Blog Post #1
Alex Sprague
Dr. Jenkins
PS-101
10 March 2022
Blog Post #1
An issue affecting the Deaf community in the United States is society’s lack of knowledge about the Deaf community and the use of American Sign Language. This issue has created many challenges in the daily life of a Deaf individual, most importantly, education and employment. There are about ten million Deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals in the United States. Approximately two hundred and fifty thousand to five hundred thousand people are fluent in American Sign Language in the United States (Mitchell 1). Not only does this information show that Deaf people choose not to learn their native language, but many hearing individuals choose not to educate themselves either. This decision for Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals not to learn American Sign Language stems from the deficit of Deaf schools and the lack of support mainstream schools have for these individuals.
Lack of knowledge about the Deaf community and understanding of American Sign Language has led many Deaf individuals not to seek higher education or even graduate high school. Many mainstream schools do not provide interpreters for Deaf individuals because they can be very costly, so teachers rely on lipreading for the students. The disadvantage to this is that only thirty percent of what is spoken is understood by the Deaf individual, meaning seventy percent of the information is missed. Many Deaf individuals do not succeed in school because they are not receiving all the information they need to excel. Also, many mainstream schools do not have American Sign Language as a foreign language class. This correlates as to why many hearing people do not understand the language and why deaf individuals choose speech therapy. Nobody is being allowed to learn more about the community and how they can contribute to it. Many Deaf people feel as though From the employment aspect, even with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), many Deaf and hard of hearing individuals are not hired because of the accommodations needed to perform their responsibilities. For example, providing an interpreter for the interview process or installing a video relay service so they will be able to communicate face to face through technology can be very expensive, which causes employers to turn down Deaf employees.
There are many views that Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals have when it comes to education. The most common belief is that there should be more support for the Deaf community in the United States school system and establish more Deaf schools around the country to be more accessible. On the other hand, some Deaf individuals do not want to deal with the hassle that comes with the opposition mainstream schools have with funding a program for the Deaf. The sad truth is that the Deaf community feels as though they are not connected with the hearing community because of the language barrier and feel they are living in a separate world. This goes back to the college graduation rates of Deaf individuals only being fifty-one percent. It would be much higher; however, they are not provided with the tools to advance academically. When it comes to employment, there are differing views between the individuals in the Deaf community. “In 2014, only 48% of deaf people were employed, compared to 72% of hearing people” (NDC 2). One main reason for this large gap is because Deaf or hard of hearing people find it very difficult to choose a job that will make accommodations for them. Others do not have the education required to follow their preferred career path. However, the average salary between a Deaf person and a hearing person is about the same. The difference in salary is between Deaf individuals and other Deaf people with additional disabilities. The average salary for someone who is Deaf with no other disability is $55,186, while someone who is Deaf with a cognitive disability makes an average of $40,075 (NDC 4). This is for more common careers for hearing individuals, and this difference causes many Deaf individuals to become interpreters or stay within the Deaf community. The lack of knowledge about the community has led these individuals not to feel included, so they stay in a bubble of comfort. No human should feel like they are not part of a community just because they have a disability.
When it comes to solutions for resolving this issue, some come to mind. The first solution would be to have mainstream schools start to incorporate American Sign Language classes or ones that center around those who are Deaf to inform people about their community. This will increase hearing individuals' knowledge of the Deaf community and understand the struggles they encounter in everyday life. Another solution would be to have the government establish more Deaf schools around the United States to be more accessible. Only having about one Deaf school per state makes it very difficult for those to attend because they must live in that specific area. Encouraging the government to fund a project for building Deaf schools or including classes about Deaf culture will help solve this issue. A solution that would help with the employment aspect is to create more jobs that are Deaf friendly or have establishments create a location that only has Deaf or hard-of-hearing workers. Starbucks did this in 2016 when they opened their first signing store in Washington DC. This created an inclusive environment for individuals with hearing loss. It also encouraged hearing individuals who may go to this specific coffee shop to learn basic signs to communicate with the employees. Suppose our companies could create places like this for the Deaf community to flourish. In that case, it will help eliminate the issue of people’s lack of knowledge about the community and understanding of American Sign Language.
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