Ableism of Those Who Are Deaf: Discriminationa and Exclusion of Disabilities

State and local governments, which include a long list of agencies and services, need to provide qualified interpreters when requested by the deaf, along with assistive listening devices when applicable. Deaf persons should be able to participate in these services. While the consumer is

Tamoura Thomas works in the Sheriffs civil division clerk. Occasionally, Tamoura must fingerprint people who have committed a crime and some of them are Spanish speaking people and another group of people occasionally happen to be Deaf. Occasionally Tamoura has to work with an interpreter when she needed to communicate with these different groups of people. Tamoura indicated that she does not like using interpreters because of the presence of a third person and she did not like having a third person involved in the conversations. Tamoura felt like the interpreter did not have enough time to help her out. The interpreters at the court house are so busy and spread so thinly that

In February of this year a homeless man named Abreham Zemedageghu, was jail for six taken to jail and held for six weeks with no way to communicate with his jailers because he is Deaf and was denied an interpreter. Mr Zemedageghu uses American Sign Language and has a very basic usage of written English. Here is where the problem really begins.

Deaf culture in is one of America’s many sub-cultures, which means that it is a culture imbedded into the overall culture of the nation. What is unique about the deaf culture is that at times it is a sub-culture of a sub-culture, of a culture, for example the deaf community in Colorado is a sub-culture of Colorado’s culture, and Colorado culture is a sub-culture of the American culture. It can get even more complicated than even that, because say there is an African American deaf culture in the deaf community that adds another deaf culture. It is also unique and set apart from other cultures because of the language barrier between the deaf community and the hearing community. Deaf culture has only recently been accepted by the general public, as well as they have not always had access to an interpreter. Deaf culture has changed drastically since before the 1960’s.

Prison provides many challenges and obstacles that the deaf have to face, oftentimes alone. First

The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to PBS home video “Through Deaf Eyes,” there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing (Hott, Garey & et al., 2007) . Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are over ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents. Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group, every region, and every economic class.” The

Interpreters are the gap between the Deaf and hearing communities that find themselves in need of translations of the English language. Deaf people want to be included and part of the hearing world. Just because they find themselves in a place where their ears don’t work, doesn’t mean they can’t be an integral part of society. For years, Deaf people have not been as welcoming to outsiders in the community. Deaf people have viewed the hearing people has someone who doesn’t understand the struggles and difficulties of being Deaf in a hearing world. Hearing people, in a sense, were discriminated against, purely because of their innate ability to hear. Therefore, when interpreters became a necessary component for Deaf people in specific social

The relationship between the hearing community and the deaf community has often been a lack of misunderstanding. Stereotypes are assumptions made about an entire group based on observations of some members. Stereotypes are exaggerated presumptions of how a group of people is. Stereotypes are in this civilization because it is used to demonstrate a way a group of people are misunderstood. Misconceptions are opinions that are incorrect based on misunderstandings. Stereotypes and misconceptions can be taken the wrong way, and the majority are not even true. Misconceptions are a false opinion of a certain type of group. We want to feel good about the group we belong to and one way of doing so is to have those who aren’t in it. The fact that people

In order for the Deaf Community to continue to have more laws set in place for them specifically, they need to be recognized according to their abilities. There needs to be more advocates that help educate and change the legal system. We know that the Deaf community is under protection of select laws, but they continue to be grouped as the same as people who have disabilities.

Deaf students want to be accepted and not looked upon as impaired in any way and deafness is an invisible or hidden disability so it may often cause the Deaf student to be upset as they are learning who they are and why others see them differently. There are two views of deafness- the deaf, who believe that they are capable of being fixed, perhaps through Cochlear Implants and intense speech lessons that will help them fit into the “Hearing World” or the Deaf who embrace their lack of hearing and the culture that is part of the “Deaf World”. They feel that they are fine the way they

Regularly, the privileges of individuals who are deaf get overlooked. Deaf people attempting to connect with hearing experts, crisis responders, or associations are denied basic, essential access to proper communication tools needed, which at times puts their lives at risk.

The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to an online transcript,“Through Deaf Eyes” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007) there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing. Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents (Halpern, C., 1996). Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group,

However, there is nothing wrong with these individuals. One of the participants from the study writes, “Many people think that people who are Deaf, we have less knowledge, or we’re not educate. I know I say nothing and I’m silent. It doesn’t mean I’m mentally challenged. I can express myself, but it’s just in a different language.” (Murray, Klinger, McKinnon, 2007) She states it amazing. People in the hearing world believe, just because theses individual don’t communicate the same, they aren’t worth the time of day. Interpreters have helped bridge this gap and created relationships between the Deaf and the hearing communities to allow for communication to be achieved on both sides of the relationship.

Deaf people’s rights are frequently and easily stripped away daily. Every day, deaf individuals attempting to interact with hearing authorities, emergency responders, or organizations are denied basic access to communication to the point in some situations where their lives are put into jeopardy. Worst cases where deaf people die after the hospital denies a critical medical diagnosis or some even resulting in deaf Americans wrongfully arrested after calling 911 for help. Even instances where ambitious students are denied access to medical school because the institution does not feel like fulfilling their legal obligation to provide an interpreter. Living in the ‘Land of the Free’, the deaf citizens of this country continue to be exploited by a disturbing lack of equal

Although equality is a value all Americans share, minorities tend to still need to prove themselves more qualified than the majority in both academic and occupational settings. Many Americans who are part of Deaf culture still have difficulties with equalities in the workforce; however, with increasing advocacy and recent technologies such as laws requiring jobs to provide an interpreter or cochlear implantation surgeries, individuals with disabilities are moving a step closer to equality. Today, we are not defined based on our color, religion, disability, or economic status and this is one of the major benefits of living in