Deaf World Reflection

Everybody faces challenges and uncertainties and a daily basis. Fortunately, for hearing people their troubles can be trivial. For those who are in the Deaf and hard of hearing culture, however, challenges and uncertainties are not relatively trivial. Over the past several years, the Deaf community has been enterprising for culture awareness. Historically, the media have played an important role in the portrayal of deaf individuals. “Switched at Birth” is a television show that has helped shed some light on the Deaf culture. "Switched at Birth" has tackled many autistic beliefs toward Deaf people that are false and ignorant such as them not being able to drive, raise kids, and have jobs.

Edward Gallaudet’s work into the creation of Gallaudet University has led to the education of thousands of deaf people along advancements and progress in fields related to hearing status, both scientifically and socially.

Inside deaf culture is a very strong book written by carol Padden and tom Humphries in this book authors have tried to give a tour of the most important moments that has shaped the Deaf culture.

Miller put on a workshop for deaf artists to explore works about the deaf perspective which Baird attended. During this workshop the term De’VIA (Deaf View Image Arts) was introduced and the group wrote a program that outlined their vision. A mural was also painted to accompany the program. The group’s historical work was unveiled at the international Deaf Way Festival the following summer. This genre explored the perspective of deaf people and their experiences in a hearing world. Hearing impaired children of really connected with seeing ASL being used in art to express their point of view.

For a Deaf Son is a documentary about Thomas Thranchin, who was born deaf to hearing family. His father, a filmmaker, produced this documentary to offer an intimate look at how parents of a deaf child make decisions. The documentary is compiled together with interviews from audiologist, families of children with hearing loss, other expert in the field, as well as home videos of Thomas. Thomas was discovered to be profoundly deaf at the age of one and could only hear high frequency sound. This meant that with hearing aids on him, he could acquire speech and language with therapy. The other discussion that Thomas’ parent had to make is whether to educate their son in sign language versus strictly verbal speech. Both Thomas’ parents have different opinions on teaching him ways to communicate. The beginning of the movie, his parents had decided to enroll Thomas in hearing school so that he could learn to communicate with the hearing world that his family lived in. His mother also thought that by enrolling him in a teaching based classroom supported by sign would be an easier route for Thomas considering that he was deaf. Thomas’ father had then begun his research to figure out ways to unlock Thomas’ speech capacities and the outcome of those choices. The documentary

The novel of Laurent Clerc: The story of his early years is about how Laurent Clerc the “Apostle to the Deaf in the New World”(Carroll 171) became educated and led to the creation of a school for the deaf in America. Laurent was born to a wealthy family in La Balme, France. He was grew up during the French Revolution, while the Directory was in charge. His parents throughout his young life tried to cure him of his deafness by having many doctors examine him and do painful procedures with no success. Eventually his parents sent him away to The Royal National Institute for the Deaf in Paris, or St. Jacques. There Clerc was taught to sign by Jean Massieu. Clerc along with the other students were also unwilling subjects in Dr. Itard’s experiments,

Given that, ASL literature is as engaging and educational as any form of communication, there is no reason why such forms of storytelling should not be introduced to hearing or deaf children at an early age. Many school children are required to read about Helen Keller. Teaching children how to express themselves as well as how to communicate effectively has no drawbacks. Helen Keller once informed, “[b]efore my teacher came to me, I did not know that I am. I lived in a world that was a no-world. I cannot hope to describe adequately that unconscious, yet conscious time of nothingness.” This statement need not be singularly reserved for Helen Keller, as any person can feel these emotions. In other words, there is an awareness that is created through the use of literature and no barriers should be placed on its effective

Bell played a major role in discrimination against they Deaf but in the end the Deaf culture persevered threw it and became stronger. We still see discrimination against Deaf people today and they continue to fight for full acceptance. The literary theme in Framing ASL Literature cannot correctly introduce the Deaf culture without first

Deafness is when a person’s hearing is impaired and they can hardly hear or not at all. As children, they usually do not know how to speak unlike others their age. Furthermore, they may also

