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

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

Depending on their language experience, most deaf immigrants go through their immigrant process learning English and American Sign Language simultaneously. Many struggle trying not to confuse the different grammar and syntax (Powers). They struggle with basic concepts. This struggle only causes a strain in creating a common language, which leaves deaf immigrants feeling isolated from the rest of the Deaf community. But even when they do begin to fully grasp the language they still can not communicate with family members who have not invested the time to learn American Sign Language. For many deaf immigrants they face adapting to an unfamiliar culture. American culture and sayings are difficult concepts to understand when there is a language barrier. Deaf immigrants are forced to quickly learn how to “Americanize” in order to fit in. Along with that, deaf immigrants face the challenge of finding transportation. Obtaining a drivers license is a very long and strung out process. Deaf immigrants must be literate in order to pass the written portion of the exam, which for some is a whole separate skill they must learn. But a major struggle many deaf immigrant face collectively is the search for their identity. Many fighting between the argument: is their deafness is a disability, or another human condition that builds community. For many Deaf Americans their deafness is not a disability, it is a culture.

In the end I was disgusted by the frequency of this type of occurrence. It prompted me to search for an organization that deals specifically with the Deaf inmate population. I found HEARD which works on many different Deaf rights issues. From their website I learned that the number of Deaf inmates is not tracked in our penial system. How then are the rights of these people to be monitored and protected? It also leads me wonder what effect the privatization of the prison system will have, and what I can do to help the

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

By implementing a law to have every public place have an ASL interpreter present at all times, it would allow the deaf who sign to be able to truly understand any situation they are in. The relationship between a doctor and their patient, a teacher and their student, a pastor and their follower, and countless other examples could all be created if there were a law that required these institutions to have interpreters present. This could be expanded into a statewide or a nationwide policy that in government funded institutions like schools, hospitals, and government agencies there has to be an interpreter present if the deaf individual wants one. Some families with deaf individuals in them cannot afford to hire an interpreter, which limits the individual from expressing themselves, making informed decisions, and forming relationships. Communication is incredibly important for humans to function, and without the means to communicate there is so much that is lost between the lines between a deaf and a hearing person. For example, in the film For a Death Son, the family could only attend one church in their local area because it was the only one that had an interpreter that could be provided for their deaf son. The presence of an interpreter can open up opportunities for a deaf person and can allow the individual to be able to communicate with people they normally wouldn’t. It may take some time and money for the regulation of interpreters to be present, but it is a step closer for the United States to become more aware of Deafness and its unique community and culture. By understanding a deaf person’s rights for wanting to communicate with others, the relationship between the hearing and the Deaf is salvaged and respect is

When we speak about deaf individuals, why is it important that we have specific programs for deaf individuals? Why are regular services inadequate? The obvious answer is that these services can often times be tedious and overly stressful to someone with a disability due to a poor ability to communicate or feel “understood”. However, though the deaf community resides and interacts with the same population in the United States, there are serious misconceptions about deaf individuals as well as

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