Disability Justice Curriculum Section 6

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Section 6: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communities

Area 1: Audism and Language Deprivation
Area 2: Language Justice & Disability Justice
Area 3:  Deaf Survivors and Deaf Experiences
Area 4: Addressing Barriers for Deaf Survivors
 
 

Summary

For centuries, Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled and hard of hearing people have experienced oppression. The path to liberation is made possible when Deaf people and hearing allies work together collectively. This section covers audism and language deprivation many Deaf people experience as well as what language justice looks like as an important pillar of disability justice. This section ends with information about supporting Deaf survivors and addressing common barriers Deaf survivors experience when seeking services. This section also includes a lot of baseline information from the author along with external resources in each learning area. 
 

Area 1: Audism and Language Deprivation

The term Audism was coined by a Deaf researcher named Tom Humphries in 1977.  One of the ways explained how audism is perpetuated is through “people who continually judge deaf people’s intelligence and success on the basis of their ability in the language of the hearing culture.” In 1999, Brenda Brueggemann described audism like this: “Language is human; speech is language; therefore deaf people are inhuman and deafness is a problem.”
 

Some examples of audism are:

• Not including the Deaf person in important decisions.
• Assuming that Deaf people are inherently incapable or unintelligent.
• Having lower expectations of Deaf people.
• Setting up systems that revolve primarily around hearing and speaking, such as the telephone system, radio, sound alerts for smoke detectors or public announcements about natural disasters.
• The police arresting the Deaf survivor instead of the person who caused harm because of miscommunication without an interpreter.
• Court cases that are continued due to inadequate language access for a Deaf person involved in the case.
• Deaf survivors’ stay in shelters being much shorter than that of hearing survivors because of isolation and lack of access to services. Note: Barriers in accessing services increases the risk of Deaf people experiencing violence. Deaf survivors often report they would rather return home to their partners who are causing harm because at home they don't have to deal with the frustration from lack of communication.
• Social workers taking children away from Deaf survivors based on the belief they are inherently unfit to parent. Note: If children are placed with other families, they lose connection to sign language and communication with their Deaf parents.
   

Effects of audism on Deaf community include:

• Higher unemployment rates among Deaf people as a result of discrimination and inaccessibility.
• Higher rates of domestic violence and sexual violence (but lower rates of law enforcement investigation and prosecution rates after experiences of violence).
• Deaf people who are incarcerated or in custody have lower chances of making parole and are more likely to be unjustly punished; they are more likely to not be given due process of law.
   

One systemic manifestation of audism is Language Deprivation. Language deprivation is defined as a lack of linguistic stimuli that are necessary for a person’s language acquisition. Research has shown that about 90% of Deaf and hard of hearing babies are born to hearing families. Of those hearing families, only about 40% use sign language at home.

Many hearing parents receive misguided advice from medical professionals cautioning them not to use sign language with their deaf children. They spread the belief that the deaf child won’t succeed in a hearing world if they are taught sign language. Many medical professionals do not fully comprehend the dangers of promoting speech-only approaches and denying sign language exposure to a deaf child. Parents are not exposed to a cultural model of Deaf language, culture and community. Yet without access to a visual language at birth, deaf children miss the critical language acquisition phase, resulting in language delay.

Language deprivation is also prevalent in schools where Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing students are enrolled. The adverse effects of language deprivation include delayed cognitive and language development. Deaf adults who were language deprived as children may struggle with social skills, effective ways of communicating, emotional regulation, and abstract thinking. Since cognitive development is an important part of literacy, language deprivation can diminish a deaf individual’s educational and career opportunities.

Audism: Oppression in the Lives of Deaf Individuals: VAWnet Resource Website. Description: VAWnet has collected a series of resources on Audism, many created by Gallaudet University. Gallaudet is the only Deaf university in the country, and is considered an important center of community and culture. There are numerous valuable articles on this website that describe audism, oppression and the medical versus cultural models applied to deaf people.

What is Language Deprivation: 2 minute video created by the Nyle DiMarco Foundation. Description: This video briefly describes the neural process of language development, the experience when language is deprived and shares some statistics.

Early Cognitive and Language Development: 2600 word position statement from the National Association for the Deaf. Description: This statement describes the delayed cognitive and language development that deaf children experience. There is a call to action and a list of citations. Includes a Spanish language version of the position statement.

Deaf Focus Website: Resource website. Description: This website has a variety of resources. This is a link to LEAD-K (Language Equality and Acquisition for Deaf Kids) which includes statistics and videos.
 

Area 2: Language Justice & Disability Justice

The medical model of deafness perpetuates the view that individuals with hearing loss or congenital hearing inability have a physiological deficit that should be remedied, that deafness is a problem that requires a “cure,” that success for a Deaf person requires adhering to hearing norms. Deficit-based labels like “hearing impaired,” “deaf and dumb,” “deaf and mute,” cater to the medical view of deafness as a physiological abnormality. These should be replaced with the person’s chosen cultural identifier and language.  In contrast, a cultural lens of being Deaf portrays the person as a whole and self-actualized member of a community that is based on shared sensory experiences and a shared language.

