American Deaf Culture 110 Chapter 4: Deafhood: A Person Journey Toward Self-Actualization

2. Why do hearing people view deaf people as 'incomplete?'

..."in the eyes of many hearing people, Deaf people appear incomplete because of the lack of auditory connection to spoken language, whereas for Deaf persons themselves 'Deaf' asserts a state of being that reflects completeness.

1. Why is the journey for a deaf person to develop a positive identity often long and difficult?

...because of the ignorance of many hearing parents and the hearing professionals who work with them.

3. What did researchers, Weinberg and Steritt (1986) discover about Deaf people?

They discovered that Deaf people who had a comfortable relationship with both Deaf and hearing people had the best outcome in academic, social, personal, and family acceptance, whereas those who identified with hearing people only were the least successful.

6. There is a conflict between majority of medical professionals when it comes to learning sign language and having a cochlear implant and what research has shown. What has research shown?

This practice of discouraging the use of sign language is contradictory to research findings in which sign language usage is found to be beneficial to all deaf children, including those with cochlear implants. Marschark (2007) explains "There is no real evidence that signing interferes with the development of spoken language after implantation (or at any other time), and, in fact, earlier use of sign language appears to provide cognitive and linguistic support for the acquisition of auditory language after cochlear implantation."

4. What are the seven (7) categories of Deaf identities? List and define/describe.

a. Balanced bicultural - "...are individuals who are truly comfortable in both the Deaf and hearing communities. They are equally effective in their interactions with Deaf and hearing people and do not display a preference in terms of associating with one group or the other." b. Deaf dominant bicultural - "...individuals function well around both Deaf and hearing people but, if given a choice, they would choose to be with Deaf people or, more specifically, people who can sign. However, they would invest time and energy to make their contacts with hearing people as effective as possible." c. Hearing dominant bicultural - "...deaf people are individuals who can function well within the Deaf community, but who, for one reason or another, have relatively limited contacts with other Deaf people." d. Culturally separate - "...Deaf person is someone who intentionally keeps contacts with hearing people to a minimum." e. Culturally marginal - "...individual does not feel at ease in the Deaf community, but does not feel part of the larger, hearing society either." f. Culturally isolated - "...individual chooses not to be affiliated with the Deaf community." g. Culturally captive - "Finally, there are individuals who grew up without any knowledge of the Deaf community. Perhaps, they have been sheltered from the "evils" of the Deaf community by their parents and the educational system. As a result, they grew up believing that there are no other deaf people like themselves or that no deaf organizations exist to provide support for people like themselves. They do not have the opportunity to meet other Deaf people and explore the possibilities of acquiring a more accessible language, American Sign Language (ASL). They are unaware of the educational opportunities that exist for deaf people, such as schools for the deaf or colleges that have services specifically for Deaf people. They have no idea that a range of services is available to provide them with expanded access.

5. What are the five (5) stages of cultural awareness? List and describe.

a. Conformity - "...the authors believe that many members of oppressed groups spend years growing up trying to conform to society's expectations of their disenfranchised community. Unfortunately, those views are routinely negative and derogatory." b. Dissonance - "...in which the person is exposed to the positive aspects of the stigmatized community for the first time, which triggers a reevaluation of his or her affiliation with this group of people. This exposure often results in the person's considering the possibility of identifying proudly with his or her cultural group for the first time." c. Resistance and Immersion - "...individuals from disenfranchised groups become determined to learn more about their cultural identity. They attempt to associate with people from their culture as much as possible. Also, during this stage, these individuals often become angry at the deception they were previously led to believe about others like them. Consequently, they shun contact with the mainstream culture because of the pain and self-hatred they experienced while growing up." d. Introspection - "...begin to reexamine the extreme stance they may have adopted in the previous stage. They realize that their effort to be as Deaf possible does not always result in a positive outcome. They recognize that their parents might have had good intentions at the same time they were making their identity formation such a difficult process. They miss some aspects of their old lives. They revisit issues that are relevant to their identity, such as the use of hearing aids, the ability to speak, and the need to attend a deaf school. In this process, new and more appropriate role models are often identified." e. Awareness - "Here, Deaf people come to terms with being Deaf. They are at peace with themselves and their relationships with their families and other hearing people. They have achieved fuller control of their lives." ..."They adopt whatever is their authentic identity, whether it be a bicultural identity or a Deaf-oriented lifestyle.