Some Questions on Deaf and Hard Hearing People

1. In what ways has technology been a benefit and detriment for deaf and hard hearing people?

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In the past and recent years, we have witnessed technology advancing and becoming better each day. Technology has become very crucial to the lives of human beings as it has facilitated things to be done quickly and in a straightforward manner. In the past years, the deaf people had been left out in technology as it was difficult for them to communicate while in the workplaces as they were not able to receive the phones that were being used then. Today, we are excited because technology has not only been of significance to us, but it has been of great importance to the deaf community.

Technology has enabled the deaf to communicate through cell phones by texting Moreover, through the internet, the deaf community can communicate through the use of manual visage linguistic across the globe and time zones. Deaf individuals can use the hearing impaired application that allows them to speak into their devices and generate messages. Also, in the television sector, while the news is being broadcasted, they are not being left out because they have sign interpreters who deliver the news to them.

Availability of the hearing aids and the FM systems enable them to hear as they converse with people. This is also as a result of technology. The cochlear implant is also another advantage that technology has brought to the deaf. Through this implant, it aids in the processing of speech strategies, eliminates noises that are found in the background, recognizes the sound and lastly the depiction of acoustic signs are being tried to make speech sound more ordinary. However, the cochlear implants have had the deaf community be disappointed and not for the opinion to have the implants because even after the implant has been carried out, an individual remains to be deaf. To sum up, by carrying out the surgery, it may destroy the remaining hearing that one may be having.

2. What are some of the issues being faced by deaf people who pursue higher education?

The deaf people face many challenges while pursuing their higher education. One of the challenges is the fact that most of our higher institutions are not well equipped with qualified lecturers who can teach the deaf persons. Hence, it becomes a huge problem for the deaf to cope in such an environment.

Furthermore, the lecturer may not be aware of the inability of the student to hear, and so he might issue out handouts and textbooks that might be difficult for the deaf person to interpret and comprehend. The reason behind this challenge is that majority of the deaf persons grow up in an environment that is linguistically challenged and hence they are not able to read textbooks and interpret them. Moreover, many of them entered the higher institutions not being as ready and prepared as their hearing classmates.

Their ability to complete a course greatly depends on the interpreters mediation. The interpreter should adopt methods that are easy to mitigate the challenges they face. They also face a challenge of receiving delayed information from the time the word was articulated to its translation. It also becomes problematic to maintain the lip reading of the lecturers due to the activities that they might conduct in the classroom like reading a transcript, turning around to write on the board hence breaking the eye contact.

In conclusion, deaf people in higher institutions can suffer from being exempted in discussions being conducted hence missing out on some information. Also, due to the little or no interactions between hearing students and them, or their lecturers, it places them in a dependency situation.

3. Describe the myths and misconception about American Sign Language and what research shows are facts about it.

There have been numerous myths and misconceptions regarding the American Sign Language (ASL). It is believed that it is universal. This is not the case since when one can communicate using the American Sign Language, it does not necessarily mean that the individual can communicate with deaf people worldwide. This is because sign language varies from one state to another or from one region to another.

Another myth is that the deaf can totally understand spoken language by reading the lips. This not true because a person trained to read the lips can grasp about 40% of the words spoken. This then means that talking to a deaf through this method cannot facilitate a conversation to be carried out smoothly. Some misunderstandings might arise in the process.

It is a myth that hearing individuals having studied basic sign language can be interpreters. For an individual to qualify to be an interpreter, it may take several years to acquire the skill. This is simply, the same way as learning communication skills using a foreign language like French, Spanish just to name a few. The interpreter needs to undergo intensive training to gain knowledge in grammar, vocabulary, and syntax that is used in sign language. They are also required to clearly understand the RID code of ethics associated with the tongue.

In conclusion, research has proven that ASL is the third regularly spoken language in the United States of America. It is spoken after English and Spanish. It is a fact that this language uses gestures, visuals and persons create faces for one to understand what they are saying. It is not oral. Also, an individual can learn the American Sign Language as a second language making it a lingua franca. It is narrowly interrelated to the French language.

4. Give details on what kind of information professionals working with the deaf should know about deafness and deaf culture.

It is crucial for professionals working with the deaf understand the things that revolve around deafness and the culture related to the deaf. Therefore, it is paramount for the professionals to understand the rights of the deaf. Just like any other group, the deaf also has their rights. Also, being deaf does not mean that one has a disability but, it means that there exist differences in human experiences. The rights of the deaf must be respected, and measures should be undertaken for those who break them.

A specialist must also know that the only way a deaf can communicate is through the use of signs. Through the usage of the American Sign Language, a deaf can communicate with fellow colleagues and listen to individuals who know and understand their language. Also, the deaf society regularly classifies itself as an associate of a cultural and linguistic cluster.

It is also imperative to know that to become a member of the deaf community, a person needs to associate with their community, or the members of the community must accept the individual to become a member. Additionally, the deaf has a broad culture of being united. It is not easy to fight a deaf person in the company of his colleagues as they will come to defend him.

In conclusion, deaf people are social beings just like individuals who can speak. Hence, they meet in social places like the deaf clubs, seminars, conventions, conferences, sporting occasions and other events. Through these meetings, they can pass on information, discuss on certain issues and air out their grievances.