Language Justice is a framework that transcends access and inclusion. Language justice centers on the cultural values, linguistic expression, and self-determination of individuals in multilingual spaces. It acknowledges the roots of linguistic oppression and the harm caused by dominant language users to communities whose natural ways of communicating have been suppressed for generations. Language Justice offers a vision in which social movements build linguistic equity through cross-cultural solidarity, thereby reducing power imbalances and generating resiliency among members of historically marginalized groups. For Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, late deafened, and hard of hearing people, Language Justice expands on the work of Disability Rights movement leaders who have fought for access through legislative processes such as the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. Rather than adhering to societal norms and continuing the status quo, Language Justice transforms spaces so that all individuals can participate to the fullest extent possible. Without a Language Justice framework, language access planning falls short of achieving equity and settles for language tolerance.
 

Examples of language tolerance are:

• Following legal minimums to provide a person with accommodations.
• Assuming that Deaf people with hearing aids can get by with lipreading or using residual hearing.
• Providing interpreters without proper vetting and without screening for additional language support through Deaf Interpreters or Certified Deaf Interpreters.
• Relying on written English and captioning/live transcription for communication without confirming what is best for the Deaf person.
• Resistance to incorporating funding for access in the annual budget.
• No investment in building partnership with community or interpreters.
• No commitment to authentic allyship (solidarity, not charity).
   

For members of the Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, late deafened, and hard of hearing communities, a commitment to language and disability justice means going beyond providing access as an afterthought or as an auxiliary aid. It centers all individuals’ personal agency and recognizes that true inclusion benefits everyone. There are a myriad of ways in which language equity can be created. For American Sign Language (ASL) users, language equity can mean asking the Deaf person for names of preferred interpreters, vetting the interpreters for quality and experience, checking whether the person can be more effectively served with the addition of a Deaf Interpreter. This also means hiring interpreters who are people of color and are familiar with ASL dialects such as BASL (Black ASL) and marginalized community slang (like LGBTQ+ communities).

Language Justice means creating a budget for access in all spaces, with a list of accommodation providers prepared in advance. For jobs that require ASL signing expertise, language equity with Deaf Ecosystem framing means hiring Deaf people who are native ASL users to provide ASL tutoring, teaching, consulting and/or interpretation services as appropriate.

Disability Justice is a framework that recognizes the uniqueness of each individual body. Disability Justice honors the strengths and unique needs of individual bodies as well as how individuals thrive in their communities and relationships. Disability Justice is rooted in movements that resist the beliefs and practices perpetuated by the Medical Industrial Complex. Integrated with social equity and racial equity, a Disability Justice framework centers the self-proclaimed priorities and lived experiences of disabled members of marginalized groups, such as women, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQIA+ community members, unhoused people, individuals with mental health issues, substance users, as well as people who are Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Deaf with cognitive disabilities, late deafened, and/or hard of hearing.
 

Principles of Disability Justice (credit: Sins Invalid)

• 1. Intersectionality
• 2. Leadership of those most impacted
• 3. Anti-capitalist politic
• 4. Commitment to cross-movement organizing
• 5. Recognizing wholeness
• 6. Sustainability
• 7. Commitment to cross-disability solidarity
• 8. Interdependence
• 9. Collective access
• 10. Collective liberation

 
Language Justice and Disability Justice are not mutually exclusive - in fact, they must integrated. The focus is on the individual’s self-identity and on their self-expressed needs, not their perceived identity or assumed needs. Integrating Language Justice and Disability Justice requires cross-movement organizing as well as cross-disability solidarity.

ASL: Language Justice is Disability Justice: 5 minute 40 second video by Sins Invalid. Description: This video in American Sign Language with subtitles shares the values and beliefs that are the foundation of Language Justice and Disability Justice. These can create an important starting point for conversations within your organization about your values and beliefs. 

Sign Language Key to Deaf People’s Rights: 1000 word article by Human Rights Watch. Description: The experience of Deaf people crosses geographic, ethnic, racial, economic and other identities. This article shares worldwide examples of audism and the need to protect rights to language. It is a useful reminder of how our approach to access must be intersectional.
 

Area 3: Deaf Survivors and Deaf Experiences

As a cultural and linguistic population, Deaf communities are very unique - most Deaf children are born into hearing families and must connect to other Deaf people to learn their language and culture. Because of hearing-centered systems of medicine and education, many Deaf children are deprived of access to American Sign Language and Deaf peers or mentors. This results in massive, widespread inequity that is further exacerbated among those who are Deaf and marginalized in other identities.

