Before beginning ASL last semester, I honestly didn't recognized the ability to see deafness as an ethnic difference. I had always seen it as a disability because they can not hear. Medically, it's true that being deaf is a disability and according to doctors, it's their business "to "fix" what's "wrong" with deaf people's "hearing disorders"" (pg 250).
However, after opening my eyes and realizing that the Deaf community is made up of more than just people who can't here, I now believe and understand that being deaf is NOT a "disability" or a "communication disorder" (pg 249). Instead, those who are deaf have an incredible and specific language and culture that defines who they are.
"Our hardship is more of a communication barrier than a physical ability" (pg 250). This makes so much sense, because in reality, the only thing that is different between someone who is deaf and someone who is hearing is the language barrier. Although deaf people can't hear, they have their own language to make up for their lack of hearing. The language barrier is no different from someone who speaks English attempt to converse with someone who speaks French. Therefore, I don't understand why deaf people are considered to be handicapped by those who don't understand their language.
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