Defining Deafness

With your new mainstream student comes a label: Deaf. Hearing Impaired. DHH. Hard of hearing. I thought it might be helpful to spend a little time looking at -- and beyond -- the labels we use to describe our kids, and talk about what it might mean for you as a teacher.

Perhaps it would be best to talk about some of the labels that are presently frowned upon. Historically, the word "dumb" was used to refer to individuals who were unable to speak. The phrase "deaf and dumb" was commonly used in the past to refer to deaf individuals who, for whatever reason, had not developed comprehensible speech. As you might imagine, given the modern associations for the word "dumb", this tag has become pretty offensive.

You might be surprised to learn that the terms "hearing impaired" or anything containing the words "disabled" or "handicapped" (or any variant thereof) are also generally frowned upon. Deaf and hard of hearing people generally do not consider themselves impaired, or disabled, or handicapped, although many feel somewhat inconvenienced. :)

I would encourage you to refer to your students as either deaf or hard of hearing. Referring to them as DHH kids (identifying them with our program) is fine, but either deaf or hard of hearing is generally preferable.

Deaf persons are those individuals who must rely on some form of visual communication for full access to the world. They often may receive some limited benefit from hearing aids. Some deaf persons are able to speak, while others are not. Almost all deaf individuals who do speak have a noticeable "deaf accent" that takes a little getting used to. Not all deaf people use sign language, but the vast majority do.

Hard of hearing persons are those who prefer to communicate by listening and speaking (rather than sign language). They usually are able to hear speech to one degree or another when wearing their equipment. They too generally speak with a "deaf accent", although that accent is often milder than that of a deaf person. Some sign fluently, others not at all. In the classroom, educational interpreters are often used to ensure that a hard of hearing student has full access to the curriculum; without this accommodation, studies show that a lot of information in the mainstream environment may be missed or misunderstood.

The distinction between the two labels has grown somewhat blurry as cochlear implants have become more common: a number of deaf children have become functionally hard of hearing through the procedure. A cochlear implant can be a very powerful tool, but it is neither a cure for deafness, or the one-size-fits all panacea that it is often made out to be.

As kids get older, we tend to ask them how they view themselves (deaf or hard of hearing) and allow them to identify themselves.

There is a third, important distinction - the use of a capital 'D' in describing a Deaf person. Capital-D "Deafness" it a cultural rather than a medical label; it is used to identify oneself as a member of the Deaf community. As a cultural label, it refers to a group of people with a distinct language (American Sign Language, or ASL), a distinct history and a set of shared experiences that hearing people like myself cannot truly understand. Deafness with a capital 'D' is an affirmation - a powerful and positive statement of personal identity.

Interestingly, a person who is hard of hearing can be a part of the Deaf community, but wouldn't describe him or herself as being deaf. Follow?