“Sign language is a general term that refers to any gestural/visual language that makes use of specific shapes and movements of the fingers, hands, and arms, as well as movements of the eyes, face, head, and body” (Gaffney/Scherer). Sign language is the way that people that are hearing impaired or deaf communicate with one another. Through this language, they have built a community which is not exclusive to deaf people. Most communities often limit who can be a member by only including people that have certain beliefs or support a certain cause. Often referred to as the deaf community, it is a “multipurpose community”, which means it embraces all aspects of personal and social activities rather than one specific thing such as sports, or religious practices (Kyle). This community is very open, and always willing to bring in new members. There are a few basic conditions to become a part of this community, “a degree of hearing loss, sign language competence, and positive identification with other deaf people” (Kyle). Many people are oblivious to this community because they have not been personally affected by how hard it is for deaf people to communicate and function normally in a world full of hearing people. More Americans should learn sign language in order to be more inclusive to the deaf community.
There are so many situations where people unknowingly discriminate against deaf people. Most people do not seem to have any problem with deaf people, however their lack of knowledge of the deaf community, and their lack of being able to communicate with them often leaves deaf people feeling like outcasts. Many different disabilities need special accommodations unfortunately for the deaf or hearing impaired, the accommodations they need are not being made. For example, handicapped people have ramps, service dogs are allowed in public places such as restaurants, and most public places have braille lettering on the walls for blind people to find their way around a building. All of these things are simple actions that have been taken in order to make someone with a disability more comfortable or make their life a little bit easier. If these accommodations were made for other disabilities, the same sort of accommodations should be made for deaf people to be inclusive of all people. One way that people could be more accommodating to the deaf community is to offer sign language classes at all high schools, or even middle schools to give students the opportunity to learn sign language while they are in school. In the past two decades, there has been significant growth in the amount of schools offering American sign language courses (Rosen 1). It is great that schools are starting to be more inclusive and offer these courses. However, only certain schools do offer them, which leaves students whose schools do not have these courses at a disadvantage and take their opportunity to learn sign language and be part of the deaf community away. Most high schools require a foreign language in order for students to graduate, American sign language would be a great way for students to earn the credits they need, while also learning a new language and helping to be more inclusive of people who are deaf or hearing impaired. Another way that people could be more accommodating to dear people is to be more aware of the struggles that deaf people face constantly in public. Many people think that if someone is deaf, it is their responsibility to learn to read lips so that they can communicate with the rest of the world. This is a horrible assumption, lip reading is very challenging, especially if there are many people joined in one conversation. Lip reading is a skill many deaf people have, but it should not be considered a good form of communication between a deaf and hearing person. Deaf people already have so many things they have to struggle with, reading every persons’ lips they come into contact with should not be another thing they have to struggle through. Studies have shown that “only about 30 percent of language can be lipread” (Non-Verbal), which means for deaf people they have to figure out the remaining 70 percent on their own. They do this by watching peoples body language, observing everything around them, focusing on people's facial expressions, and so many other things. This makes lipreading so much harder than just listening to someone talk, because they have to pay such close attention to all of the tiny details of a person and their surroundings. Lip reading is so difficult because in order for them to properly read lips, they must focus on one person and many people talk differently, so words may look different coming from each person they come into contact with. It also is difficult because if someone mumbles, or looks down while talking to them, they will not be able to understand what that person is saying. Overall lip reading is useful in some situations, however it should not be used as hearing people’s only communication with deaf people. One major issue with making sign language more known and having more people be able to sign is that people have to want to do it on their own. With other accommodations like wheelchair ramps, the government pays for them and they are required on sidewalks and entrances to buildings. Because sign language is not a physical thing they can change like a sidewalk or flight of stairs, it is much more difficult to make these accommodations on a larger scale. Because people have to make the time to learn sign language on their own, many people who do have the desire simply do not have the time or resources they need to be successful in learning. Like all things in life, people will find every excuse not to do something, even if they seem to really want to do it. Something most people do not consider when thinking about deaf people or people with impaired hearing is that sometimes the simplest tasks for a hearing person are the hardest tasks for a deaf person. One example of this is deaf people trying to get a job or fit in to their workplace. Companies are not technically allowed to turn down anyone because of a disability, however many companies simply are not educated in deaf culture and feel uncomfortable hiring a deaf person. This is due to the fact that they do not quite understand deaf culture or how a deaf person functions in the workplace. A solution to this problem is for companies to be required to participate in deaf awareness trainings, so that they can have a better understanding of the needs of deaf employees or customers. “Without deaf awareness training it’s less likely a deaf person will be employed by a company” (Tamara), this is the sad truth of the lack of deaf awareness in the workplace. Many deaf people, along with other people with disabilities often feel discriminated against, or that they are not given the same opportunities as their peers because of a disability they cannot control. Studies show that “three out of four people with hearing loss feeling their employment opportunities are more limited than their hearing peers” (Tamara). This feeling could be easily resolved by requiring a few basic deaf awareness trainings at all companies. Like any other disability, being deaf takes a huge toll on people. Most deaf people are proud of who they are, and do not see anything wrong with being deaf. This does not mean that they do not realize the daily struggles they face and will continue to face for the rest of their lives if things do not start to change. The worst part about people discriminating against deaf people is that most of the time they do not even realize that they did it. Many people take for granted their ability to hear every day, but if they were to lose it, they would understand the lifelong struggles of a deaf person. The deaf community is constantly growing, and more and more hearing people are learning about deaf culture and what it means to be deaf, which is fantastic. The majority of people who are ignorant to the entire concept of deaf culture and the deaf community are those who have yet to be educated or given the opportunity to learn sign language. If these few changes were made in society, deaf awareness would be through the roof, and we would live in a much more inclusive environment. |
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