Disabled or Different - Grade: A PDF

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Kimberly Chytraus Professor Cotter ASL 2510 15 July 2019 Disabled or Different? In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, in all areas of life (Americans with Disabilities). This act has helped the Deaf community in many ways, but it also poses an important question: should we consider Deaf people to be disabled or just different than people who can hear? According to the World Health Organization, a disability can be defined as “any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being” (Lane ch.12). But if we take away the language barrier, is there anything else to make a person who is deaf an abnormal human being? Although the Deaf-World greatly benefits (and sometimes faces negative affects too) from the Americans with Disability Act, deafness is more of a linguistic minority than it is a disability, and with reasonable accommodation, Deaf individuals can lead a normal, happy life. As mentioned above, the Americans with Disabilities Act has greatly impacted the lives of the Deaf community. Because of this act, Deaf individuals cannot be denied job opportunities because of an employer’s assumptions about hearing loss (Questions and Answers). Under Title I of the ADA, discrimination against disabled individuals is prohibited in the workplace (recruitment, compensation, discharge, etc.). Title II of the ADA makes it so all state and local

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government must be accessible for those with disabilities, which means they must provide text telephones as well as visual fire alarms and interpreters to allow them to effectively maintain two-way communication. People with disabilities are given equal access to public accommodations through Title III of the ADA, and Title IV requires telephone companies to provide telecommunication relay services (Lane ch.12). However good the effects of the Americans with Disabilities Act had over the Deaf community, labeling the entire community as disabled has some negative ramifications as well. When the hearing world starts defining the Deaf community as disabled then in the same breath portrays people with disabilities as people who are significantly struggling and unable to succeed, it is may start to affect the way a deaf individual views themselves if they have not yet been exposed to the Deaf World. The word audism was first defined by Tom Humphries in 1977 as “the notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears.” These ideas became prevalent as the hearing world was pushing towards English being the only language taught in Deaf schools. Students were then assessed solely on their ability to understand learning in English, which shifted the focus away from the material being taught (Lane ch.3). These types of experiences could lower anyone’s self-esteem. Thus disability legislation has become a double edged sword. Disability regulations help to aid the Deaf community through protecting their rights and providing them access to information that would otherwise be unavailable, so the Deaf community is in support of these measures. However, the Deaf World considers themselves a linguistic minority group rather than a disability. In fact, many members of the Deaf community love being a part of Deaf World and wouldn’t want to change that (Lane, ch.8). Although they benefit greatly from any disability legislation, it still further pushes away the acceptance of Deaf Culture.

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In Deaf World, however, deafness is celebrated rather than looked down upon. Often times Deaf parents are excited by the birth of a Deaf child, which hearing parents may view it as something to try and fix. (Lane, ch.2) The Deaf World is proud of their Deaf status and the community it creates. Sign Language becomes a social symbol of identity and instills feelings of pride along with cultural knowledge (Chavez, 541). In Clercke’s exploratory case study of Deafness around the globe, a woman named Gaby describes her first visit to Gallaudet University as “waking up.” Upon first entering, she noticed a receptionist who signed along with her telephone conversation as well as many posters reflecting Deaf history. For the first time in her life, she felt empowered by her Deafness and realized that being deaf would no longer hinder here possibilities. (5). Aside from Gaby’s story, there was a noticeable circle of Deaf empowerment. First the deaf individual is exposed to the Deaf World, which then they “wake up” and start to develop a feeling of strong identity. This identity then instills them with feelings of empowerment and a desire to further spread the Deaf culture rhetoric, which completes the circle (Clercke, 16). Once the idea the Deaf people can own their own language and culture, it opens their mind to the possibilities of life. It helps Deaf individuals to banish their old negative self-identity pushed on them by the hearing world and instead adopt the feeling of being strong and equal to hearing people (Clercke 16). Deaf people should be celebrated within mainstream culture, but instead are treated as having a disability. If the world could just stop assuming that everyone is hearing, there really wouldn’t be any difference between those who can hear and those who cannot. This once again brings us back to the fact that deafness is more of a linguistic minority than it is a disability, and with reasonable accommodation, Deaf individuals can lead a normal, happy life. As U.S. In the

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words of U.S. presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, “The problem is not that thee students do not hear; the problem is that the hearing world does not listen” (Lane ch.5).

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Works Cited “Americans with Disabilities Act.” National Association of the Deaf. https://www.nad.org/resources/civil-rights-laws/americans-with-disabilities-act/. Ballenger, Sheryl. “Strategies to Avoid Audism in Adult Educational Settings.” Adult Learning, vol.24, no. 3, 2013, pp 121-127. Education Source. http://union.discover.flvc.org/permalink.jsp?5988960444. Berke, Jamie. “How Do Deaf People View Themselves?” Verywell Health, August, 2018. https://www.verywellhealth.com/deaf-culture-deaf-disabled-both-1048590. Chavez, Justin. “Waiting to be Heard: Fairness, Legal Rights, and Injustices thee Deaf Community Faces in our Modern, Technological World.” Washington University Global Studies Law Review, vol.17, no.2, 2018, pp. 535-557. Academic OneFile. http://union.discover.flvc.org/permalink.jsp?59edsgcl.550093690. Clerck, Goedele A.M. De. “Meeting Global Deaf Peers, Visiting Ideal Deaf Places: Deaf Ways of Education Leading to Empowerment, An Exploratory Case Study.” American Annals of the Deaf, vol.152, no.1, Spring 2007, pp. 5-19. Education Source. http://union.discover.flvc.org/permalink.jsp?59507973583.

“Impact.” Gallaudet University, www.gallaudet.edu/about/history-and-traditions/deaf-presidentnow/impact. Lane, Harlan et al. A Journey into the Deaf-World. Kindle ed., DawnSSignPress, 2013, ch. 3, 5, 12.

Chytraus 6 “Questions and Answers about Deafness and Hearing Impairments in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/qa_deafness.cfm....