Perspectives on deafness

Perspectives on the DEAF CommunityMr. Barts ASL III ClassOverviewDeaf people are subject to two different models (ways of seeing). These two models are:MEDICAL (or PATHOLOGICAL)CULTURAL or LINGUISTIC MINORITYOverviewDepending on which model one person chooses, that will affect how they interact with Deaf people and the Deaf Community.

Currently, the majority of American society uses the Medical Model when dealing with the Deaf Community Models MEDICALCULTURALLACK HEARINGCAN AND SHOULD BE CURED OR FIXED TO APPROACH NORMAL(NORMAL BEING HEARING)USES STANDARDS FROM HEARING PERSPECTIVEMEMBER OF MINORITY GROUP THAT SHARES A COMMON EXPERIENCE, LANGUAGE, AND VALUESEMBRACES DIFFERENCE OVER ONE SINGLE STANDARDDOES NOT VIEW DEAF PEOPLE AS NEEDING TO BE FIXEDMODELSWhen hearing people imagine being deaf, they think of all the things they cant do.MODELSWhen hearing people imagine being deaf, they think of all the things they cant do.

WHAT MODEL DOES THIS FOLLOW?MODELSWhen hearing people imagine being deaf, they think of all the things they cant do.

MEDICALMODELSWhen hearing people imagine being deaf, they think of all the things they cant do. I. King Jordan, first Deaf president of Gallaudet University

Medical modelThe medical model has been the more accepted view, and in use longer.

Why?RELIGIONSCIENCEHUMAN NATUREMedical modelRELIGIONSo then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God--ROMANS Chapter 10 verse 17 (the letters of Paul)

Medical modelRELIGIONDeafness is a hinderance to faith--Saint Augustine (354-430 AD), prominent Roman Catholic philosopher(in reference to Pauls comment on hearing and faith)

Medical modelRELIGIONOral speech is the sole power that can rekindle the light God breathed into manSpeech alone, divine itself, is the right way to speak of divine matters. --Giulio Tarra, Italian priest, and president over the 1880 2nd World Congress to Improve the Welfare of the Deaf and Blind

Medical modelSCIENCENew fields of science and discoveries in the 19th and 20th Century led to increased efforts to correct deafness.

Medical modelSCIENCEEugenicsThe concept of eugenics, drawn upon the new theories of Charles Darwin, led scientists to envision a future where defects could be bred out of humanity- evolving to the perfect human.

Medical model

SCIENCEEugenics

Alexander Graham Bell (an audiologist and inventor of telephone technology) and other scientists took up eugenic methods as a means to eliminate causes of deafness.

Medical modelSCIENCEEugenicsIn 1883-84, Bell published a paper Memoir upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race, proposing that limits needed to be placed on intermarriage between deaf people, for such unions would lead to theproduction of more deaf people.

Medical modelSCIENCEEugenicsBell was also, naturally, a strong supporter of spoken speech and other oral methods of communication. He felt sign language separated the deaf from society.

Medical modelHe felt sign language separated the deaf from society

Whose society? Medical modelHe felt sign language separated the deaf from society

Whose society? Hearing AmericansThe society in which Bell belonged.Medical modelSCIENCETechnologyAs new technology developed, people found uses to be applied towards the Deaf Community. Computer circuits led to hearing aids and increasingly smaller miniaturized technology.

Medical modelSCIENCETechnology The most recent significant technological development is that of the cochlear implant.

Medical modelSCIENCETechnologyBasic overview of Cochlear Implant SurgeryIncisionDrilling and SandingInsertionStapling, stitching or other method

Medical modelSCIENCETechnologySince 1985, more than 4,000 children have been implanted after the FDA approved of the surgery and implantation of children. As of 2006, children as young as 6 months old have been implanted.

There is a time window during which they can get an implant and learn to speak, Djalilian said. From the ages of two to four, that ability diminishes a little bit. And by age nine, there is zero chance that they will learn to speak properly. So its really important that they get recognized and evaluated early.Dr. Hamid R. Djalilian, director of the Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery at the UC Irvine Medical Center

Medical modelSCIENCETechnologyHarlan Lane, Ben Bahan and others have suggested that the public health policy which allows cochlear implant surgery on young children is scientifically and ethically flawed, ignoring the best interest of the deaf child.

