[misc.handicap] Hearing Impaired? Deaf? Hard of Hearing? What?

Lawrence.Brick@f210.n273.z1.fidonet.org (Lawrence Brick) (03/15/91)

Index Number: 13972

[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]

Hey, what's wrong with saying "I'm deaf" or calling people with profound
hearing losses as "deaf" and those with lesser losses as "HOH"?  Are
Black people "White Impaired" or White People "Black Impaired"?  and
other groups of people "______ Impaired"?  I'm deaf and it's part of me
and part of my identity and I can communicate fine with hearing people
via lip reading and very understandable speech.  If one stops to think,
the term "hearing Impaired" implies a disability. Whereas "deaf" or
"HOH" is simply a descritive characteristic.

--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!273!210!Lawrence.Brick
Internet: Lawrence.Brick@f210.n273.z1.fidonet.org