Download CSD 3000 DEAFNESS IN SOCIETY

CSD 3000
DEAFNESS IN SOCIETY
Topic 1
DEAFNESS & HEARING LOSS
Definitions, Prevalence, & Myths
Deafness and Hearing Loss
What is deafness?
What do you think it
means to be deaf?
Write a 1-2 sentence
definition
Definitions of Deafness
Webster’s dictionary defines deaf as totally or
partially unable to hear
Professionals in the field of hearing;
audiologists, ear, nose, and throat physicians,
or hearing aid dispensers, normally address
the term deaf or deafness to mean someone
who is not able to hear and understand
speech no matter how loud it is.
Definitions of Deafness
The
Individuals
with
Disabilities
Education
Act
(IDEA)
defines
deafness as "a hearing impairment
that is so severe that the child is
impaired in processing linguistic
information through hearing, with or
without amplification."
Definitions of Deafness
From Office of Special Education:
“Deafness is a hearing impairment which
is so severe that the child's hearing,
with amplified sound, is nonfunctional
for the purposes of educational
performance”
Definitions of Deafness
This is a disability that is multi-dimensional
Depending on the author of the definition and
their perspective (educational, medical,
audiological, etc), the definition will differ.
Prevalence
National Center for
Health Statistics in
1999 reported about
22 million people in
the United States
have some degree
of hearing loss
Prevalence Rate By Age
Prevalence
From the 1999 National
Center for Health
Statistics:
Severe to profound
deafness affects about
0.5% of the general
U.S. population
0.1% of these are kids
Prevalence
In the 1996-1997 school
year:
1.3% of kids who received
special ed services
were hearing impaired
25% of kids who are deaf
have another disability
Myths and Misconceptions of
the Deaf
1. Deaf People Can’t Hear
Anything

The degree of
hearing loss is a
continuum

Deafness has a
cultural perspective
2. Most Deafness is Caused
by a Fever or Sickness
Most causes of
deafness are due to
genetic factors
Nonsyndromal
recessive genetic
inheritance
3. All Deaf Children Have
Deaf Parents
Deaf children having
two deaf parents
comprise about 34% of the deaf
population
Over 80% of children
born to deaf parents
have normal hearing
4. All Deaf People Can
Read Lips
Drawbacks to lipreading:
1. Only 50% of English
speech sounds are visible
2. A lot of speech sounds look
alike on the lips
3. In order to benefit from
speechreading, you need to
have a good command of
the language
4. Speechreading is really
tiring
5. All Deaf People Know
Sign Language
Many deaf people are
oral only
There are a number of
(different) forms of
manual
communication
6. All Deaf People Are Mute
The speech production ability is
really varied
7. Deaf People Can’t Read
Reading is a languagebased skill
Most deaf adults achieve
an average reading
ability comparable to a
4th grade level
8. Deaf Children Don’t
Attend School
Before the 1970s, at least half
of all deaf children attended
state residential schools for
the deaf
By 1984, 74% of all schoolaged deaf children attended
day classes while living at
home and 15% of deaf
students attended regular
classes with normal hearing
kids on a full time basis
Today 30% of deaf school-age
kids attend special schools
9. Deaf People Aren’t
Intelligent
Intelligence and language level are
closely connected
“Deaf and dumb”
10. Deaf People Have More
Mental Health Problems
Cultural differences
11. Hearing Aids Allow the
Deaf to Hear Speech Normally
What do hearing aids do?
Cochlear implants
12. All Deaf People Wish They
Could hear Normally
Is deafness really a “disability”?
Deaf--with a capital “D”
13. Deaf People Can’t or
Shouldn’t Drive
President’s Advisory Committee on
Traffic Safety in 1968 found that
deaf listeners were involved in
1/4 as many traffic accidents as
hearing people
97% of warning signals are visual
14. Deaf People Can’t Work

American With Disabilities
Act of 1990
15. Deaf People are Quiet
and Antisocial
Please!!