Health Disparity Among Deaf Community Essay

Currently in the Unites States, Americans are struggling to maintain quality health without proper healthcare. As a result, health disparities have become a widespread epidemic plaguing minorities. Many of the various health disproportions stem from the government’s inequality and racism. In other cases, genetics and socioeconomic status may cause health disparities. Overall, these disparities may be avoidable or unavoidable depending on the individual. Recently, health disparities have begun to implicate the field of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Speech pathologists have developed a larger caseload stroke

The Deaf community contains the basic characteristics of any particular ethnic group, despite the attempts from hearing people to destroy their culture through medical interventions. This community contains members who share a feeling of community. They value recognition by others and self-recognition (Lane). They feel strongly identified in their group, as they create a family environment, which provides support for each of its members. Moreover, the Deaf community has a set of norms for behavior. In decision-making processes, they try to agree on the course of action to take through consensus and not just by individual initiatives. Allegiance to their culture is also another distinct value that characterizes the members of this community. People with hearing impairments have the “highest rate of endogamous marriages of any

This book was mainly focused on looking at Deaf culture of today and comparing it to the culture of the past, and what kinds of struggles deaf people had to endure to get where they are today. The two authors of this book are deaf; one was deaf her whole life and the other became deaf as a child. In my opinion, that was a major contributing factor to why it was so interesting. The reader gets a chance to travel through the history of the Deaf through words from those who have experienced it. It also had a positive impact because the authors let the readers know in the introduction that they are deaf and a brief history of themselves, which I

In Mark Drolsbaugh’s educational and witty autobiography “Deaf Again”, he describes his journey as a child born to deaf parents, losing his own hearing in his childhood, and navigating both hearing and deaf worlds while trying to discover his identity.

According to Edwards, the Deaf community began to rise in response to the social view of deafness as a handicap rather than a difference that a whole “Deaf” community is characterized by. Their shared

Net’s Solution – A provider may find communicating with someone who is hearing impaired very difficult to deal with at times. Although,

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

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.

I spent the early evening this past Friday at an open discussion meeting of Alcoholic’s Anonymous at Boone’s own Club 12 establishment. I attended this meeting as an able-bodied young woman capable of hearing and seeing the happenings around me. The pressing concern on my mind for the evening was to consider barriers I might experience if I were attending this meeting as a deaf person.

For many years, a grapevine-like system of communication has kept deaf people informed of community news across the United States. Frequently, deaf individuals who live in one area of the country socialize and communicate often with deaf individuals in other areas. Members of the Deaf community often express concern that sharing information in treatment will result in having one 's life story fed into that grapevine. As a result, many who struggle with a chemical dependency also fear a loss of respect and status within the Deaf community should their struggles be made a part of that shared information. The confidentiality that is an integral part of therapeutic treatment consequently can come into conflict with the communication style of the Deaf culture (Guthmann & Shelley, 2001).

Difficulties communicating with the hearing people around them and inaccessible circumstances interfere with daily life. Deaf people believe that these problems are due to the society of the world, rather than their deafness. Comparing deafness to other minorities in the world, Sparrow points out that some people are at a disadvantage in this world, but they do not change their entire identity to fit in (138). Women and people of color face challenges in a world dominated by the majority, but instead of changing who they are, they create support groups that give them a sense of belonging with like-minded people. The question to ask ourselves is: who decides the definition of ‘normal,’ and who decides what defines

On June 11, 2016, I attended an event at the Rhode Island Parent Information Network (RIPIN) Center in Cranston, RI. The RIPIN Center helps families and children get the help they need to achieve health and education goals. There are different sessions that go on within the month for different needs; every second Saturday is the meeting specially geared to Deaf children and families. The meeting was held by Elsbeth, who is a mother of a child who is hard of hearing.

“The biggest handicap in the world is negative thinking and that people handicap themselves by concentrating only on the negative instead of the positive,” said Heather Whitestone (Premiere Speakers Bureau). Even though Heather Whitestone was deaf, she showed the world that she was willing to work hard to achieve success. Hearing loss affects many people throughout the country. About two million people in the United States are completely deaf, while eighteen to twenty-one million people need hearing aids (Mango 21).

In some western cultures such as America and Australia, not much education is put forward regarding the deaf community and those facing this communication problem. In an annual conference where an individual of the deaf community was asked to discuss her experience as a deaf person living in a hearing community, Heather Artinian described the communication barrier between the two communities (The Heather world: Heather Artinian at TEDxGeorgetown, 2013). Similarly, in sub-Saharan Africa, there is not much emphasis placed on deaf culture and those facing auditory impairment. To date, there is not sub-Saharan African country that has dependable data regarding its deaf population. Today, education for the Deaf in most sub-Saharan African countries is sub-par at best (The Borgen Project, 2013). Education for the Deaf in sub-Saharan Africa is severely deficient, and they are often deprived of the opportunity to successfully live their lives independently to the best of their abilities. These two cultures do not spend a substantial amount of time and give appropriate education on the emphasis of those who are deaf and living among the

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,