Fact Or Myth : Deafness

The audiological impairment of ones hearing does not affect their vocal chords. Speech is a learned process that requires the use of ones vocal chords, therefore, if you have functioning vocal chords you have the ability to speak! Additionally, the term Deaf-Mute is wildly inaccurate so please refrain from using this when discussing the Deaf community.

Fact! If you are unable to communicate with a member of the Deaf community and there is no interpreter present, it is absolutely acceptable to communicate through writing. This will make the communication process easier and eliminate any possibility of insensitive behavior, such as yelling or waving your hands to mimic signs, which is too often typical behavior in the hearing community.

For obvious reasons this is factual. The Deaf are impaired or disabled and referring to them in such a way manifests negative stereotypes about their rich and complex culture. Be sensitive to the words you use.

Devices such as text telephones, TTY, or video interpreters are commonly used when the deaf needs to make a phone call. This is 2016 and technological advances make it possible for anyone to communicate regardless of language barriers!

Simply knowing a few signs does not give you the ability to communicate with the deaf. Even after years of training in ASL you still may find yourself having difficulty portraying an English sentence to ASL. This is because ASL is a conceptually visual language and not simply a direct translation of English words. There are also different types of interpretation making ASL one of the most diverse and challenging languages to master.

While ASL is the most common sign language used, there are over 130 different types of sign language as well as modes of communication utilized by the Deaf. Even within a small community of deaf families there can be several different types of sign language used, making communication difficult. Consider Spanish as an example. Spanish is the common language in Mexico but you will find variations to this language dependent upon where you are and with whom you are speaking!