality.
