Living with a Disability Essay example

Hearing is something people take for granted because living without it, is not something a lot of people know. With not knowing or even understanding the struggles a Deaf person goes through, comes a sense of discrimination from lack of understanding. Deaf people are sometimes paired with being unintelligent, this makes an immediate association of deafness to dumb. This societal barrier is one where deaf people are looked down upon for something they have no control over. Deaf people lack the opportunity of acceptance to prove themselves as something other than their disability. The immediate abhor that is

In the realm of critical disability studies (CDS), it is interesting to explore how the field of CDS explores the lived experience and collaboration of the disabled and non-disabled researchers that are creating the CDS literature itself. Tregaskis and Goodley uncovered the importance of recognizing this in their work on the collaboration of disabled and non-disabled researchers in CDS (2005). Tregaskis and Goodley highlight barriers that these relationships may present to the research, and identify the role that interdependence has among all CDS researchers. Interdependence among the disabled and non-disabled aims to create a foundation of equality and trust. By focusing on the commonalities and the unity of the two parties working to the

In the United States today, there are over fifty-one million disabled adults and children. Throughout our nation’s history, we have not allowed the best treatment and care for these numerous citizens. But, in the recent past, the government has passed laws, made exceptions, and thoroughly tried to provide accommodations to these people with special needs. While this is true, America, as a whole, still views this group as strange or different. Even though this is exceptionally normal, it is not correct. The United States needs to be opened up to the truth about their fellow American citizens. The people of America ought to understand that these disabilities affect not only those who are disabled, but that it affects the family and friends

Having a hearing impairment means that you have the impotence to assimilate what others around you are saying. The loss of hearing and its severity comes in many different levels. In more severe cases of deafness, like in Jacobs’ case, a hearing aid gives very little to no help at all. Jacobs’ disability brought him many challenges. In school he

In mainstream American society, we tend to approach deafness as a defect. Helen Keller is alleged to have said, "Blindness cuts people off from things; deafness cuts people off from people." (rnib.org) This seems a very accurate description of what Keller's world must have been. We as hearing people tend to pity deaf people, or, if they succeed in the hearing world, admire them for overcoming a severe handicap. We tend to look at signing as an inferior substitute for "real" communication. We assume that all deaf people will try to lip-read and we applaud deaf people who use their voices to show us how far they have come from the grips of their disability. Given this climate, many hearing people are surprised, as I was at

Living with hearing loss wasn’t always an enjoyable experience. Growing up, I gradually became more and more self-conscious of my hearing loss. Sometimes, I became so anxious that I kept asking people to repeat themselves just because I didn’t think I heard them correctly the first time. Most of the time, I simply needed to relax in order to comprehend what the other person was saying–I discovered later on that playing the piano and exercising allowed me to maintain my composure.

That awkward moment when you’ve already said ‘What?’ Three times and still have no idea what the person said, so you just agree. I had my hearing aid fixed in September so I could hear people but I haven’t wore my hearing aid for almost 6 years. I was only four year old when my teachers started noticing me that I didn’t interact with other kids. They call an speech therapist. They suggested I should see an audiologist. That when they told my parents that I can’t hear very well. I had to go to my speech therapist in grade school every week. I got my hearing aid in 3rd grade. I was so excited to wear my hearing aid that I wore them every single day but the excitement didn’t last long. I stopped wearing them in 5th grade. Right now I’m a Senior and I still haven’t wore them.

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

I have been deaf for a few days now and the lesson I have learned is that I took hearing my kids say my name for granted. I can no longer hear them arguing, crying, singing, and saying my name over and over again. I have yet to learn to read their lips and they cannot all write out what they have to say to me. Not being able to hear is something I will have to get use to because I will not be able to hear a fire alarm going off, I will not be able to hear my favorite songs anymore or hear when my kids graduate from school.

One of the most crucial facts that hearing people must know about the Deaf community is that you don’t have to be deaf to be a part of the deaf community. “The Deaf Community is comprised of individuals, both deaf and hearing, who to varying degrees embrace particular community goals that come from Deaf cultural influences”. ("On Being Deaf — A Cultural View") Hearing people may receive little to no interaction with the Deaf community in their life. This can lead them to asking questions that may seem ridiculous to some people such as “can deaf people drive?” In fact deaf people have been allowed to legally drive in every state since the 1930’s. (Moore 220) And many acts and societies have been created to give deaf people the same opportunities and rights as all of the hearing people.

The Deaf community uses sign language as a way of communications and understanding of the world around them. There were many eventful downfalls in history that proves the oppression of the Deaf community and the culture. Back in early history, the Hebrew Law and the Ancient Greeks denied deaf rights.

Majority of the world that we live in, people are constantly reminded what is normal by society. The world is run by big businesses and corporation that are usually visually dominant, however without hearing it is viewed as a major disadvantage to the hearing world. Kent State University compiled an accurate definition of the deaf community “ those [of] deaf and hard of hearing individuals who share a common language, common experience and values, and a common way of interacting with each other, and with hearing people.” The deaf community is viewed by the hearing world as an official handicap since they deviate from what is considered normal. Many of the deaf communities have enforced the young and informed the parents to avoid getting

The majority of deaf people do not see themselves as disabled, as hearing people are likely to. Rather, deaf people embrace their deafness as an integral part of who they are. The increasing use of hearing aids and cochlear implants are a concern to the deaf because it continually focuses on seeing deafness as a negative.

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,

I never was segregated into a deaf classroom. My friends, in general, I would say treated me pretty good—with the exception of the cochlear implant which was really obvious. Then the remarks started to come. They called me a freak. They said I was strange. They'd say, what's that? Is it really part of your body?’" Many hearing people see deaf people as freaks just because of the life customs. Hearing people can be more polite because even though deaf people cannot hear, they still have feelings. Deaf people go through a lot of bad experiences because of the insults, stereotypes, and misunderstandings of hearing people. There are others ways deaf people were bothered.