Lack of access to their own language means lack of access to information and education which means lack of access to employment opportunities and affirming relationships. Deaf and hard of hearing people experience higher rates of domestic and sexual violence than hearing people. The impacts of harm are exacerbated as a result of the audism in support systems and services. Hotlines hang up on Deaf callers. Shelters use children to interpret during intake. Medical personnel refuse to “see” Deaf patients and communicate to the interpreter instead. In a 2017 qualitative study of Deaf survivors conducted by DeafHope with Blue Shield of California Foundation support, 100% of participants shared that their interaction with law enforcement was negative and did not contribute to a sense of safety and healing. Deaf survivors largely avoid seeking services because hearing providers make up most service providers, who unknowingly perpetuate audism and inaccessibly for Deaf and hard of hearing survivors. Intentional actions to partnership with Deaf communities and to remove barriers within your organization make a critical difference in the lives of Deaf survivors.

Learning from the Lived Experiences of Deaf People: 1 hour 24 minute video from the Vera Institute of Justice. Description: Panel discussion about the experiences of Deaf people.

National Deaf People of Color Conference: Website. Description: Provides resources and information about an annual conference by and for Deaf people of color.

LGBTQIA+ Deaf Resources: Webpage by Deaf Unity. Description: Includes resources, service provision connections, social media accounts to follow related to LGBTQIA+ Deaf people.

Supporting Deaf & DeafBlind Survivors: Website Resource by the Center for Victimization and Safety. Description: This website includes several videos, each less than 10 minutes in length, that shares experiences and common communication needs of Deaf and DeafBlind survivors.

Deaf Power and Control Wheel: Website Resource by DeafHope. Description: Version of the Power and Control wheel describing Deaf-specific forms of violence experienced in deaf communities. Intentionally designed for inclusion, relying on simple graphics rather than text.
 

Area 4: Addressing Barriers for Deaf Survivors

The most important action to take to reduce barriers for Deaf survivors is to build partnerships with community-based organizations. A true disability and language justice lens acknowledges that every individual has unique needs. Holding capacity building/educational events for staff in a service provision agency are necessary but not sufficient. Unless the organization creates sustainable changes in policies and practices, those individual educational opportunities will be unlikely to increase access for Deaf and hard of hearing survivors. For example: Ask yourself if the internal changes your organization is making results in actually hiring and promoting Deaf staff, not just individual “cultural competency” contractual collaborations. When organizing educational events and when addressing structural changes in the organization, it’s vital to partner with Deaf people as leaders in those changes because hearing people do not have the lived experiences of Deaf people. Invest in long term, deep partnerships with Deaf people.
 

• For DeafBlind individuals, provide accommodations that fit each person’s unique language use, whether it is ProTactile Sign Language, a team of hearing and Deaf interpreters, or large print for emails and written materials.
• Provide access to written or typed materials including websites, emails, brochures, flyers, applications etc.
• When posting community events, do so well in advance to ensure that attendees have sufficient time to request accommodations.
• Make sure marketing materials include language about making requests for accommodations.
• Make sure registration for events includes a checkbox for accommodations and an open field to indicate the specific type(s) of accommodations.
• For times when a Deaf person shows up in person for the first visit, have the front desk staff learn basic sign language (including fingerspelling, numbers, days of the week, frequently asked questions, etc.) to be able to communicate on a functional level.  Prepare the check-in desk to display signage indicating a commitment to hiring ASL interpreters for appointments.
• Wherever applicable, provide a QR code (at check-in or on printed materials) that links to a video in ASL for ASL users to watch about the agency’s services and how to make an appointment.
• Always use professional interpreters, never use ad hoc bilingual language users especially for high-risk situations.
• Even though certification means the basic standard for most interpreting assignments, being certified does not necessarily mean the interpreter is qualified. Vet them through sign language agencies, Deaf community leadership, and other hearing/deaf interpreters.
• While planning, give the interpreters materials so they can prepare ahead of time.
• Share the names of interpreters in advance and make changes to the team according to the person’s requests.
• Upon completion of the service, ask the person who used the accommodations for feedback.
   

Deaf Access: 23 minute video by DeafHope. Description: Aracelia and Brian provide basic information about Deaf culture and specific tips for providing effective access. The video was created for attorneys and has information beneficial to anyone.

Culture, Language, and Access: Serving Deaf Survivors: 9,500 word brief by the Center for Victimization and Safety. Description: This brief brings together all aspects of this section on Deaf survivors, giving an overall cultural framework, describing the unique experience of deaf survivors with examples and provides specific action to support your organization in becoming more accessible.

Budgeting for Access Tip Sheet: 2,500 word tip sheet created by the Center for Victimization and Safety. Description: Here you will find useful and specific actions for creating accessible meetings and events. Many of these suggestions can be applied in other aspects of service provision.

Developing a Language Access Plan for your Agency: 480 word tip sheet created by the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence. Description: This tip sheet shares guidelines and resources for meaningful access.