Through the deaf eyes is a film about what is like to be deaf; it also tells us about the history, as well as challenges deaf culture has faced. It speaks about Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc the creators of the first school for the deaf, also deaf clubs, and people today who have changed perspectives of the deaf community. Gallaudet University was the first environment where deaf community can come together and begin their history and culture teaching deaf children how to speak would benefit them more in the future; however that was not the case, and many thought it was a waste out time as they got older. They feel that they should have focused on sign language, so that they can learn more instead of spending years on learn to

While reading Deaf Again, I couldn’t help from thinking, how I would have treated Mark through elementary school and high school. I was amazed when he said that he was so used to reading people’s lips and didn’t even notice he was deaf. I know that when I try to read people’s lips without hearing their voice it is very hard. It’s crazy how we take advantage of sound in our everyday lives as human beings. I know that I could not imagine not having the ability to hear sounds of the world. Anywhere from the birds in the morning to the leaves rustling and music all day long. In the book, it said that they don’t really care, because they have never known any different. There are times when the world is so much different through the eyes of others, then you thought. This can change your view of the world,

In the essay, “Deafness/Disability - problematising notions of identity, culture and structure, Mairian Corker focuses on the tension between Deaf and disabled people. As Corker analyzes the division between Deaf and disabled people she reflects on Margaret Archer’s views. Corker explains that Margaret Archer viewed “ the structural (‘parts’) and cultural (‘people’) domains are substantively different, as well as being relatively autonomous from each other” (Corker 2002). Throughout her essay Corker talks about the different theories in Deaf studies and disability studies to explain the same issues. These issues include identity, culture,

I watched Sound and Fury, a documentary that came out in 2000, centered on the complications of getting the Cochlear Implant, and how Deaf and hearing communities can differ upon the topic. Particularly within one family, brothers along with their wives and parents have a tough time deciding if their Deaf children should undergo such a procedure. They all travel to visit families that are hearing with children who aren’t learning ASL because they have the implant. They visit a Deaf family whose 10-year daughter is the only person in the family to get the implant. They also visit schools focusing on speech to help Deaf children who wear hearing aids and/or got the Cochlear Implant, and visit a Deaf community with a school focused on ASL. Each

This case study suggests when the child gains their self-confidence, the other children are more likely to accept them. Therefore, if the patient is comfortable with the implant and is not self-conscious about it, then the other children will not be as bothered by it. The deaf culture is a set of social beliefs, values, history, behaviors, and shared institutions of communities that are influenced by deafness. The main use of communication for the deaf is American Sign Language. The deaf culture is against cochlear implants because they believe that if every deaf person gets a cochlear implant then their culture as a whole will be gone. Sparrow explains, “According to the testimony of many individuals who are members of Deaf culture, it is perfectly possible to lead a happy and productive life without hearing or spoken language” (137). The deaf culture believes that deaf people do not need cochlear implants to fit into society. They believe that deafness is not a disease and does not need to be fixed. With a cochlear implant, it is not used to fix the deafness, it is used to help with the person to give them more of a normal life and to help them have the ability to fit into society

Up until now, my exposure to Deaf culture was primarily through the book, Deaf Again, that discussed Deaf culture in America, and even more specifically the Northeastern region. Even though the focuses of the book and lecture were different, I was able to see many parallels in the struggles they faced and through this gain insight into the universal aspects of sign languages. For example, Dr. de Quadros discussed the increasing academic success of Deaf individuals in Brazil when there was none previously. Deaf Again similarly discussed the theme of higher education for Deaf individuals and having pride at the increasing professional success of Deaf community members. Additionally, she discussed the debate with cochlear implants. She seemed to have the similar view that even with cochlear implants, it is important to allow Deaf children to access both languages to ensure they are able to form a solid language base. All of this, allowed me to broaden my perspective to a more global level. In doing so, I was also able to see the common aspects that Deaf individuals all around the world experience. I realized that prejudices towards Deaf individuals are not something that can be altered by merely changing the perspectives of people in America, but rather people all over the world. This more global perspective instigated me to research into Korean Sign Language. I am now curious to see the similarities and differences between the Korean and American sign languages and their respective