These psychologists and sociologists apply a different model.MEDICAL MODELHUMAN NATURENormalcy is most often defined those like me or usMEDICAL MODELHUMAN NATUREIn a Canadian assembly regarding surgery on deaf children, a hearing mother of a deaf child said I fully respect deaf people and their community, but surely I have a right to want surgery for my child which will make him more like me, a hearing person.

MEDICAL MODELHUMAN NATURELegislator Gary Malkowski replied, Then presumably you have no objections to deaf parents requesting surgery to make their hearing child deaf.

CULTURAL modelDEAF AS CULTURECulture is most often defined as the shared experiences, language, beliefs, attitudes and norms of a group of people. Before the 1960s, consideration of the Deaf Community as having a culture had no real theoretical support.CULTURAL modelDEAF AS CULTURECulture is most often defined as the shared experiences, language, beliefs, attitudes and norms of a group of people. Before the 1960s, consideration of the Deaf Community as having a culture had no theoretical support.CULTURAL modelDEAF AS CULTUREIn the late 1950s, William Stokoe, a linguist working at Gallaudet University, started studying ASL, thinking that it must have the common features of all languages, such as a complex grammar and vocabulary.Other scholars assumed that ASL was simply a translation of English to gestures. CULTURAL modelDEAF AS CULTUREIn 1960, Stokoe published his studies and led to other linguists researching sign language.Now the Deaf Community had a language, an essential element of culture.

CULTURAL modelDEAF AS CULTURECulture the shared beliefs, behavior, values, and organizations of a group of people. Culture also contains the products of a society, including art and language.

CULTURAL modelDEAF AS CULTUREWith the realization that American Sign Language was in fact a true language, that grew separately from English (but sometimes is affected by English, in the same way English is affected by other languages), people started seeing how the Deaf Community had its own culture.

CULTURAL modelDEAF AS NOT DISABILITYDisability is a concept and situation created by a majority society. The problems of being deaf are created by the society in which a deaf person lives. CULTURAL modelDEAF AS NOT DISABILITYConsider this situation: the average height of people is 41, to maybe 45. So all houses and offices are constructed towards those dimensions. Doorframes, furniture, and technology is sized for the majority of the people who use it.CULTURAL modelDEAF AS NOT DISABILITYEvery once in a while someone is born who grows to be about 511maybe even 6 ft tall. This person wants to work in an office. He would need new chairs and desks so he could work there. He would need a keyboard he could type, rather than a normal sized one (remember, normal=small).CULTURAL modelDEAF AS NOT DISABILITYOf course, he may need some protection because of the hazards of hitting the low doorframes- maybe protective padding on the doorframes-- those cant be adjusted for him. Maybe he would have to wear a foam helmet. Everyone at the office would say hey look at that guy in the helmet. CULTURAL modelDEAF AS NOT DISABILITYMaybe the company wouldnt want to pay for the new furniture and protective padding on the doorframes and a new computer and phone handset for him to use. They might decide not to hire him in the first place. CULTURAL modelDEAF AS NOT DISABILITYThe society that decides what is normal ends up creating the disability for individuals who dont fit in normal patterns. CULTURAL modelDEAF AS LINGUISTIC MINORITYWith the widespread acceptance of ASL as a true language (you are getting credit for this class arent you?) comes the placement of the Deaf Community as a linguistic minority similar to many other minority groups in the United States.CULTURAL modelDEAF AS LINGUISTIC MINORITYWhat other linguistic minority has faced enormous struggles while living in the United States?

How about the Native Americans?CULTURAL MODELNATIVE AMERICANSTHE DEAFUNIQUE ORAL LANGUAGESDIFFERENT CULTURAL VALUES FROM MAJORITYSCHOOLS USED AS METHODS OF CHANGING THEM FACED EXTERMINATION IN VARIOUS WAYSSEGREGATED FROM MAJORITY SOCIETYUNIQUE ORAL LANGUAGEDIFFERENT CULTURAL VALUES FROM MAJORITYSCHOOLS USED AS A METHOD OF CHANGING THEMFACED EXERMINATION IN VARIOUS WAYSSEGREGATED FROM MAJORITY SOCIETYCULTURAL modelDEAF AS LINGUISTIC MINORITYCultural diversity is central to our understanding of what it means to be a human being; each culture lost, each language allowed to die out, reduces the scope of every persons humanity.--Harlan Lane

CULTURAL modelDEAF AS LINGUISTIC MINORITYCultural diversity is central to our understanding of what it means to be a human being; each culture lost, each language allowed to die out, reduces the scope of every persons humanity.--Harlan Lane