Mindlife: culture of disabled

Deaf Culture

Deaf people do not perceive themselves as having lost something (i.e., hearing) and do not think of themselves as handicapped, impaired, or disabled.
Deaf culture commonly perceives the term hearing impaired as insulting or misleading (Deaf people feel the word "impaired" carries too much negativity)
Deaf culture emphasizes community and interdependency but the main characteristic of Deaf culture is the use of signed languages
Acceptance within Deaf culture can depend on the age at which a person became deaf

Common terms used within the Deaf community:

This term refers to members of the Deaf community who share common values, norms, traditions, language, and behaviors.
Deaf, hard of hearing, and deafened - Within the Deaf culture these words refer to a person's audiological status. Notice lower case "d'" is used. People who describe themselves as "hard of hearing" or "deafened" do not see themselves as members of the Deaf culture. Some may know sign language but their primary language is English
Hearing Impaired - This term often is used by the media and society in general to refer to people with a hearing loss. A more acceptable generic phrase is "deaf and hard of hearing" to refer to all people with a hearing loss. Within the Deaf culture, the term "hearing impaired" often is seen as offensive. It suggests that Deaf people are "broken" or "inferior" because they do not hear.
Hearing - Within the Deaf culture the term "hearing" is used to identify people who are members of the dominant American culture. One might think the ASL sign for "hearing" is related to the group's ability to hear (e.g., pointing to the ear). However, the sign for "hearing" is related to the ability to "talk." The act of talking is clearly visible to Deaf people, whereas listening or hearing is not. From the Deaf culture perspective, it is the act of "talking" that clearly separates the two groups.

Blind Culture

Blindness is viewed in almost the opposite light from deafness
Different Agenda
use a form of written communication that differs from the mainstream. Braille bears no visual resemblance to the written alphabet and only a person trained to read Braille can do so
The use of a long stick as a "bumper and probe" is generally recognized world wide as a sign of visual impairment.

Mindlife